How To Get More Views on Your Instagram Story in 2023

Instagram Stories are a major tactic for community-building and brand affinity.

They’re full of fun engagement-driving features, offer a quick route to DMs, and are super personable in nature.

An easy win, right? Well, not so fast.

Stories are also incredibly popular, making it tough to cut through the noise and get more eyes on your content.

Fortunately, you can “hack” the system. And we’re sharing how to do it.

How to Get More Instagram Story Views

Here are four ways to cut through the noise and increase your Instagram Stories views:

1. Add an Engagement-driving Sticker to your First Story

2. Add an Extra Story at the End of the Day

3. Share Exclusive Content on Stories

4. Tap Into Instagram’s Close Friends Feature

Tactic #1: Add an Engagement-driving Sticker to Your First Story

One of the quickest ways to boost your stories’ views is by adding an engagement-driving sticker (such as a poll, emoji slider, or quiz) to the very first story you share.

This will encourage engagement on your stories right off the bat, which is a major nudge to the Instagram algorithm.

The more clicks and engagements your stories receive, the more Instagram will bump your stories to the front of the queue.

Hello, more views! 👋

PSA: Later is a social media management tool trusted by over 4M businesses, creators, and social media managers. Schedule your posts for Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Twitter, and TikTok today — it’s free!

Tactic #2: Add an Extra Story at the End of the Day

This tried-and-tested tip comes straight from Later’s Social Content Lead, Lindsay Ashcraft.

“Adding a new story at hour 22-23, right before the rest of our stories expire, gives all of them an extra boost in views.”

We’re not entirely sure why this works so well — but trust us, it does. Using Later makes it easy to schedule Instagram stories at the times that drive engagement.

Later’s social team has also experimented with taking a short hiatus to see if this had any impact on story views.

The result? Not much.

“We didn’t see anything that was out of the ordinary for us,” shares Lindsay. “Lots of people recommend this, but I just haven’t been able to replicate results consistently.”

TIP: Use Later to schedule your Instagram stories ahead of time.

Tactic #4: Tap Into Instagram’s Close Friends Feature

This little known hack can be a real game-changer for increasing Instagram Stories views.
You may have noticed that when someone adds you to their Close Friends list, you’ll see their stories at the front of your feed with a bright green border.

This is because Instagram prioritizes content from “close connections.”

Admittedly, adding your thousands of followers to a Close Friends list isn’t a viable tactic — but it is great for ensuring important information and product updates get to the most important members of your community.

For brands, this could be a list of brand ambassadors, influencers, and repeat customers.

For influencers and creators, this could be your most engaged community members and industry peers.

BONUS TIP: Plan your Instagram Stories in advance with Later to make sure you’re telling a strong visual story and tapping into every opportunity for engagement.

When it’s time to post, you’ll receive everything you need delivered straight to your mobile (so you can still add story stickers and tags directly within Instagram).

It’s the best way to improve your Instagram Stories strategy!

And that’s that.

Whether you’re looking to improve your Instagram engagement or get more eyeballs on your content, these four tactics are a no-brainer — end of story.

Ready to level-up your social strategy? Create an account with Later and join over 4M users who plan and schedule their social media posts in advance.