How to Go Viral on Instagram

With nearly 2 billion active users as of late 2024, Instagram - the fifth most visited website globally (via SocialPilot) - offers massive potential reach for going viral with your Instagram social media posts and Reels. This makes Instagram a prime place for content creators, influencers, musicians, dancers, and businesses to build their brands, engage audiences, get more followers, and even monetize their Insta accounts.

Going viral on Instagram can elevate your brand recognition, increase your followers, and boost engagement, unlocking so many opportunities for audience growth, collaborations, sponsorships, and more; you can even send all the fans you gain from going viral over to your Fourthwall store, so they can buy up all of your custom-designed merch! 

Stats show that Instagram users spend an average of 33 minutes per day on the app, with posts that have gone viral gaining increased audience engagement through likes, comments, and shares. And an Instagram post or Instagram Reel is generally considered to be “going viral” if it racks up 10,000 to 20,000 views in the first few hours after its posted; 100,000 views or more is huge. So just how do you increase your chances of going viral on Instagram? Read on and let’s find out!

About Instagram Virality

“Going viral” on Instagram means reaching a vast audience through high engagement metrics such as likes, comments, shares, saves, and new followers. An Instagram post’s virality depends on a mix of circumstances, including how well it resonates with viewers and whether it aligns with Instagram’s algorithm.

The Instagram algorithm generally leans toward high engagement, and can be buoyed by social proof, the social media phenomenon that occurs when a large amount of people watch and like a social media post partly because they observe it being enjoyed by lots of other people.

Engaging content that starts getting attention from viewers can rapidly be pushed by the Instagram algorithm onto Instagram’s Explore page or featured on Reels, where it has a better chance of being widely seen and shared, which can then lead to it going viral.  

What Types of Instagram Posts Go Viral?

Certain types of content frequently and repeatedly go viral on Instagram, and may prove to be a good starting point for your content if you’re chasing that virality.

Instagram videos and Instagram Reels that go viral generally have a common thread in that they’re presenting social media content that 1.) captivates users and 2.) often encourages participation, whether your viewers decide to try the video trend themselves, or simply fill up the comments section.

Types of content with great potential to go viral include personal stories, humorous skits and memes, life hacks and tutorials, and trending or seasonal posts such as holiday Stories or Reels. Stunning lifestyle visuals are another type of scroll-stopping post that Instagram has become known for, whether travel, foodie, or fashion-based; these can readily go viral, too, if they're engaging enough to capture viewer attention.

For creators aiming for Instagram virality, jumping on trends early is key, as it lets you maximize your posts’ visibility before the trend becomes oversaturated (which can happen quickly.)

Watching trending and popular content can also help you tailor your own posts, captions, and hashtags to align with current audience interests and viral moments, so you can create your own unique take on what’s going on in your niche, and make your Instagram posts really stand out!

12 Ways to Increase Your Chances of Instagram Virality

1. Use Trending Music and Sounds

Using trending music, audio clips, and sound effects when creating content for your Instagram Reels (Instagram’s video posts) can help increase content discoverability and the potential for going viral. Browse Reels to find trending music, and experiment with different trending sounds to see what fits best with your visuals, and what's most engaging for your target audience of viewers.

2. Join Viral Challenges and Trends

Participating in popular challenges on Instagram can significantly boost the visibility of your posts on Instagram, to get you a bigger audience and more followers! Whether they’re photo, Instagram Reel, or hashtag challenges, fitness challenges, or dance challenges, participants who stand out can often go viral, in part because of the wider reach of a popular challenge. Make sure to use relevant hashtags associated with the challenge, and add your own unique twist to make your entry stand out and possibly go viral.

3. Create High Quality Visuals

Clear visuals and good lighting improve the watchability and engagement of your Instagram posts; using a high quality camera and good lighting makes your content visually appealing and more engaging. If your content looks amazing, it allows you to keep up with higher level social media content creators, and may nudge your posts into a higher audience viewership bracket, with more chances at going viral.

4. Keep Content Short and Engaging

While it might be tempting to create a long video masterpiece, the Instagram algorithm actually thrives on short videos and concise posts, which can snag higher levels of viewer attention, increased engagement, and create more opportunities to make your post go viral.

Your posts on Instagram should be instantly interesting - your aim is to hook viewers within the first 1-2 seconds! - and then run between 15-30 seconds max. Shorter videos are easier for users to watch, and will also make it more likely that your target audience of viewers will stick around for your entire video.

