Are your Instagram Stories views down? Not sure what happened or how to get your viewership back?

Fear not! Despite my expertise in Instagram marketing, I have encountered dips in viewership before and have developed plenty of strategies to get back those views.

In this post, I’ll help you find the reasons why your Instagram Story views are down, and also offer tips on how to improve your Instagram Story views and engagement.

Let’s dive in!

Disclosure: This content may contain a few affiliate links, which means if you click on them, I will get a commission (without any extra cost to you).

In a Nutshell: Why Are Your Instagram Story Views Down?

There are many reasons why your Instagram Story views dropped. Here are some possibilities:

  • Bot-generated engagement lost over time
  • Stale, boring, or overused content
  • Not using hashtags correctly
  • Publishing Stories at the wrong posting times
  • Inconsistent activity
  • Not actively engaging with your followers
  • Low Story calls-to-action (CTAs)
  • Shadowbanning
  • Instagram app issues

Let’s discuss these issues in detail and identify ways to fix them to get more views and engagements on your Instagram Stories.

1. Bot-Generated Views Lost Over Time

If your last few Stories had 1,000+ views but your recent Story couldn’t even get 100 views, there’s a high chance that a large number of your Story views earlier were from bots or fake accounts.

This can happen if you:

  • Buy likes or followers from a service provider.
  • Join an engagement community or group and promote your IG Stories content there.
  • Use a black hat software tool that engages with your target audience.
  • Use a hashtag in your Story that triggered bot engagement.

What can you do to increase views again?

  • Never indulge in engagement-buying schemes, communities, or groups to grow your presence on any social media platform, including Instagram.
  • Identify the hashtags that generated the spike in your Story views earlier and remove them from all your content. Avoid using those hashtags for future posts and Stories content as well to avoid an inauthentic spike in views.
  • Instead, use an Instagram growth tool like InstaCheck by Combin to audit your account and uncover deeper insights from well-curated Instagram analytics about what works and what doesn’t.

2. Stale, Boring, or Overused Content

Creating stale, boring, and overused content could be the reason your Instagram Story views are down.

People crave novelty, so consider shaking things up with different content formats (photos, videos, polls, quizzes) and interactive elements.

Is your Stories content relevant and interesting to your target audience?

Analyze what resonates with your followers and tailor your content accordingly.

The best way to identify current content trends is to follow top pages in your niche and replicate what they’re doing right.

You can also follow niche hashtags to explore trending posts on the Explore page and get ideas.

Hop on to create Instagram Stories using the trending “ Add Yours” templates like the ones below. You can also start your own trends.

add yours story template examples
Source

3. Not Using Hashtags Correctly

You should add hashtags in your content to reach other target audiences not yet following your Instagram account.

If you’re not using hashtags correctly or not at all, you are missing out on Story views from non-followers.

Here are some tips to overcome this and increase views on your Instagram Stories:

  • Make sure your account is public if you want to attract non-followers to your IG Stories and profile.
  • Go to the Explore page of Instagram to identify trending niche-specific and content-specific hashtags for your Stories. You can also use hashtag generators or hashtag research tools like Tailwind Hashtag Finder.
hashtag suggestions with competitive scores by tailwind hashtag finder
  • Don’t overdo it with hashtags. Adding 3-5 hashtags to your Story is more than enough.

4. Publishing Stories at the Wrong Posting Times

If you publish Stories when everyone is sleeping or busy at work, they might not end up on people’s feeds. Other creators’ Stories posted at optimal times will likely be bumped up by the Instagram algorithm, taking a large share of views.

That’s why it is important to post Stories and feed content based on your target audience’s activity on the social media platform.

You should check Instagram analytics to identify your audience’s most active times of the day and week. Go to “Insights” > “Total followers” > Scroll down to “Most active times” and switch between “Hours” and “Days” to access this data.

most active times on instagram analytics

Publish your Stories when people are online to get more views and engagement. To learn more about this topic, check out my guide on the best times to post on Instagram.

Some Instagram content planning and scheduling tools like Meta Business Suite, Sprout Social, and Vista Social also suggest optimal posting times for your Stories and feed posts.

5. Inconsistent Activity

On Instagram, you can see the Stories of people you follow at the top. The most recent Stories appear close to your profile logo every time you open the Instagram app.

However, most people only look at the top 3-5 Stories in the queue.

instagram activity

So, another reason why your Instagram Stories views are down is possibly because you are publishing Stories inconsistently or infrequently.

