So you want to go viral? I get it! You’ve seen people talk about how they’ve done it and you want a taste. Going viral typically has a formula and it’s all about creating content that people either relate to, are inspired by, or want to give their opinion on. Essentially, content that makes people want to watch and comment on. Sounds easy enough, right?
I’m going to walk you through the steps for boosting your chances of a reel going viral. This is what helped me go from 0-10k in just two months!
YOUR PROFILE COMES FIRST
Okay okay. Before we get into how to create viral reels, you first need to take a cold hard look at your profile. Is your profile follow worthy? You can have a reel go viral but if your profile isn’t ready, the views might not convert into followers. And what’s the point of views with no followers? Make sure your bio speaks directly to your ideal client. It should say what you do and who you do it for but make sure you’re not using any fluffy words. A bio that says “I help women live their best lives” doesn’t tell me what kind of woman or how she is going to live her best life.
You also want to have a variety of content for new people to binge. That’s carousels, reels, stories, and highlights!
VIRAL WORTHY REELS
The BEST way to create a reel that will go viral is to hook people in within the first 3 seconds. This is going to determine if they keep watching and if the algorithm decides to keep pushing it out. Have a strong hook that sparks curiosity so someone stops their scroll and watches your reel.
Content that goes viral is typically “top of funnel” content. Aka the first touch point where someone finds you. Top of funnel content is anything that’s inspirational, controversial, relatable, or a trend.
Inspirational: this content attracts a lot of people because people want to see that what they’re dreaming of is possible.
Controversial: this content does well because people love to give their opinion and if they disagree with you, you can bet that they are going to be letting you know! More comments = more engagement = getting pushed out more in the algorithm. (Ex: unpopular opinion)
Relatable: content that gets shared a lot also signals to the algorithm that they should show that video to more people. Think about a relatable experience that your dream follower would want to share.
Trends: trends become trends for a reason! This doesn’t mean you should hop on every single one but it should be part of your content strategy.
HIGH QUALITY VIDEO
This is a mistake I see so often. If your video is dark and grainy, people will scroll. Instagram is very visual and in order to capture people, your videos need to be appealing. This doesn’t mean you need to have the most aesthetically pleasing home and a Pinterest worthy office. It means you need to get in front of a window and have very good lighting, WIPE your camera lens, and have the highest quality settings on your camera. (And no filters!)
DON’T BE SELFISH
Yep, I’m calling you out. Be honest, are you creating content FOR your ideal client? Or are you creating content that is trendy because you hope to go viral? We are all selfish and the main characters of our own lives. If you want someone to spend time on you and your content, you need to give them a good reason to. What’s in it for them? What are THEY getting out of it? If you can put this at the forefront of your mind you are going to see results.
If you’re like “okay Katy, I’m ready to do this” then you will definitely wantt to take a peek at Reels School!
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