17 Ways To Get More Instagram Story Views (2024 Guide)

Want to learn how to get more Story views on Instagram? You’re in the right place.

If your Instagram Stories aren’t consistently reaching at least 20% of your followers, then there’s room for improvement. 

In this blog post, I’ll share 17 ways to get more Instagram Story views using actionable, tried-and-tested strategies that are proven to work.

#1 – Use the ‘break strategy’ for a quick boost in the algorithm

The break strategy is a neat method for getting more views on your Instagram Stories that takes advantage of a powerful but little-known feature.

The idea is—if you usually post Stories every day—to stop posting them for a day or two.

Then, when you eventually do post one again, it gets a boost in the algorithm. Instagram should push it to the front of the queue so that more of your followers see it.

Plus, it’ll even send a notification to your followers to nudge them to check it out. The notification says something along the lines of ‘[account] added to their story for the first time in a while’.

Why does Instagram do this? 

Well, the feature is most likely there to incentivize users who are losing interest in Instagram to ‘come back’ to the platform, by rewarding them with a burst of engagement on their first Story after a period of inactivity. But smart creators can take advantage of this to beat the algorithm and get more views.

#2 – Publish Stories when your audience is paying attention

The time that you post your Stories has a huge impact on your views. Much more so than you might think.

You should always try to share your Stories when most of your followers are active on the app and likely to engage. That time will be different for every creator, as everyone’s audience is unique.

The easiest way to find your best time to post is to use an Instagram scheduling tool that can calculate it for you.

I’d recommend SocialBee. You can use it to plan, create, and schedule Instagram Stories (as well as other social media posts) well in advance. 

It’ll suggest the best time to post based on your historical data and auto-publish your scheduled Stories at that time (or whatever time/date you set). 

Bonus tip: SocialBee isn’t the only tool that can help you to grow on Instagram—there are lots more. See our roundup of the best Instagram tools for creators & marketers for ideas.

#3 – Add Instagram Story Stickers to boost engagement

The number one most important thing when it comes to getting views on your Instagram Stories is engagement.

It’s probably the biggest factor the algorithm takes into consideration when determining how to rank Stories. 

The more likes, replies, and interactions you get, the more you’ll nudge the algorithm to bump you up to the front of the queue. And the closer you are to the front of the queue, the more views you’ll get.

One of the best ways to boost engagement is to use Stickers. 

Stickers add interactive elements to your stories, like polls, ‘Add Yours’ requests, votes, games, etc., all of which encourage viewers to engage with the post.

Here’s a great example of this strategy in action from @Lego, who used a quiz sticker to gamify their Story and asked users to guess how many lego elements were used in the pictured life-size model. 

#4 – Ask a question to make your Stories more interactive

Aside from adding Stickers, another way to boost engagements (and as a result, views) is to ask your readers a question in your Stories. 

This could be something as simple as ‘How was your day?’ or ‘What do you think about [something]?’.

Every time someone replies to your Story with an answer, it sends a positive signal to the IG algorithm that encourages it to push it out to more people.

Here’s an example from @testKitchen, who asked their followers a simple but compelling question: Do you like your bacon crispy? And I’m willing to bet it got a ton of engagements.

#5 – Add your most important Stories to your Highlights

Instagram Stories disappear after a while. They only last for 24 hours, then they’re gone. That’s not a lot of time to rack up views.

However, you can get around that by adding your most important Stories to your Highlights. 

Highlights stay at the top of your feed until you remove them, giving them much more time to get views.

@TaylorSwift uses her Highlights to showcase Stories promoting all her albums and other projects.

#6 – Promote your Stories in your Feed & Bio

Most Instagram users will just scroll through the Stories that show up at the top of their feed, rather than actively seeking them out.

The problem with this is that your Story might not show up for everyone who follows you. So if they’re not looking for it, they won’t see it.

That’s why it’s worth manually telling your followers to check out your Stories. You can do this in your bio, as well as in the captions of Reels, Carousels, and regular posts that you share on your feed.

Just make sure you tell your followers why they should check your Stories too. For example, maybe you give away freebies or discount codes for your store. Or maybe you share some exclusive content they won’t want to miss.

Bonus tip: Speaking of your Instagram bio… did you know you can promote multiple links through your bio at once? All you need is one of these Instagram bio link tools. 

#7 – Add followers to your Close Friends list

Another factor the Instagram algorithm looks at when determining how to rank Stories is ‘Closeness’. 

In other words, your Stories are made more visible to followers who have closer relationships with you (like your friends and family).

You can take advantage of that by adding ‘important’ followers, like brand ambassadors or followers who often repost/share/interact with your Stories, to your Close Friends list, which you can access through your Instagram account settings. 

Once you’ve added them, they’ll see your Stories closer to the front of their feed, and they’ll be displayed with a bright green border that makes them stand out.

#8 – Run periodic giveaways in your Stories

Running giveaways in your Stories can be a great way to boost engagement. Plus, it gives followers a strong incentive to check your Stories out. Both of these things help to increase your views.