When you post Stories once a week or when convenient, it undercuts your ability to reach your audience.

The more frequently and the more number of Stories you post, the better your reach will likely be. However, ensure whatever you post is of top quality.

6. Not Actively Engaging with Your Followers

Engaging with your followers is important. People follow others on social media because they are interested in their opinions, lives, and general content. 

A great way to increase Instagram engagement is to actively engage with your followers and also with other top accounts in your niche. You should reply to comments and DMs and also host Q&A sessions with your audience.

instagram story ask me a question example
Source

Even live streaming is a great option when seeking ways to engage your followers.

If your Instagram Stories views are down, try to find creative ways to actively engage with followers and watch their interest in your content and Story views grow back.

7. Low Story Calls-to-Action (CTAs)

Are you encouraging viewers to swipe up, reply to polls and emoji sliders, or ask questions in your Instagram Stories? If you’re not using interactive elements in your Story, it can lead to a drop in views.

You should use clear Story CTAs to boost engagement and keep people coming back for more.

8. Shadowbanning

In rare cases, Instagram might shadowban your Instagram account if you’ve violated any of their Community Guidelines. This can limit your reach and Story views.

Review Instagram's Community Guidelines to ensure you're not accidentally breaking any rules. General rules include:

  • Post only your own photos and videos or the content you have the right to share.
  • Don’t spam people on Instagram.
  • Don’t allow nudity in your photos or videos.
  • Follow the law. Don’t support terrorism, hate groups, or crime.

9. Instagram App Issues

Occasionally, Instagram itself might experience technical glitches that could affect Story views. Check online forums or social media to see if others are reporting similar issues.

Now that we have a sense of what could be wrong, and how to fix it. Here are some more tips to help you increase your Instagram Story views.

Tips to Increase Views on Your Instagram Stories Content

Here are some additional tips to increase your Instagram Story views and engagement:

1. Review Your Story Metrics Using Instagram Analytics

You cannot grow your Instagram Story views if you don’t know which of your tactics are working and which aren’t.

So, use Instagram analytics to see how users interact with your Stories content and which Stories performed better than others.

Here’s how to review your Story performance metrics on Instagram: 

  • Open the Instagram app and visit your profile page. Tap the three horizontal lines at the top-right corner of the screen.
  • Click on the “Insights” option. Tap the period at the top (“Last 7 days”) to see performance over a different time frame. Scroll down to the “Content You Shared” section and tap on “Stories.”
instagram analytics for stories insights
  • You'll see a grid of your most recent stories, each labeled with a key metric (usually reach).
instgaram story analytics
  • Tap on a specific Story to get deeper insights into its performance, including:
    • The number of unique accounts reached (followers and non-followers)
    • The number of accounts engaged
    • The number of total Story interactions, including likes, replies, and shares
    • The number of people who navigated from your Story, including those who forwarded, exited, or tapped to the next Story
    • The number of profile visits and follows after visiting your Story
instagram story insights

Several third-party Instagram analytics tools offer advanced insights into Story performance metrics for longer periods. These include tools like Later, Vista Social, and Sprout Social.

They’ll help you identify key trends, the best posting times and days, and the content types that drive maximum engagement. You can use these insights to plan, update, and fine-tune your Instagram marketing strategy.

2. Experiment with Different Types of Stories Content

Have a content plan for your Instagram Stories to ensure that you always post engaging and interesting content.

Try different types of Instagram Story formats for variety.

For instance, you can use a mix of inspirational quotes, tips, memes, and interactive content types for your Stories. This will ensure your audience doesn’t get bored and helps you increase views by meeting the needs of different followers.

You can also tell a story to your followers with a series of Stories.

For example, National Geographic is crushing it with their Stories on Instagram. They use photos and storytelling to share award-winning images and ecological studies. Their Stories educate viewers and promote conservation efforts happening around the world.

national geographic stories content
Source

Here are some Instagram Story ideas to help boost your views:

  • Share special events, announcements, or developments
  • Highlight customer testimonials or stories
  • Showcase activities that happen in your office
  • Include behind-the-scenes photos or videos from events or trips
  • Share brand values
  • Conduct polls and quizzes to learn about your audience’s preferences

Pro tip: Ensure all photos and videos you post on your Stories are of high quality. You can use design and video editing tools like Canva, InVideo, and WeVideo.

3. Post Consistently

The Instagram algorithm favors consistency in terms of both posting and activity. Staying active on this social media platform keeps you at the forefront of your followers' minds and helps boost engagement.

