How to Get More Views on Instagram Story? 12 Practical Tips

Instagram Stories get more views and engagement than regular posts. They are more real-life and make you feel like you are hanging out with friends – people love it! However, many users have recently been complaining about drops in Instagram Story views. If you’re here, that’s probably your problem too. In this blog post, I’ll list practical tips on how to get more views on Instagram Story!

Instagram Stories (also called Insta Stories, IG Stories) are used to share photos, videos, Reels and posts. They appear on the feed page at the top but disappear after 24 hours. Stories are more spontaneous than regular Instagram posts. They support creating a community around you or your brand. You can also increase traffic to your site and even tag products so people can buy them directly from the Instagram app.

Additionally, I will tell you what can cause a low number of views and what WILL NOT give you more Instagram Story views.

What counts as a view on Instagram Stories?

Simply, Instagram Story views are the number of people who saw your Story. View counts as soon as a user taps on your Story.

In Instagram Insights, views are treated as reach. If the same user views your Instagram Story more than once, it is listed as impressions.

You can check your Instagram Stories views:

• Before Instagram Stories disappear: All you have to do is click on your Story, swipe up from the bottom of the screen, and you will see the number and list of viewers.
• After Instagram Stories disappear: If you have a creator or Instagram business account, you can view detailed analytics by tapping the Instagram Insights feature. It contains, among other data, reach.

Why is my Instagram Story not getting views?

Stories on Instagram generally only reach people who follow your account. Logically, your Instagram Stories will not get many views if you don’t have many followers.

However, if you already have a lot of followers and still few watch your Stories, it may be due to:

• A large number of inactive accounts: A big percentage of your followers could be bots, inactive accounts, or people who don’t use Instagram frequently.
• Posting too many: More Stories don’t mean better. If you add too many, watching Stories becomes tedious instead of enjoyable. Maybe your followers became tired and stopped watching them at all.
• Low overall engagement rate: The Instagram algorithm prioritizes Instagram Stories of accounts whose content generates more engagement. If your overall engagement rate is low, you will appear behind the Stories of more solid accounts.

12 tips and tricks to get more views on Instagram Story

01 Be more active on Instagram in general

Being active includes posting frequently, replying to DMs, and interacting with other users.

All this leads to a higher chance that someone will visit your Instagram account and view your Stories.

In addition, doing so can get you more followers, which later results in more Instagram Stoy views.

An important part of being active is responding to mentions in posts and comments, especially untagged ones. Respond not only to the negative mentions but also to the neutral and positive ones.

If you respond to Instagram mentions, users can easily tap on your profile name and view your Stories.

So the question arises: how to detect mentions?

Use social media monitoring tools like Brand24. It tracks tagged and untagged mentions in real-time and shows you their sentiment.

02 Share exclusive content

Share pictures or videos on Stories that you don’t add as your feed posts and don’t put on your other social media accounts.

If your Instagram Stories are exclusive, people will be more desirous of seeing them.

They will want to stay up to date, constantly checking to see if you’ve added a new Story so they don’t miss anything.

A great idea for exclusive content is behind-the-scenes footage. For example, you can show:

• How your brand’s photo shoot is made
• What a normal day at your company look like
• The manufacturing process of your product
• Various special offers and promotions

03 Be authentic

Stories should be raw, candid, and real!

Unlike posts, you don’t have to edit them specially. The simpler and more honest, the better.

Being authentic builds a stronger connection between you and your followers and makes them feel that real people are behind your brand.

It makes your audience more willing to watch you and engage.

Overpolished content can turn your audience off.

04 Post one to seven times per day

The daily limit of Instagram Stories is 100, but never publish more than 7 Stories! According to what various studies suggest, one to seven Stories per day is optimal.

Posting this many Instagram Stories will not make your followers sick of you, but at the same time, they will not forget about you.

Many big brands follow this rule, for example, in one day:

• Ryanair (@ryanair) posted 3 times
• Adidas (@adidas) posted 2 times

Influencers also try to do their best:

• Kylie Jenner (@kyliejenner) added 3 Stories in one day
• Chiara Ferragni (@chiaraferragni) added 4 Stories in one day

It is also important to take days off from publishing Instagram Stories. Skipping a day or two can prevent content fatigue among your audience.

Content fatigue in the context of Instagram Stories is when you add too many Stories, and people get tired or stressed because of it.

05 Post at the best time

The time you add Instagram Stories is also crucial to maximize the number of views. Posting at the right time will give you the greatest possible reach.

Then, what is the best time to post a Story on Instagram?

You can check it using Brand24. Create a project with your brand name or a keyword that describes your niche, and go to the Hot Hours tab.

In the filters, select Instagram as the source. A visualization will show times you can achieve the greatest reach on Instagram.

Post your Instagram Story at these hours!

As an example, I checked the best hours for Dunkin’ Donuts – here they are:

• 9 PM – Tuesday
• 12 PM, 2 PM, and 4 PM – Wednesday
• 12 AM and 5 PM – Thursday
• 12 AM and 2 AM – Saturday
• 8 AM – Sunday

06 Post about relevant and hot topics

Post about topics that interest your followers; they will be more willing to watch them!

