Hey, creators! It’s 2024, and if you’re looking to how to go viral on Instagram Reels are where it’s at. Instagram’s CEO Adam Mosseri just dropped a Reel, making it clear: short-form video is king!
But with everyone and their dog claiming to have the secret to how to go viral on Instagram reels, it’s hard to know who to trust. Some ‘experts’ push unique ideas that supposedly worked for them, while others swear by the latest trends and music. There are algo experts, AI enthusiasts, and those ‘master creators’ trying to sell you an e-book full of low-quality advice.
How to Go Viral on Instagram
Enter the 3-8-12 rule
Let’s cut through the noise. Meet the 3-8-12 rule—a game-changing formula for how to create viral Instagram reels that maximizes your chances to go viral on Instagram Reels, based on the psychology of human engagement.
Details:
- Created by: Gautam Goswami, CEO of Popshoplive, in July 2024.
- Purpose: To create viral short-form shoppable videos content that can sell live products.
- Concept: After studying thousands of commercial viral videos and overlaying inferences from multiple research papers on human psychology, Gautam developed this formula to maximize engagement for commercial reels!
The Breakdown
The 3-8-12 rule divides your Reel into three segments, each designed to break down engagement barriers deeply rooted in human psychology:
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- The Hook (2.5 to 3.5 seconds) To capture attention and create conscious engagement
- The Draw (4.5 to 5.5 seconds) To deepens interest and drive cognitive investment
- The Pitch (3.5-5.5 seconds) To deliver on expectations and drive psychological commitment – which opens the doors for commercial transactions
While the rule focuses on the first 12 seconds, it sets the stage for engaging viewers for up to a minute, allowing you to sell items and services without losing viewer interest!
Segment 1: The Hook
The hook is where you stop the scroll. Here’s how to make powerful Instagram hooks for reels:
Visual Impact
Easy ways to create visual impact
- A text label with icons, placed on the first 2 seconds of the video
- Accentuated motion of some sort like falling, throwing, hitting, crashing, breaking, splashing etc.
Excitement!
Trigger a base human response
Add Excitement to your Visual Impact by sprinkling in one or more of these:
- Controversy
- Titillation
- Shock
- Fear
- Thirst Trap
- Humor
Remember: The hook is crucial but only impacts about 25% of your commercially focused contents chances to how to go viral on Instagram reels. Commercial reels need to be at least 30 seconds long to explain and ‘sell’ a value proposition, hence a great hook is nearly not enough to get wide distribution.
3-8-12 'Hook' Examples
Segment 2: The Draw
The draw is your secret weapon to how to go viral on Instagram reels. It takes your audience past 8 seconds and opens the door to major reach.
How to craft a powerful draw?
Add Suspense
In place of immediately delivering on your Instagram hook for reels, spin up suspense by building a back story or adding an element of suspense of what comes next.
Build Anticipation
The art here is to make sure that there is a feeling of ‘immediate gratification’ if the viewer waits just a bit longer.
Segmentation/Personalization
If you are selling something, you know who the real audience for that item is. Use these 5 seconds to segment your audience by likening yourself to your target audience.
Vulnerability
One of the coolest tricks used by top creators is to make sure they add some ‘unscripted’ – vulnerable moments in the draw.
3-8-12 'Draw' Examples
8 seconds is commonly agreed as a built in ‘cognitive investment barrier’ in human psychology. our brain shifts from initial scanning to deeper processing and engagement at 8 seconds. Watching engaging content stimulates the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward, pushing us to watch more of it!
Pro Tip: Some creators cut off their videos right before 8 seconds to drive repeat views. The idea is to build anticipation, then leave people hanging to make them watch it again in the hope of something more.
This tactic generates 3x to 4x views but from a much lower number of individuals as most of the views are repeats.
However, without a 3rd Segment - The Pitch, a Reel has very little commercial value
Without extending beyond 8 seconds, a reel simply does not have enough time to deliver a strong, purpose-driven message or a compelling commercial offer.
Are you wondering… Why shouldn't you just deliver the Pitch right after the Hook? Well, the human brain has a strong bias against commercial pitches, and if you start selling before they are committed, your chances of losing them immediately quadruples!
Segment 3: The Pitch
Now, it’s time to deliver your commercial message. But your first goal here? Keep them watching past 12 seconds, a key factor in learning how to make Instagram reels viral.