However, avoid overwhelming them with excessive content.

Create a consistent posting schedule that you’re comfortable with. It could be 3-5 Stories per week.

Use an Instagram Story planning and scheduling tool like Vista Social to plan and auto-publish your content at optimal times.

vista social instagram story content planning

4. Encourage User Interactions on Your Stories

The Instagram algorithm considers interactions like replies or DMs as a positive signal. The more users interact with your Stories content, the more likely your posts will appear in their feed.

To encourage interaction, you should add different types of Instagram Story Stickers to your Stories. These include:

  • Polls
  • Quizzes
  • Emoji sliders
  • Questions
interactive instagram story features

1. Polls

Polls are fun and easy to set up. They are also a great way to collect information and feedback from viewers.

instagram polls
Image via Instagram

Polls not only increase views but also facilitate open communication with your audience. You can use poll Stickers to learn more about their preferences regarding your products or services.

2. Quizzes

Instagram Story quizzes are advanced versions of polls offering multiple answer choices. Quizzes take viewers from passive observers to active participants.

You can use them to learn about your audience’s likes and dislikes, product preferences, and opinions on current affairs.

thinkific opinion quiz instagram story

Another way to use quizzes is to test your audience’s niche knowledge.

Such quizzes can spark playful battles between friends to see who gets the most right answers. This little friendly competition can go a long way in boosting your Story views and engagement by encouraging Story shares.

trexorobotics instagram story quiz example
Source

People are more likely to watch a Story with a quiz all the way through, compared to a static image or video. This improves your Story's completion rate, a metric valued by the Instagram algorithm.

3. Emoji Sliders

Emoji sliders are a fun and interactive way to engage with your followers. They are quite versatile as you can create a sliding scale for pretty much anything – from how scenic a view is (heart eyes emoji) to how sad a news story is (crying face emoji).

emoji slider examples on instagram stories

You can use emoji sliders wisely to even create a poll like Lush Cosmetics did below.

lush cosmetic instagram story poll and emoji slider example

Once you've added and customized your emoji slider, viewers can interact with it by dragging the emoji along the bar. The position of the emoji reflects their answer to your question on a scale from 0 to 100.

After 24 hours, you can see how many people voted on your slider and where the average response lies.

4. Questions

Questions may not be as quick to respond to as polls, but they are good at driving genuine engagement.

You can ask short-answer questions to your audience. This could be anything related to your brand, product, or niche in general.

Once you post the question, your audience can respond to it. You can share their replies or tap on their responses and respond to them through new Stories as well. Here’s an example:

thinkific instagram story questions sticker example

5. Add Relevant Hashtags

Adding hashtags using the text option or the hashtag Sticker can help your Instagram Story reach more people.

add hashtags on instagram stories

When you add hashtags to your Stories, even people who don’t follow your account but follow the hashtag will be able to see your Story. This can help you get more views and engagement on your Stories from non-followers.

It can also introduce your account to people who might be interested in the content you create and share on Instagram.

However, you should choose hashtags that are relevant to your brand or your Stories content. Don’t overdo them and don’t add irrelevant tags.

You can also use branded hashtags to encourage user-generated content (UGC).

branded hashtag on instagram story to invite user-generated content

6. Add Location Tags

When you tag a location in your Story, users who search for the location you tag will have a higher chance of seeing your content. This is an excellent way of getting more views and engagement with your Stories.

It’s even better if the place is trending with a specific hashtag.

instagram location hashtags
Image via Instagram

A great example is Starbucks. As you can see, #starbucks has over 39M posts. If you scroll through the posts, you'll find that most of them have a decent number of likes and comments.

If someone searches for Starbucks, your Story could end up on this feed as well.

instagram location tags example
Image via Instagram

To tag a location, simply use the location Sticker and enter the location you’d like to tag.

7. Announce Events and Limited-Time Offers

Use Instagram Stories to announce an important upcoming event, exhibition, or sale. It can help you create buzz around your big day and even drive more footfall or orders.

Here’s an example where Huda Beauty promoted their exhibition through Instagram Stories and also engaged followers with a quiz about it:

instagram story event promotion

You can also add a countdown Sticker to ensure your audience doesn’t miss your event.

instagram story countdown sticker with an event

Use Instagram Stories to give your audience discounts, special product promotions, prizes, and limited-time offers. You can add a link to your product page to drive referral traffic to your website and increase sales.

instagrm story discount promotions

8. Use the Instagram Stories Highlights Feature

Instagram's Stories Highlights feature was introduced in December 2017, which allows you to keep your Stories around for more than 24 hours. You can group Stories on specific topics or of specific types.