5. Use Great Captions and Hashtags

Captions and hashtags help provide context to your Instagram videos, showcase your personality, help you hop onto trending topics, and prompt audience engagement. Use captions to add interesting quick facts, ask questions, or spark curiosity, keeping your captions relevant to your post.

And use a mix of niche-specific and popular hashtags to help improve discoverability and visibility via the Instagram algorithm and reach a larger audience by linking your content to users seeking those topics by searching hashtags.

6. Post Consistently

As with most social media, posting on Instagram consistently is so important, especially if you’re looking to go viral! Regular posting on Instagram increases visibility, gives your followers a reason to look forward to your content, and gives you more opportunities to reach new viewers and grow your target audience.

Create a social media/Instagram posting schedule (for instance, 5 times per week, on Mon-Wed-Fri), and experiment with different posting times to find when engagement on your Instagram posts is highest. Posting an even mix of regular Instagram posts, Instagram Stories, and Instagram Reels is also a good choice for building your audience.

7. Engage with Your Audience 

Create content that sparks engagement and posts that are readily shareable - and then follow through by interacting with your audience. Frequent interactions help your viewers see you as a relatable person in addition to being a content creator and influencer, building loyalty and strengthening your relationship with them.

Reply to comments, respond to DMs, and engage with posts when followers create UGC that relates to your content. Going live on Instagram is another way to connect with your audience of followers in real-time, and encourages more possibilities of going viral.

8. Focus on Your Niche

Deciding upon a specific, focused niche for your content will help you attract a dedicated audience that engages consistently, and that can help build your account up to the point of virality. Identify your interests and strengths, such as travel, fashion, music, or fitness, and then create content, complete with relevant and popular hashtags that primarily focuses on your chosen niche.

9. Use Instagram’s Extras

Instagram offers a whole roster of pre-designed digital effects, filters, color adjustments, and stickers that allow creators to personalize and artistically edit their content. Experiment with these effects on your Instagram posts and Reels to help create a consistent, engaging aesthetic that aligns with your brand, highlights the visuals of your posts, and appeals to your audience - you're more likely to go viral if your posts look pro!

10. Collaborate! 

Collaborations with other creators, influencers, or brands can expose your content to a new audience and increase your visibility, increasing your odds of going viral. Find creators, influencers, or brands in a similar niche to yours who you’d enjoy working with, and approach them to collab on engaging, eye-catching content that will resonate with your shared audiences, and could make your posts go viral for both of you.

11. Post at Optimal Times

Use Instagram Insights to identify when your audience is most active, and experiment with changing up your posting times. Posting on Instagram at peak engagement times for your existing audience can improve the visibility of your content, and can allow you to reach more new viewers, as well.

12. Include CTAs

Include clear CTAs (calls to action) in your posts and hashtags to guide viewers on what to do next, like sharing, following, commenting, or participating in a challenge. Phrases like “follow me for more!” “watch now!” or “let me know your thoughts” are all ways to drive engagement and get your viewers to feel like they’re part of your content.

Keep on Going!

While the above methods can all increase your chances of going viral, success is not guaranteed - but you’ve got to keep creating and posting if you want a shot at that Instagram virality! Consistency, creativity, and patience are essential, as growth on Instagram most often requires time, effort, quality content - and a little good fortune.

You can improve your odds at Instagram virality by experimenting with different Instagram content formats like Instagram Reels and Stories, to find what resonates most with your followers and with potential new viewers.

Instagram’s target audience generally appreciates genuine, relatable content, so aim to be authentic if you want your posts to be shareable and have more chances to go viral; and as your account grows, consider investing in higher quality equipment like lighting or green screens to improve production value.

Tracking your methods using Instagram Insights is the final step in the puzzle of going viral on Instagram. Use Instagram Insights to track your metrics like reach, engagement, and follower demographics and identify your highest-performing posts - then adapt and improve your future content and hashtags accordingly.

Bring in Fourthwall to Help Reach Your Instagram Viral Goals!

Whether you’ve gone viral on Instagram or not, you’ve probably already started building your audience of followers and fans - so give them a great place to find more of your content!
Fourthwall offers content creators, musicians, influencers, artists, and businesses their own customized website and merch store, where you can display your Instagram feed to allow followers to easily access your socials while they’re checking out your Fourthwall page. You can also integrate your Fourthwall merch with Instagram Shopping, letting your Instagram viewers buy directly from your Instagram page. It’s the best of both worlds!

Add those features to Fourthwall’s custom page themes, fan memberships, custom mobile apps, DMs, and quality customizable merchandise that you can easily design right on-site, and you’ve got everything in place to take advantage once you finally do go viral. Get started on Fourthwall today!