The purpose of this article is to teach you how to get started with Instagram video marketing and video creation in general.
Instagram video marketing has evolved dramatically, with Reels, Stories, Live videos, and AI-powered recommendations now driving the majority of engagement on the platform.
It’s no secret that the demand for video content on Instagram is huge.
Instagram continues to prioritize video content in its algorithm, especially short-form vertical videos like Reels, which are now one of the platform’s primary discovery tools.
And from a marketing standpoint, 53% of marketers see Instagram videos as crucial to their strategies.
Recent social media reports show that video generates significantly higher reach and engagement compared to static posts across most industries.
But despite these amazing statistics businesses struggle to get more video views.
Fortunately, there are proven, data-backed strategies you can use today to increase your Instagram video visibility and engagement.
Let’s have a look at them:
1. Use Relevant and Searchable Hashtags
Instagram relies heavily on hashtags, and the type of hashtags you add to your videos can directly influence discoverability.
Hashtags now work alongside Instagram’s keyword search, meaning you should combine hashtags with relevant keywords in your captions.
Attaching relevant hashtags to your videos can help motivate users to discover and watch your content.
2. Optimize Your Video Captions and Descriptions
Descriptions play a major role in influencing video views.
Here are proven ways to optimize captions:
Capture attention within the first sentence, as Instagram truncates longer captions behind a “See More” button.
Write captions that spark curiosity or encourage engagement.
Use line breaks to improve readability.
Include relevant hashtags.
Tag influencers, collaborators, or featured users when relevant.
Encourage interaction by asking questions or prompting users to comment, save, or share the video.
3. Post Videos at Strategic Times
Although Instagram’s algorithm is no longer purely chronological, posting at optimal times still improves performance.
Most engagement happens shortly after a video is posted.
Instagram Insights now provides detailed analytics that show when your audience is most active.
Peak times vary depending on your audience demographics and industry.
Testing similar content at different posting times can help identify engagement patterns.
Most engagements on Instagram content happen right after its posted, so knowing the best time to post on Instagram will help increase your views.
4. Use Instagram Video Ads Strategically
Instagram video ads are a powerful way to increase reach quickly.
Meta Ads Manager allows advanced targeting based on interests, behaviors, and engagement history.
Running campaigns focused on video views, engagement, or conversions helps your content reach the right audience.
Short-form vertical video ads often perform better because they match organic content formats.
Monitoring comments and messages generated by ads can help convert viewers into customers.
Instagram video ads aren’t free and they’ll cost you some cash but they are a great way to get quick video views.
If you have video content you want to raise awareness about, running a campaign for “video views” is a surefire way to attain the needed visibility.
Instagram ads use Facebook Ads pinpoint targeting system and will ensure that the views your video gets all come from your target audience.
The ad system of the platform is exceptionally effective and has been proved repeatedly by both top brands and startups.
It’s even more if you keep an eye on Instagram and Facebook Ads comments afterward to nurture your potential leads.
There are many ways of personalizing videos, that are relevant to one of your audience groups. If you want to skyrocket your brand, it might be a good idea to consider hiring a web design company.
One of such top brands is Lionsgate UK. The company proved the effect of running an Instagram video ad campaign for their movie “La La Land.”
Their ad resulted in a massive increase in movie viewing intent from the target audience as well as a rise in brand awareness.
5. Focus on High-Quality and Platform-Optimized Editing
Smartphones today can capture high-resolution footage, but editing still plays a major role in video performance.
Instagram favors vertical 9:16 videos, especially for Reels and Stories.
iPhones and Android smartphones can capture high-resolution shots, but video editing mobile apps still lack certain features that video editing software provides.
Editing your videos using professional software or AI editing tools helps improve production quality.
Think about the importance of adding music to an Instagram video, the significance and impact it can have (affects 50% of the video experience).
Once you’ve chosen the right music, you can start editing.
Today, creators use a mix of desktop, mobile, and AI-assisted video editing tools to produce high-performing Instagram videos.
Great video editing software you could use are Apple Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro, CapCut (desktop & mobile), DaVinci Resolve, Filmora, and iMovie, with many editors now relying on AI features like auto-captions, smart cuts, beat syncing, and vertical-format presets to speed up production and optimize videos for Reels and Stories.