It’s easy to say, but how to figure out what topics your audience wants to hear about in Stories?

You can identify them using Brand24’s Topic Analysis feature.

It monitors what people are currently talking about in relation to your selected keywords and shows you the key topics.

Example?

You’re a fitness influencer who wants to create Stories that generate more views. You set up Brand24 to monitor the “fitness” keyword. Topic Analysis shows you the topics you should cover in your content:

Another example?

Your brand produces matcha. Here’s what you should be talking about in your Stories:

07 Use Instagram Story stickers

Sticker is another excellent way to boost engagement and, consequently, your Story views.

Don’t overuse them – add them when they really have a purpose. It is best to add one interactive sticker per Story.

Here are the ones you should use:

• Poll sticker: You can use it to ask questions that are relevant to you or make a quiz and test the audience’s knowledge about your brand. Polls don’t have to be serious. People are more likely to engage in fun activities.

• Question stickers: You ask a question, and your audience can answer whatever they want in the box. Use them for Q&A sessions, feedback collection, or simply sparking conversations around any topic.

Including questions, votes, trivia, and other games will make your Stories more entertaining!

• Countdown sticker: It’s perfect to announce and hype up your product launch, upcoming event, or any other special announcement.

• Emoji stickers: With a regular emoji sticker or slider, your followers can express their feelings, for example, about your new idea, product, or just the content you share.

08 Add location tags

Location tags are another type of sticker. They make your Stories visible to new audiences.

By adding a specific location tag, your Story has the potential to appear in that location’s Story feed.

What does it mean?

All people searching for that location on Instagram will be able to see your Story!

Want to know my magic trick with location tag?

Here it is: add a tag with an important location to your brand (not necessarily the area where you are). Make it smaller to hide it.

Give it a try! It can give you an extra boost of views.

09 Invite people to DM you

Encourage your audience to DM (Direct Message). There are different ways to do it.

You can use a clear CTA at the end of your story, such as “DM me what you think!”

You can tease your audience with exclusive or free content. For example, you can write, “DM me if you want the scoop!” or “DM if you want a free e-book!”

Also, instead of using interactive stickers for Q&A sessions, your followers can ask you a question in DM.

10 Add captions if you are talking

Many people scroll Instagram while taking a bus or train without using headphones and sound.

If you do spoken Stories, they will never know what you are talking about. Adding subtitles to your content increases the probability that these people will watch you.

Moreover, including captions ensures accessibility to your Instagram Stories for deaf people.

11 Run an influencer takeover

Find a famous influencer in your niche to “take over” your Instagram account. Influencers can add moments from their daily life on Stories throughout the day, or you can organize a Q&A session.

They easily bring their own followers, so the base of users who watch your Stories will grow.

If you find the best possible influencer, your followers won’t want to miss the opportunity to see content from this person and interact with him/her.

How to find the right influencer? Use Brand24.

It provides a list of the best Instagram users with whom to collaborate. The list contains all the key influencer marketing metrics, such as Influencer Score, Share of Voice, and Influence.

You can determine the ranking of influencers by the metric that is most important to you!

Above is the list of influencers suggested by Brand24 for Prada.

Undoubtedly, Kris Jenner’s (@krisjenner) or Angga Yunanda’s (@angga) takeover will increase Prada’s Instagram Story views.

12 Utilize Story highlights

Save your best Stories as highlights on your profile; it keeps them accessible even after 24 hours.

Highlights continue to attract views. Thanks to them, new followers and people who stumbled upon your profile can see your past Stories.

What’s more, organize highlights by category and set up covers that are consistent with your profile. Just like Semrush does:

What won’t get you more Instagram Story views?

The Internet is full of tips on how to get more views on Instagram Stories. Unfortunately, many of them will give you the opposite effect!

Here are the things that will definitely not get you more Instagram Story views:

• Instagram’s Close Friends feature: The Close Friends feature allows you to share content with a selected group of Instagram users (called a close friends list). Only posting your Stories publicly will give you opportunities to get more views.
• Buying followers and views: It may give you a superficial boost in numbers, but it won’t grow your follower base with real, engaging followers who will actually watch your Stories. Don’t be delusional! You’re just wasting money.
• Link stickers: They can attract traffic to your external sites, but overusing them will alienate your Stories’ viewers. People may lose interest if every Story is a call to action to leave Instagram.
• User-generated content: It is great, but unfortunately, many brands base their Instagram Story strategy mainly on UGC. A lot of users complain that they are flooded with this kind of content, and they just don’t feel like watching it anymore.

Conclusion

This blog post provided many valuable insights. I hope you apply my tips to your next Story – you’ll get more views than ever!

Let’s sum it up:

• On Instagram Stories: be yourself, don’t spam, use interactive features, post at the right time, and, above all, talk about topics people want to hear about and share all that can not be found in your feed.
• Insert some fun into your Stories, make quizzes, and Q&A sessions. People love it!
• Engagement is key to increasing your Instagram Story views. More engagement = more views.
• Avoid buying followers and views! It seems like a quick fix, but it won’t lead to real growth.

Boosting Story views can be a challenge. An effective way to overcome this is using Brand24 – try it for free during a 14-day trial!