Instagram is one of the most powerful marketing platforms available for brands, influencers and content creators to use. The challenge however is creating content that actually cuts through the digital clutter and resonates with your audience. A question that often comes up is: How can my Instagram to go viral, getting the views and engagement I’m targeting? The purpose of this article is to go over the tips and strategies on how to make your content go viral on Instagram and cover the needed groundwork of how to optimize your reach and interact with your followers.
Golden Statement: The Best Marketing Doesn’t Feel Like Marketing

Your content can easily go viral on Instagram, however, one of the most powerful insights is that the best marketing doesn’t usually seem like marketing. Content that goes viral usually has no associations with advertisement or commercials, but people are eager to engage with it because it reflects a certain sentiment amongst them.

1. Difference Between Viral Marketing Content and Marketing Advertisements

To put together an effective marketing strategy, you have to keep the following in mind while putting together your campaign:

Properly Designed: There is clear strategy and purpose behind the content created.

Targeted to fit your audience: Aim of the content must be prepared focusing a particular section of people.

However, viral content does not follow such strict protocols. Instead, it occurs out of the blue without much planning, and may contain:

A Random Event: It’s usually some unexpected occurrence which takes the audience by surprise.

A Funny Statement or Absurd Action: Anyone can come up with and do something fictional or hilarious and break the often set norms.

A Thought or an Opinion: In layman’s term, it is either something which in an essence is controversial, and thought provoking, or has the capability to give rise to conversation.

For instance, Ranu Mondal achieved overnight fame when one random passerby captured her singing at some roadside in an upload, which just so happened to get a lot of attention for the most random reason.

Video of Baba Ka Dhaba went rife after Gaurav Wasan published his footage of a small Delhi takeaway restaurant, and it was shared a lot.

The most important lesson that could be drawn is, that when you set out creating content with the intention to make it viral, it overlooks the fact that the ratio of how many posts or videos do go viral is a mere one in a million. It is more of a ‘hit or miss’ situation.

2. How to go viral on Instagram: Recommendations

The chance of making your content go viral is slim, however the possibilities of increasing your chance of success considerably rapidly increases if you follow these tips:

a. Always Consider Your Audience

Knowing the audience is highly important. Create a marketing persona with the data which helps specify the audience’s:

Demographics: Age, sex, residence and so on.

Psychographics: Interests, hobbies, and behavioral patterns.

Fulfilling these parameters will make it easier for you to guess the content type that will resonate with your audience. For example, a food vlogger might look into other successful food accounts on Instagram with the intention of figuring out what type of posts appeal to followers and modify them as needed.

b. Competition Analysis

Competitors’ Instagram accounts can teach you more than you think. If some of their posts are performing well, you want to pay attention to the format, style, and even description of the post. All this information is useful when trying to determine what is working in your field or area. On the other hand, if the competitors are doing poorly, maybe you can aim to capture a different audience or change the focus of your content.

c. Develop a Creative and Distinctive Brand Voice

What differentiates viral content from marketing content is the creativity and uniqueness of the content. If you are serious about making your content go viral:

Look Incredible: amazing looking content is bound to capture attention.

Be Audacious: dont be afraid to express your bold views, especially when it comes to topics that are bound to create conversation.

Reach Out: Make content that call for action – likes, shares, and comments.

Be Trending: Anything that ties into an event or topic that happened recently has a greater chance of going viral.

An opinionated piece is more likely to get attention, and subsequently go viral.

d. Instagram Statics/Count Information:

Your Instagram analytics gives your followers’ statistics and the content that engages them the most. Social Fox and similar platforms provide content that can help you understand what is good for the audience. Use these tips to adjust your content for higher chances of going viral.

e. Be a Follower of Active Fans:  

Being followed is awesome because it gives exposure, but being engaged with is what will increase your popularity.  You are far better off having ten fans in attendance with 90 percent of them engaging with you instead of having a million followers with none. Engaging with your followers makes them appreciate your content which assists in increasing the chances of going viral.

f. Designate Your Focus on Image Content

Even though videos are an important part of your content, photos earn more likes on Instagram. If you direct your attention towards producing shareable, quality images, there is a greater chance of you receiving viral engagement. Users can be attracted towards High quality visuals alongside captions or hashtags as well.

g. Boost Chances of Going Viral for Images Using Promotions

By using Paid promotions, you can increase the chance of your content going viral and the reach it has. Instagram ads help market your photos and videos to a wider audience. Brands that pay for Instagram advertisements appreciate that there is high user engagement on the platform. For marketers seeking to enhance the exposure and engagement for their content, spending on Instagram ads is an excellent idea.

h. Collaborate with an Influencer within the Niche

This approach can help in promoting viral content through influencer marketing campaigns. Linqua reports that 94% of marketers found influencer marketing effective. You don’t need to work with a celebrity; even those who are considered micro-influencers possess the ability to move a variety of contents to a wider audience. You can go viral by working with these influencers as they allow you to gain authority and use traditional media.

ii. Show Restraint Creating content that goes viral can be painstakingly difficult and, more often than not, it can take multiple tries to succeed. First, you need to comprehend your target audience’s interest, work with different content types, and at times, go through trial and error. It’s best to exercise restraint when it comes to the process and continuously put out content with regularity. With time, you will build understanding regarding value and increase the likelihood of going viral.

Key Takeaways

Crafting Content To Attract Attention: Exceeding expectations is always possible, but the only way is to create and post engaging content that drives action from the audience.
Research Competing Brands: Look into the marketing strategies of competing brands to learn how they went viral and resonate with the target audience.
Opt for Image-Based Content: High quality image uploads tend to receive more likes and comments than text posts.
Use Sponsored Promotions: Use Instagram ads to maximize the reach and engagement of your content.
Work with Social Media Personalities: They can assist in distributing your content to wider audiences.
Making content viral on Instagram is a careful blend of understanding your audience, strategy, and creativity. Use the tips provided to ensure your content receives the attention it deserves. Remember to remain patient, continue testing out different methods and strategies and, above all, focus on posting content your followers will love.