High views but low engagement Instagram

Hi all! I'm trying to grow on Instagram for my feelancing business.

My last few videos have gotten between 1,000 to 3,000 views which I'm happy with.

But I'll get between 10 to 20 likes, which is not what I'm happy with.

The videos' lengths are between 30 seconds and 50 seconds.

How can I improve engagement? I understand this is very little context 🥲

I'm not sure if I can add my handle here, I don't want this post to be taken down!

Any advice is appreciated! Thank you!

salarshah-084•3 months ago•2

views mostly measure curiosity while likes/comments measure emotional connection or relevance

Intelligent_Layer339•3 months ago•2

i usually find that the hook in the first three seconds is super important for engagement, not just views. if people aren't finding a reason to comment or save, they just scroll past after watching. try adding a clear call to action at the end, like asking a specific question related to your niche, it helps alot

nobsmentor•3 months ago•1

Honestly 1k–3k views with a small account is not bad at all.

Usually when views are decent but likes/comments stay low, it means one of these:

people watched but felt nothing strong enough to react
the content is informative but not memorable
the hook got attention but the payoff was weak
viewers don’t feel connected to YOU yet

For freelancing especially, a lot of content accidentally becomes: “generic business advice people scroll past.”

What tends to get better engagement:

specific experiences
strong opinions
relatable freelancer struggles
mistakes/client stories
behind the scenes
emotional honesty
niche observations

Also 30–50 seconds can drag if there isn’t enough tension/change throughout.

A huge thing: don’t only optimize for views. Optimize for: “would someone feel compelled to send this to another freelancer?”

That mindset changes content a lot.

And honestly low likes with decent views sometimes just means the audience is still cold. People often lurk for a while before they start engaging consistently.

Vinaya_Ghimire•3 months ago•1

If you get high views but low engagements, the only reason I can think of is your audience doesn't like your content, they don't feel like engaging. Check views length on your videos. Do they watch entire video or stop at 3 seconds?

antoneykey•3 months ago•1

[ Removed by Reddit ]

TomTeachesTech•3 months ago•1

I'm on X mostly so my knowledge is relevant to there but thought I'd share my insight anyways. The high views could mean the algorithm is happy and you are reaching a decent chunk of audience. Only having 20-30 likes would indicate it's not very much aligned with your own audience or niche so it doesn't score well for making more content exactly like it. I would suggest experiment with the type of content a little more even within the niche you already are in.

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