Optimizing Your Instagram Visibility: Working with Instagram Views

Is your employer branding content getting enough Instagram views?

Your employer brand awareness can only grow if people see and consume your content and employer brand messages.

Instagram boss Adam Mosseri recently announced the rise of Instagram Views as the most important Instagram metric to prioritize over engagement, followers and even reach.

What are Instagram views, and how do you get them? Let’s take a look.

Blog header for Working with Instagram Views with image of growing views via mobile app

What Are Instagram Views?

Instagram views are an evolved version of plays calculating now also ‘the playtime’ of Stories and images, not just Reels.

Instagram views are the number of times Instagram users, including your followers and non-followers, have seen your content. Views record the total exposure to your content, from looking at an image to watching through a Reel.

When the former ‘views’, known as plays, only calculated views on Reels, this more evolved metric calculates the exposure to all the content types on Instagram, including Stories.

To locate specific Reel views, go to the Reel in question and tap ‘View Insights’ underneath the video view. The same should apply to other content types. Unfortunately, I cannot confirm that because this hasn’t yet changed on my account. Mosseri has said that these changes will take place throughout this fall.

Watch Mosseri’s video on the topic here >

What is the Difference Between Instagram Views and Instagram Reach?

Views are different to reach, that’s right. The same person can view the same piece of content multiple times, but it only reaches that one person. So, one reach can mean numerous opportunities to view the same content. This also differs from impressions, which calculate how often the post was shown to a user on their feed.

Instagram Insights is Our Tool to Understand How To Get More Instagram Views

Tracking our growth performance on Instagram is vital for strategic employer branding and delivering an attempted return on the employer brand investment (ROI). Insights are the tools we use for ourselves and our clients to learn what works and what doesn’t in published content.

If you are not regularly checking and analyzing the performance of your employer brand content on Instagram, you must start now.

Go here to learn more about Instagram Insights

Posting Content Your Audience Wants to See is Key to Getting More Instagram Views

Why does it matter how many people view our employer brand marketing content?

Well, the answer is short and sweet: Your employer brand awareness can only grow if people see and consume your content and employer brand messages.

The more users see your content, the more the Instagram algorithm will push it to new viewers, like those who liked it. This will help you get your employer brand in front of your potential audience’s eyes.

But only if you create and publish employer brand content (e.g., culture, and employee experiences) that resonates with your ideal talent target audience.

I can tell you it is unlikely to be the content your company promotes to your customers.

What if Your Instagram Views are Low?

The growing number of views on your employer awareness content is vital as it correlates with your employer brand awareness.

If your insight shows low views on your employer brand content, you must change your content plan. What you are posting now is not attractive to your audience.

Your target audience cannot become aware of your company nor choose you as their preferred employer and workplace if they cannot learn about your company as a place to work. They can’t learn about you if the algorithm never shows your content on their feeds. It will only push your content to the feeds if it meets the typical Instagram user’s preferences.

We already know that typical corporate promotional content is not preferred on Instagram. The algorithm also favors Reels the most. So, stop posting promotional content and opt for Reels.

Get more Instagram Views by Applying These Quick Tips

  1. Create trend-based content – People want to be entertained, laugh and enjoy the content they see. Adam Mosseri has said that the highest-performing content is content people want to send to their friends. That’s humorous, entertaining or relatable.
  2. Focus on Reels – Short videos optimized for people who don’t know anything about you are the best awareness content. In employer branding, you want to introduce your culture and business through the lenses of your employees first. Make the videos about 8 seconds long and add trending audio for more exposure.
  3. Use hashtags – Instagram Coach Rachel Pedersen applies a 3×3 formula for hashtags on social media. Select three hashtags matching these three themes: 1) What this post is about (topic). 2) Who this post is for (target audience), and 3) Who you are and what you offer to your target audience (your role and offering).
  4. Post more – The more people have the opportunity to see your content, the more views your content can get. Simple as that.
  5. Explore collaboration posts with employees or other employers or business influencers – Collaborative posts mean you can multiply the potential audience size to whom the content may be shown.
  6. Consistency is the King – Be consistent with your topics of choice, your tone and visual expression on Instagram. This will help the algorithm learn who your content is ideal for. When someone sees one of your posts, loves it and checks out your profile, they are likely to view other posts, too. Especially if your profile has a coherent vibe to what attracted them to your content the first time.
  7. Engage your audience — Use Stickers on Stories and polls on Posts, and respond actively to post comments and direct messages (DMs). Relationships build trust and grow interest to engage more with your content. If your content is good, your audience comes back for more. That’s more views.

Ideas for the seven tips came from Later.com blog

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