This Highlights section will appear underneath your profile.

shane's instagram profile

Using the Highlight feature, you can pin important Stories you would like people who visit your page to engage with.

9. Host Live Sessions on Stories

Go Live to connect with your audience in a fun and engaging way in real time. Answer their questions, invite a product expert, host a class or a tutorial session, or play games.

You can announce your Live session beforehand using Instagram Stories. Mention the topic, introduce any special guests you’ll be inviting to the session, and use the countdown Sticker to generate excitement.

You can also promote your Live session on other social media platforms to reach a wider audience and increase your Story views.

When you go Live, don’t miss out on:

  • Engaging your viewers using interactive content like polls and questions
engage people with questions on instagram live stories
  • Actively responding to comments and questions throughout the Live stream
  • Posting a post-live recap for your audience who missed the session using Story Highlights or a feed post
instagram post-live recap for engagement
  • Sharing some key takeaways or interesting moments from the session in your Stories

10. Cross-Promote Your Stories on Feed

Share teasers or highlights from your Stories in your regular feed posts to stimulate viewers’ interest and encourage them to check out the full Story. This will help you increase views to your Stories.

Post a question related to your Story content in your feed post. Or, give your audience a sneak peek at a new product you’re showcasing in your Story.

Always include a clear call-to-action in your post caption such as “Story Time!” or “Head to our story for…”

cross-promote stories in feed post on instagram to increase views

11. Collaborate with Other Instagram Accounts

If your Instagram Stories views are down for a long time, consider partnering with relevant accounts that have a similar target audience to yours. However, they shouldn’t be direct competitors.

Vet the accounts to ensure they have a healthy level of engagement before you reach out to collaborate. This increases the chances of their audience actively participating in your collaborative Story.

Here are a few ideas for a collaborative Instagram Story:

  • Do a Story takeover where you take control of each other's Stories for a day. This allows you to showcase your content and style to a new audience.
  • Host a Live interview session together, answering questions and engaging with both audiences simultaneously.
  • Host a fun and interactive challenge or giveaway together, encouraging both sets of followers to participate in your Stories.
  • Give each other shoutouts in your Stories, mentioning the collaborating account and encouraging your audience to check them out.
give shoutout to collaborative accounts on instagram stories

Are Your Instagram Stories Views Down?

Do not panic if your Instagram Stories views are down. There are many ways to update your Instagram Stories strategy to increase your views and engagement.

Many social media managers suggest the methods mentioned above to generate views and engagement with your Stories. So, try them out and see your Story views grow!

Also, start using social media tools that allow direct Story scheduling to plan your Stories content ahead of time. One of my favorites is Vista Social.

What other methods do you use to increase your Instagram Stories views? Let me know in the comments.

FAQs

1. How to check your Instagram Story views

There are two ways to check your Instagram Story views, depending on whether your Story is still up or has disappeared.

Method 1: Check views when the Story is still up
1. Open the Instagram app.

2. Tap on the Story icon (your profile picture) at the upper-left corner of the screen.

3. Click on the activity icon in the lower-left corner of the Story screen.

4. See who viewed your Story along with the total number of views.

Method 2: Check views after your Story disappeared
1. Open the Instagram app, go to your profile page, and tap the three horizontal lines at the top-right corner.

2. Go to “Insights” and select an appropriate data time frame from the drop-down option at the top.

3. You’ll find a section titled “Content you’ve shared.” Tap on “See all.”

4. You’ll see a page displaying your top Instagram Stories in a grid format with the number of views.

5. Click on any specific Story to unlock detailed views and engagement insights for that Story.

7 Comments

  1. Great info you have shared here. Thanks!

  2. Yes, here I found what I am searching for. Great info you have shared here. Keep posting

    1. Shane Barker says:

      Hi John, I’m so glad you found my post on Instagram stories useful. Keep visiting for more tips and tricks.

    1. Shane Barker says:

      Hi Harry! Thanks, it makes me happy to read that my post on Instagram stories was helpful for you.

  3. Hey! Loved reading this page, so informative and fun at the same time. I’ll definitely be using these tips on my Instagram!

    1. Shane Barker says:

      Hi Cirius, thank you so much! Let me know how it goes for you.

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