How to Create Viral Content on Instagram

While it may not be quite as popular as Facebook, Instagram has a brand engagement rate that’s 58% higher. It’s not surprising that brands of all types are moving to Instagram,ompeting hard for their share of the social media pie. There are certainly opportunities to be had, as long as you don’t get lost in the shuffle. Unfortunately, getting lost is all too easy to do.

Like any other platform, creating great content is key to gaining traction. Here are a few ways to the kind of Instagram content that earns the engagement your brand needs.

Analyze Your Competition, Then do Better

Please take advantage of your competitors’ research, successes, and failures. Use competitive analysis to identify the posts that are getting the most engagement, those that aren’t, and the potential audiences that you aren’t targeting but should be.

The idea here isn’t to copy. It’s to take your competitors’ successes and then improve on them. Add your own spin, approach things from a different angle, or find a way to up the ante.

Know Your Audience

It doesn’t help to create content that goes viral. It helps to create content that goes viral for your target audience. Suppose you haven’t created solid customer personas; you should. If you have, it may be time to revisit them.

Simply put, follow your followers. Then, follow the people you want to be your followers. Learn from their feeds. What kind of content are they sharing or otherwise engaging with? What are their interests? What brands are they following, and what are those brands putting out there?

Jared Douglas, social media manager at WowGrade.com, says, “A viral post that touches the right audience can work digital marketing magic. Creating content that resonates with your target audience drives high-quality traffic deeper into your sales funnel.”

Keep up With Trending Content, Then Make it Relevant to Your Audience.

If you can take a trending topic, meme, or event and tie it into your brand, you have a solid formula for a viral Instagram post. Use headline aggregators and follow trending stories on Instagram and other social platforms so that you always know what is current. You can also set google alerts using keywords relevant to your brand. This will send the latest news right to your inbox.

Just remember that relevance is critical. Audiences know when you’re trying too hard to shoehorn a connection between your brand and a trending story. If it isn’t a good fit, your efforts could seem more than a little flat-footed and awkward.

Maintain Your Unique Voice And Perspective 

Yes, Instagram tends to attract a younger audience than other platforms. Yes, it is popular among the hip and fashion-forward. These facts are further emphasized in many articles written on Instagram marketing. Pictures of bikini-clad models on beaches and hipster travel bloggers tend to dominate the content around this platform. Remember that none of this means your brand has to change its voice to succeed on Instagram.

Instead, make the platform work for you. Don’t abandon your branding and persona to create fleeting Instagram appeal. Instead, focus on creating content that genuinely reflects your branding while maximizing what makes Instagram a unique platform. 

Production Values Matter

Instagram is a decidedly visual platform. If you haven’t developed the expertise you need to create high-quality photos, visuals, and collages, now are the time to develop those skills. If your audience isn’t thinking, ‘that looks amazing’ when they see your content, they will engage with other brands that impress them. Invest in the tools, equipment, and training required to create stunning visual content.

Of course, words are also important. Your captions play a significant role in capturing audience attention and earning viral engagement. It may be worthwhile to use a professional copywriting service like ProEssayService.com to ensure your captions are catchy and optimized for SEO.

Consider Paid Promotion 

You may not be able to make content go viral, but you may be able to access someone who can. For example, an industry influencer, local celebrity, or brand ambassador may have an Instagram following that exceeds your own. Many brands invest in paid Instagram promotion to get their products connected with personalities who specialize in making content go viral.

Keep in mind that more than other platforms, Instagram users are willing to engage with promotional content. 65% of the top-performing posts involve products.

Use Analytics to Track Success And Failure

It can take time to find your content sweet spot on Instagram. Fortunately, analytics can help. Use the information you gather to identify the posts trending towards viral and those that aren’t. You should be able to identify some things that your audience likes. Use that information to continue improving your content until going viral comes naturally.

Conclusion: Connect With Influencers

Instagram’s success is primarily driven by influence. Connecting with influencers on this platform is key to viral content. To be clear, an influencer doesn’t need to be a celebrity. 30% of people are more likely to engage with a post promoting your brand from an influencer who isn’t a celebrity. Instagram users care about who is following you as much as they care about your posts.

Not only that but connecting with the right influencers can significantly increase your audience share. This, of course, makes it significantly easier for your content to go viral.

Author’s BIO:

Linda is a professional writer, and she loves to help students. She has spent most of her career in the writing industry, gaining experience in editing and writing. Currently, Linda is a blogger at Studyton.com. Linda also enjoys reading books and traveling.