Start with the Punchline
Don’t save your ‘mind-blowing offer’ for the end. Start with the offer to give viewers a reason to stay and listen. For example, say, “This is 30% off today!” or “I just got this back in stock.” The first 4 seconds of your pitch should almost act as a ‘secondary hook’!
Keep It Going at 12 Seconds
Make sure you are not finishing a sentence, looking away, or pausing at the 11 or 12-second mark. Plan your script so you are mid-sentence, about to deliver a crucial bit of information (e.g. Price) or at a crucial moment in your product demonstration when you hit the 12-second mark of your video.
3-8-12 Rule 'Complete Videos'
Why 3-8-12 Works
Creates Significant Psychological Commitment: Once viewers have invested 12 seconds into a video, they have now passed the human average attention span for all things visual and they are very likely to continue watching further. This significant time investment creates a psychological commitment to see it through to the end.
Delivers High Level of Viewer Satisfaction: Viewers watching a video for 12 seconds – when they could have just moved on with a flick of their finger, have experienced a very high level of satisfaction from the content. Satisfied viewers are more likely to share the content, comment, or engage further, amplifying the video’s reach and impact. Again Instagram head Adam Mosseri’s recent Reel clearly mentions ‘shares’ as one of the most important engagement factors Instagram is looking for in content.
Aligns with Core Principles of Social Media Algorithms: Social media algorithms, such as those used by Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, favor videos with higher engagement and satisfaction rates. Videos that retain viewers for 12 seconds on avg are considered ‘cream of the crop’ again because they have crossed the higher bar of average human engagement limits. These videos are promoted by all social algorithms to serve their own primary purpose – maximize time spent on the platform by all users. Content being watched beyond 12 seconds has maximum chances for how to go viral on Instagram, TikTok live selling platforms and all social channels.
Following the 3-8-12 rule sets you up for massive reach and serious commercial impact. Expect to gain followers and build a real business around your Instagram presence if you are able to execute this rule in your productions!
The 3-8-12 rule is backed by the analysis of over 1,500 viral videos across social media channels. For more tips on how to make Instagram reels viral, using this rule, keep following our blog series at the Popshoplive Creator Academy.
To learn more about how to best utilize this rule in scripting and production processes and how to create Instagram reels, please continue to follow our blog series at the Popshoplive Creator Academy.
Now that you know how to create the best and most engaging reels for Instagram it’s time to learn the next half of the equation.
These other aspects are equally important and valuable for you if you want to keep creating high value Instagram reels.
In this section we will discuss the following:
Understanding target audience and how to research about it
Analysis and performance of your reels
Understanding your niche’s trends
What is cross platform promotion and how you can do it
Understanding target audience and how to research about it
To target an audience that is not looking for your product/services will surely backfire in the longer run. That is why you have to research your audience.
What do I need to understand?
The niche audience that you cater with your products/services should match with the audience you attract through your reels. To know if that is happening or not start analyzing ‘Instagram App Insights’
Instagram has sections on the app that gives data on
- Account engagement
- Account reach
- Demographics
Pro Tip - Ask questions to your existing followers to increase engagement. This is a win-win strategy as it tells you how many active followers you have and what they like. Now you can tailor your reel content strategy and get more engagement.
Once you are sure you are targeting and attracting ‘your’ tribe and they are liking the reels that you are creating, it’s time to ‘analyze the reel performance.’
Analysis and performance of your reels
Since the introduction of reels on Instagram we are seeing new analysis features getting added for the users. Without analyzing how your reels are being taken by the audience it is an uphill battle to go viral on Instagram reels.
To see and measure the performance of your reels visit ‘reels insight’ available on the reel itself or by choosing Insights from ‘settings and privacy’.
In this section you will get
- An overview of the performance like how many accounts your reel reached and was there any profile activity.
- You will get detailed data on the reach of your reel. Like what percentage of followers/non-followers watched your reel.
- Here you will be able to find how many times was it replayed and what is the watch time?
- One of the best features in this section is it also shows you your Facebook plays of the same reel. That way you can see if the reel is performing better on which platform.
When you have this highly specific data which you can access within the app it gets easier to keep a track of the audience’s interests.
Pro Tip - Using average watch time you can strategize how to implement the 3-8-12 rule to increase views, engagement and conversion.
Okay, now you know your reel target audience and you are analyzing the performance regularly but you still see a gap where there can be improvements. You are right. There are two gaps infact. One being not captilazing on hot trends and the other not promoting your reels on other socials like Twitter/ Tik Tok.
