Listen to How I 5x’d my instagram story views on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts
One of my most frequently asked questions when it comes to Instagram is how to increase story views. I am always telling you to sell and share offers on your stories and you’re wondering how to sell when you have low story views! In today’s episode I’ll dive into five tips that helped me grow from 2,000 average story views to 11,000 average story views.
In today’s episode, How I 5x’d my instagram story views, I’ll cover:
- What average views are based on following size
- How and when to implement stories using interactive features
- How to use Call to Action statements to drive traffic to your stories
- How to best utilize your “Start Here” highlight to keep followers viewing your stories
- Why getting people to add you to their “favorites” feed so your content ranks higher in their home feed is important
- How to use Call to Action statements such as “DM me for xyz” is a game changer in gaining more story views
One of my most frequently asked questions when it comes to instagram is how to increase story views and I get why because here I am saying sell on stories, share your offer on stories and some of you are like ummm 5 people watch my stories sooooo how am I supposed to sell?
And I get it. I really do – I’m gonna get real and raw with ya here (do I even need to say that anymore?? Cuz you already know every episode I’m gonna get real and raw haha) but anyways, my average story views are low. Like I want you to guess what my story views are right now, before I just told you that they’re low, what number did you have in mind? My guess – it’s a lot higher than what my actual average is….
My average before I started implementing the big tip I’m going to share was 2k views
I want to break down some industry story view reach rate averages based on following size before I jump into my tips for boosting story views because I think it’s really insightful and helpful to know what’s a baseline for your account size:
0-5000 followers = 7.45%
5000-10,000 followers = 5.07%
10,000-50,000 followers = 4.40%
50,000-100,000 followers = 2.5%
200,000+ = .9%
so the smaller followings have a larger story reach than larger followers based on following size
okay now for the good stuff that you came for. i’m going to start out with 4 tips to boost story views that are all helpful but the 5th tip is the golden nugget so keep listening
1
-let your stories expire for 24 hours and then come back and post 2-3 stories with interactive features (question box, quiz, etc). This is a hack so it doesn’t work all the time and the more frequently you do it the less it’ll work. I recommend no more than 4x a month
2
-your posts CTA to drive traffic to your stories. Instead of having the CTA on your reel say “tap the link in my bio” say something like “see 4 additional tips on xyz in my stories”
3
-have your start here highlight mention what people can find in your stories and what they’ll miss out on if they don’t tune in
4
-get people to add you to their favorites feed because your content will show up higher and rank higher in their home feed which is the feed that people see when they enter the instagram app anything that ranks higher means it’s more likely to get interacted with. This applies to stories too
Okay now for 5 and my best tip:
By using the technique im about to share my story views went from 2k to 11.5k and I’d share the screenshots with ya for proof butt it’s a podcast so you’re just gonna have to trust me on this one
The technique:
Use the CTA that says “DM me __ and I’ll send you ___” or “hit reply and say __ and I’ll DM you ___” on stories and have an automation set up to deliver the message. I use ManyChat for all my automations on instagram and I’ll leave a link below that will get you a month of the pro account free but note that ManyChat is also free to use so you can start on a free account, no subscription
Now with this technique I want to note that you don’t have to have people DM you for a link — get creative with what you can share with people instead of a link
Why it works:
Instagram loves when something you’ve posted creates conversation in the DMs whether that be a feed post or stories so the more conversation you can create the higher your content will rank and the more story views you will get
How to implement it:
Step 1: the first story will be having viewers DM you for a link — this link could be to an offer but I recommend leading them to your email list with a freebie that they can download so they are getting something for free in return for DMing you a certain word vs having to buy something. That being said, you can 100% send people to an offer if you have people frequently respond to that type of CTA on your feed content.
Note: this story doesn’t have to be posted after your other stories have expired or at a certain time during the day. Just post it whenever is convenient
Step 2: Post a few (3-5 stories) after the story from step 3. These don’t have to be anything specific, just what you’d regularly be sharing on stories that day
Step 3: Post a story where people can DM you a certain word to get additional free value. Maybe you share 3 tips on the story and then people can DM you for an additional 2 tips. Maybe you share a list of 5 resources and people can DM you for 10 more resources. Maybe you share a breakdown of 2 tools you love and people can DM you for the comprehensive list of tools you use.
Get creative here and really think about information or additional things your audience would want so they’ll
DM you the word to get it.
This also doesn’t have to be niche specific — maybe you’re a fitness coach for postpartum moms and you share about your favorite books because you share about it often and people ask you what you recommend OR maybe you’ve compiled a list of blog posts on a certain topic that you can share as a resource for people OR maybe you can share a list of things you wish you had known when you became a mom
And that’s it!! Now two questions I want to touch on
1- do you have to do this on your stories everyday? Nope but I would recommend it 1-2x a week to help boost views and what you’ll see is there is a residual effect over time. So the more you do it and boost views the more people still start watching your stories even when you’re not doing the automation because your story bubble will rank higher on their story feed
2- do you have to do two different automations in stories for this to work? I’ve found that views grow the most when you have two but you can definitely do it with only 1 as well. The biggest thing is making sure that whatever you’re sharing will get people to want to hit reply on the story and DM you
Disclaimer: you won’t see an increase in story views if whatever you’ve posted on stories doesn’t get people to DM you. This only works if people DM you and if the number of people DMing you is a good amount. Like if you have 2k story views you need around a hundred or more people to DM you for this to work so you need to find things that people really want to DM you about and that might not always be receiving a link
Before I close off this episode I just want to say that your story views don’t dictate your sales or your success. I’ve had pretty low story views, if we’re talking in relation to my following size, pretty much since I started my business with the exception of the last month since I’ve been implementing the tip I shared, and I’ve been able to amass a large amount of sales (like 80% of my sales) from my stories. My point? Stop using low story views as an excuse to not sell consistently or at all.
Resources & Links:
- Stories that Sell
- Manychat
- IG University
- Kajabi 30 day free trial + 20 free story templates
- Around the Clock Masterclass
- List Building 101
- 100 Hook Ideas – FREE GUIDE
Connect with Mya:
- Follow on Instagram @myanichol
- Join my email list
Related Episodes:
- Episode 14: Learning Instagram part 1: the algorithm
- Episode 44: How to grow your IG in only 30 minutes a day in 2024
- Episode 46: Selling on Instagram stories – 10 in-depth ideas
Some of the links mentioned are affiliate links, which helps to support this podcast at no additional cost to you.
More about the Radical Disruption podcast:
Are you wanting to make waves in your industry, push the envelope, and change the Bu way things are done in a radical way? Are you looking for tangible, tactical, and actionable steps that will help you build a sustainable business that stands out? You’re in the right place!
Radical Disruption is home to the disrupters. Here you’ll learn how to take your business to the next level, break the status quo, and build a disruptive business.
Nursing student turned business and social media expert, host Mya Nichol (hey that’s me!) shares the real and raw of the crazy journey of entrepreneurship and building a multi-six figure business.
Through solo episodes and special guest interviews, you can expect honest conversations around throwing out the traditional way of business, scaling in a sustainable way, and becoming the go to expert in your industry. It’s time to build a disruptive business. See you on Tuesdays!
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