Instagram first introduced Reels in 2020 to compete with TikTok. While they haven’t unseated the king of short-form video, Reels have exploded in popularity. Today, more than 200 billion Reels are played every single day on Instagram.
Video posts on Instagram get 3x more engagement than static images, so this isn’t surprising.
But what if you’ve been creating Reels regularly and all of a sudden, your views nosedived? Maybe your Reels used to get tons of views and engagement but now, you struggle to reach even 100 views. What gives?
There are many reasons why your Reels stopped getting views. Here are the most likely reasons.
1. The Algorithm Has Changed
Instagram changes its algorithm all the time. If you’re not staying on top of these updates, your content may not get the same reach that it once did.
For years, Instagram made a huge push for video and Reels content. In 2023, they changed their stance and admitted to pushing “too many videos” on their users. Now, they want to focus more on images.
If your Reel views are down, it’s probably because Instagram just isn’t pushing them on users as much as they used to.
You may need to switch things up and start posting more of the second most-popular type of content on Instagram: carousels.
No matter your niche or industry, you can find creative ways to use carousels to boost engagement and offset your loss of Reel views.
2. Your Content Isn’t as Engaging or Relevant as it Used to Be
Every time you post a Reel, you’re competing with millions of other users for views. Back when Reels were still a new thing, it was easy to stand out in the crowd and get a lot of views for posting just about anything.
Today, you have to be more creative. You must add value. You need to give people a reason to watch your Reels.
If you’re not getting any views on your Reels, analyze your content.
- Is it relevant to your audience/followers?
- Is the video high-quality?
- Is the music on point?
- Are you telling an interesting story?
Look at your old Reels that received more views. How do they compare to your new Reels?
Learning how to analyze content and identify what’s working and not working will help you create Reels that the algorithm loves.
If you’re struggling to create better and more engaging content, try using Reels templates.
3. You’re Not Using Trending Audio🔊
Every part of your Reel will affect its reach and rankings, from the content itself to your caption and even the audio.
If you’re not using the right audio, your views may decline.
Using trending audio will make it easier for your Reels to get found on Instagram. And it will also help make your content more favorable to the algorithm.
So, if you’ve just been picking any audio for your Reels, it’s time to change your habit and start using trending music.
4. People Aren’t Watching👀Old Reels All the Way Through
There are so many factors that go into ranking a Reel. One of those factors is view length. Are people viewing your Reels all the way through? If not, then Instagram may stop favoring your content.
How do you get people to watch your Reels until the end? Make sure that you have a hook and are creating content that entices people to keep watching.
5. You Don’t Have a Hook
Creating content for fun is what every creator assumes will work for them. You might be the lucky person who naturally uses hooks and posts Reels that keep people hooked from start to finish.
But 99% of creators will need to edit their Reels and be sure that they have hooks built into their content to keep people on the edge of their seats the entire video.
What is a hook? Hooks are:
- Attention-grabbing elements at the start of the video to keep people watching.
- Sounds, captions and actions that people will use as a reason to watch the entire video.
You’ll see many creators show the end result of something and then explain how they reached this goal. Imagine this for a minute. You open a Reel and see someone fiddling with a car, and it looks like he’s putting gas in it. Boring, right? You’ll likely click off of the Reel.
Now, imagine if the video started with the car on fire and the person running to get a fire extinguisher.
You would be hooked in.
- What happened?
- How did the car catch fire?
- Is the person okay?
Hooks entice people to continue watching your Reels, but you need to dedicate a lot of time to them. Spend time creating a hook you would want to watch and know your audience does, too.
And once the audience is hooked, they’re far more likely to watch your Reel from start to finish.
Your Reels are Too Long🎞️
Are you known for posting long Reels? Your audience’s attention span may be short, and if you go from short to long Reels, your followers may not want to view it. Long content requires more attention-to-detail, such as:
- Hooks that keep the viewer’s attention, especially during the initial 3 – 4 seconds.
- Creating Reels within our recommended 7 – 15 second range.
Millions of Reels are watched every single hour, so you have a lot of competition. Creating the perfect Reel is truly an audience-specific thing. If your audience is filled with business-minded people, they may watch a 30 – 90 second Reel.
However, if you offer fast 10-second tips, your audience is watching on the premise that your tips are short.
Experiment with your Reels and use Insights to analyze your most watched Reels. The Reels with the most views are filled with great insights, such as:
- Ideal length for your audience
- Preferred format
- Content focus
If you’re just starting your account and don’t have many Reels that you can analyze to see what works and doesn’t, you need to put your content creation into overdrive. Once you have 10 – 20 posts, you’ll start learning how short your Reels need to be to maximize reach.
You’re Using the Wrong Hashtags
Hashtags help you get found, even in 2024. You’ll hear a lot of conflicting information on hashtags and if they work for Reels or not. Reddit users had an entire debate on using hashtags, and the census is that:
- Hashtags don’t matter as much for Reels as in the past
- Hashtags are still useful and should be added to your Reels
Instagram’s algorithm is always working behind the scenes to try and determine how to categorize your content. If you add hashtags to your Reels, it’s one extra nudge to the algorithm that says, “Hey, this is what my Reel is about.”
What I’m seeing work for a lot of Instagram influencers and accounts are:
- Adding 3 – 5 hashtags at most
- Overloading with 20 – 30 hashtags is less valuable
You should take the less is more approach with hashtags, meaning that you’ll get more value out of just a handful of tags than if you add too many. What we recommend is that you use tags that are most relevant to your Reel.
Why?
Instagram’s algorithm will monitor your Reel’s reach and engagement. If you attract a bunch of views from a non-relevant hashtag, it’s likely to cause people to tap off of the content faster. If Instagram doesn’t see the right signals from viewers on the Reel, there’s a good chance your reach will begin to decline.
Remember that Instagram wants to promote the best content, so match your hashtags to your Reel to increase the odds of sending the platform the right signals.
Not sure which hashtags to begin using?
Click here to try our FREE Instagram hashtag generator.
You’re Posting at the Wrong Time🕐
You don’t have control over the followers your account gets – it’s organic. For example, your account may have 10,000 followers and then you went viral in India, and now 60% of your follower base if from India.
But you’re from the US and post at 11:45 EST each afternoon, right before people go to lunch.
The problem?
It’s 10:15 PM in India and your main follower base is less likely to be online. Your engagement drops, and your Reels stop getting views. What should you do?
Choose the best times to post for your demographic. Studies show that people are very likely to view posts when:
- It’s before work at 6am – 9am
- During lunch 12pm – 2pm
- After work 5pm – 6pm
Armed with this knowledge, you’ll want to post for people in India. You’ll need to adjust the time for your local time zone so that it’s as accurate as possible.
If you’re still not getting the engagement that you like, don’t be afraid to look at your Instagram Insights to monitor your most popular Reels. Experiment with posting to learn what works for your audience and make a calendar in Excel or Google Sheets.
Tracking your posts and using your own data will help you start making sense of your audience’s behavior and what they prefer.
Why aren’t your Reels getting the views that they did in the past?
Unfortunately, we don’t have a 100% accurate answer that will work for every account. If you follow the advice above, we’re confident that you’ll pinpoint the issue that you’re having and be able to increase your views and engagement.