Understanding your niche’s trends
If you are asking how to go viral on Instagram reels without keeping a tab on trends then we can’t be friends!
But how do I find Instagram reel trends?
You have to search for relevant hashtags in the Instgram search bar and look in the reel section it will show you the reels with maximum plays with teh count. Now make a note of the ones that are relevant for you and create reels surrounding them.
The biggest benefit of creating reels on trending reels is that it makes your brand relatable and reaches new audiences at the same time.
One other way is to spy on your competitor’s profile. See what’s cookin’ there and create reels based on that. Make sure the value proposition in your reels should be specific and high.
What is cross platform promotion and how you can do it
Cross platform promotion is a highly beneficial social media strategy and we insist you follow it relentlessly.
Benefits of cross platform promotion
- Reaching new audiences on various platforms without having to create new content.
- Increasing engagement and in time credibility of your brand/services.
- Getting performance analysis data that can help you create more relevant ‘high value’ reels for a larger audience.
- Cross platform promotion also helps you save time and increases your followers.
How can I do cross platform promotion
Step 1 Choose the platforms that you want to promote your content on.
Let’s say you chose Instagram + Facebook + YouTube Shorts + Pinterest.
Step 2 Now customize the content according to the tonality and audience specific to each content. This doesn’t mean create the whole reel again but you definitely work on captions/ hashtags to make it relevant to each platform.
Step 3 Find a service that can act as your cross platform hub and help you post all in one go.
Pro Tip - You can tailor the reels for YouTube Shorts/ Tik Tok using the 3-8-12 rule that way you can captilize on the content in an efficient manner.
This is the whole equation but what to do if you are still facing some challenges. Fear not, we have listed the 5 most common challenges in the next section.
5 Most Common Challenges That are Stopping You to Viral On Instagram Reels
Challenge 1 – The engagement on your reels is still low.
Solution – Take a deep dive into Instagram analytics. Go reel by reel and find what is not working. The analytics are a gold mine for creators and we advise you to be frequent with it. Data driven decisions will help you create a reel with longer lives and better engagement.
Challenge 2 – You have a creator’s block.
Solution – It’s okay if this happens. Creative minds at times just hit the snooze button. But there is a way out of this. Expose yourself to creative videos from other creators and fellow brand owners. Go and find what’s new happening in your industry. One more amazing trick to use this downtime is to repurpose if you have any long form video content or podcasts.
Challenge 3 – You are getting the views but no tangible effects
Solution – Use better call to action for each of your reels. CTA changes depending on the type of content. Whether it’s growth reel content or conversion reel content your CTA will have to adapt. Let’s say you want to create awareness of a new product launch. Make sure to add CTA like – Be the first to know/ Save this reel for later/Click to know more. The CTA has to provide the audience with the next steps so that they can follow them.
Challenge 4 – Your Instagram reels are not getting a new audience.
Solution – This is majorly a visibility issue. For anyone searching answers for how to go viral on Instagram reels this can become a major roadblock. Here you need to find the hashtags that are specific to your audience/niche/industry. Adding hashtags that perform well in your segment will definitely increase the visibitilty of your reels.
Challenge 5 – Your views have a low average watch time
Solution – This can be solved using the 3-8-12 rule. It discusses how to create a hook → draw attention → pitch.
Challenge | Solution |
Low engagement on reels | Deep dive into Instagram analytics, analyze reel by reel to identify what’s not working, and use data-driven insights to create reels with better engagement. |
Creator’s block | Expose yourself to creative videos from other creators, explore industry trends, and repurpose existing long-form content or podcasts. |
Views but no tangible effects | Use better and relevant call-to-action (CTA) in reels, guiding the audience on the next steps. |
Reels not reaching a new audience | Find and use hashtags that are specific to your audience/niche/industry to increase reel visibility. |
Low average watch time on views | Apply the 3-8-12 rule to create a hook, draw attention, and deliver a compelling pitch, keeping viewers engaged for longer durations. |
Some of the research behind this blog:
Potter, M. C., & Levy, E. I. (1969). Recognition memory for a rapid sequence of pictures. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 81(1), 10-15. This study indicates that the brain can recognize and process images in as little as 13 milliseconds.
Medina, J. (2014). Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School. Medina explains that vision is by far our most dominant sense, taking up half of our brain’s resources, and that visuals are more easily remembered than text.
A 2015 study by Microsoft Canada found that the average human attention span had dropped from 12 seconds in 2000 to 8 seconds in 2013, which is often attributed to the digital lifestyle.