Here’s an example of a Story giveaway from @fernandstonecompany. The big bold text and hashtag sticker helps to grab attention, and the clear CTA encourages interaction.

You can also take things a step further and use a contest app like SweepWidget to grow your IG account. It’s super easy and has a bunch of supported entry methods specifically for Instagram like ‘like this post’, ‘follow my account’, ‘repost this’, etc.

#9 – Share exclusive content in your Stories

A lot of Instagram users make the mistake of only ever reposting their Reels and feed posts to their Stories.

The problem with this is that a lot of your followers will have already seen those posts. So when they show up again in their Stories, they’ll instantly swipe away. That sends a bad signal to the algorithm and can limit your reach and hurt your views in the long term.

So instead of reposting the same stuff you’ve already shared, focus on sharing exclusive content in your Stories. This gives your followers more of a reason to check them out as they’ll be missing out on something if they don’t.

#10 – Reply to all your replies to build connections

Every time someone replies to your Story, make sure you send a message back.

This helps to build a stronger connection between you and your audience and lets them know you value their engagement.

And crucially, it makes them more likely to reply again next time. That matters because, as I mentioned earlier, engagement is everything. The more replies you get, the more Instagram will push your Story out, which leads to more views.

#11 – Start each Story with a ‘hook’

Try starting out your Stories with a strong hook—something that reels (no pun intended) the viewer in and instantly gets their attention, so they don’t just swipe past.

An example of a good hook might be something like ‘You’ll never guess what happened to me today…’ or ‘Omg have you seen this?’. Anything that gets the viewer to stop in their tracks and take notice.

#12 – Set a schedule and post consistently

If your audience knows exactly when you’re going to post a Story each day/week, they’re more likely to remember to check it out. 

That’s why consistency is key. Set a posting schedule and stick to it. You could even let your followers know what kind of Stories you post on different days of the week in your bio.

For example, you might have ‘Funny Story Saturdays’, where you share a hilarious anecdote every Saturday evening. 

Or you might have ‘Competition Tuesdays’, where you share a giveaway in your Stories on a Tuesday morning. 

You get the idea.

#13 – Be careful not to post too many Stories 

Another mistake I see a lot of Instagram creators make is posting too many Stories.

Sometimes, less is more. If you post too frequently, you run the risk of your followers growing bored with your output and not engaging with them, which can limit your reach.

I’d suggest sticking to one to two Stories per day at most. Some creators can get away with more than that, but they’re few and far between.

Bonus tip: Statistics show that brands publish 10 Instagram Stories per month, on average. This may be a good sweet spot to aim for as it leaves space for break days (see strategy #1).

#14 – Purge your account of ‘ghost followers’

When you post a Story, Instagram will first show it to a small percentage of your followers.

It’ll use those followers as a kind of test audience. If it performs well with the test audience (by getting a lot of engagements), the algorithm will start showing it to more people. But if it flops, it won’t, and your views will suffer.

Now, here’s the thing: If that test audience is full of spam, bots, and inactive accounts, they’re not going to engage with it. And the algorithm will punish you for it.

That’s why it could be worth cleaning your account of those ‘ghost followers’ regularly. 

Warning: Just keep in mind that some creators have reported that removing followers had the reverse effect and negatively impacted their engagement, so proceed with caution. If you try this tactic, start small and check the results before you remove them en masse.

#15 – Make sure you grow your followers organically

For all the reasons I mentioned above, it’s also important to grow your followers organically.

A lot of creators boost their following artificially through shady tactics like ‘follow for follow’ or through buying followers. But the problem with this is that those followers aren’t going to engage with your Stories, which sends a bad signal to the algorithm and will limit your reach and views.

So, focus on building your following the right way—by consistently putting out great content that resonates with your target audience.

#16 – Make sure your Stories don’t violate Community Guidelines

Instagram has confirmed that they move Stories lower down the line if their systems predict they violate community guidelines or that other users are likely to report them.

They can even shadow-ban accounts that repeatedly post this type of content, which stops all of your Stories from getting the kind of reach they otherwise might deserve.

The upshot of this is clear: Make sure all your Stories and other posts abide by Community Guidelines. No exceptions.

#17 – Look at your analytics to see what’s working

One final tip is to keep a close eye on your Instagram analytics. Every month, take a look at how each of your Stories performed that month and try to pick out trends and insights that you can apply to your social media strategy going forward.

For example, you might find that a specific type of Story post always tends to get more views, or that posting Stories in the morning leads to better results than posting in the afternoon. You get the idea.

You can view basic analytics in Instagram Insights if you’ve already switched to an Instagram Business account or Creator account. Or for deeper Instagram story insights, check out these Instagram analytics tools.

Final thoughts

There you have it—17 ways to get more views on your Instagram Stories.

Remember that, unlike regular posts, Stories only reach users who already follow you on Instagram. 

So, another way to boost your Instagram Stories views is to simply get more Instagram followers. You can find out how many Instagram followers you need to make money here.

We’ve also got a bunch of other Instagram tips you might want to take a look at while you’re here. Also, check out these 21 creative Instagram Story ideas to beat the algorithm to inform your Instagram content strategy.