If the budget allows, you can choose a video production company. Most companies didn’t have an unlimited budget but have successfully implemented video marketing in their campaigns.
The answer to how much a corporate video production project costs can be extremely vague because depends on many factors.
No matter the size of your budget or what your business does, marketing videos can work for you.
Subtitles are especially important, as many users watch videos without sound.
6. Create Behind-the-Scenes and Authentic Content
Audiences enjoy content that feels genuine and relatable.
Behind-the-scenes videos provide deeper insight into your brand and create emotional connections.
Authentic storytelling consistently outperforms highly polished promotional content on social platforms.
This type of content helps audiences feel connected to your brand identity.
8. Take Advantage of Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories continue to be a major engagement driver.
Stories now support interactive stickers, polls, quizzes, links, and shopping features that encourage audience participation.
Stories disappear after 24 hours, making them ideal for time-sensitive content and announcements.
So by creating compelling short videos that can be up to 60 seconds long via Instagram stories you can increase your video views and also compel users to inquire further about your brand.
9. Prioritize Instagram Reels
Reels have become Instagram’s most important video format for organic reach.
Short, engaging, and entertaining Reels are more likely to be recommended by Instagram’s algorithm.
Using trending audio, strong opening hooks, and fast-paced editing significantly improves Reel performance.
Reels also appear in Explore feeds, allowing brands to reach new audiences beyond their followers.
9. Repurpose and Repost High-Performing Videos
Reposting strong content can help reach new followers who missed the original video.
Repurposing content into different formats, such as converting long videos into Reels or Stories, extends content lifespan.
User-generated content can also boost credibility and engagement.
10. Use Clear Calls to Action (CTA)
Engagement plays a major role in Instagram video visibility.
Adding CTAs encourages viewers to like, comment, share, or visit your website.
Encouraging viewers to save or share your videos increases algorithm reach significantly.
11. Cross-Promote Videos Across Multiple Platforms
Linking Instagram to other social media platforms increases overall visibility.
Cross-posting videos to TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Facebook Reels helps maximize video exposure.
Embedding Instagram videos on your website can also improve SEO and engagement.
Research even shows that 56% of Americans believe social media makes customer care easier to access.
Here’s an example with Dominos of how accessible you become to consumers:
12. Engage and Interact With Your Audience
Replying to comments and messages increases audience trust and encourages future engagement.
Instagram’s algorithm rewards accounts that maintain active conversations with their followers.
Liking and responding to audience content can also increase brand visibility.
13. Collaborate and Tag Relevant Brands or Creators
Tagging collaborators or brands helps expand your reach.
Instagram’s Collab feature allows two accounts to share the same post, increasing visibility across both audiences.
Partnership content often performs better due to shared credibility and exposure.
14. Use Location Tags and Stickers
Location tagging improves discoverability.
Videos tagged with relevant locations can appear in local search and location feeds.
Location tags are particularly valuable for local businesses and event promotions.
When you tag your location, your video will be visible to all who are searching for that location.
Location tagging should not just be restricted to when you are traveling; you can tag the location of your business as well.
For example, Dhariana Lozano tagged New York to her location like this:
And this was the result:
Her Story got added to the New York location Story which brought her 3X more views.
15. Analyze Performance and Adapt Your Strategy
Understanding audience reactions is critical for long-term success.
Use Instagram analytics tools to track watch time, retention rates, engagement metrics, and audience demographics.
Consistently reviewing performance helps identify successful content formats and posting strategies.
Testing new video formats and creative styles allows brands to stay competitive.
Instagram algorithms also consider the engagement rates of every post when ranking it for users to see.
Conclusion
Instagram video marketing offers massive growth opportunities for brands.
With the rise of Reels, AI-powered content discovery, and interactive features, Instagram video marketing continues to evolve rapidly.
By implementing the strategies in this guide, businesses can increase video views, build stronger audience relationships, and improve marketing performance.
Brands that consistently experiment, analyze results, and adapt to platform changes will see the greatest success on Instagram.
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Cristian Stanciu is a freelance video editor, owner, and post-production coordinator of Veedyou Media – a company offering video editing services to videographers, marketing agencies, video production studios, or brands all over the globe.