Whenever I’m scrolling my instagram feed, I notice that whatever is the like count, if you multiplied by 2 and then multiplied by 10, that will be roughly the amount of views that real has.
And that just means that for every 100 views they get five likes.
And this pattern is very consistent like if some video has 5000 likes.
5000 into two is 10,000,
10,000 into 10 is 100,000.
Then that reel almost always has like 100,000 views.
Sometimes it would be the case that a really good performing real might have 70-80k views .
So their like ratio would be like 7-8 % like rate
And a bad performing reel might have 3-4% like rate.
But you can say that almost all the reels on your feed have 5 percentageish like rate
An even more aggressive conclusion can be that as long as your video has around 5% like rate, Instagram will keep pushing it.
And I notice that’s the thing I’m missing. I don’t have that many likes on my videos.
My like ratio on best videos is like 2.5 percentage.
I tried to notice any pattern if they exist in the comment and save or share ratio but nothing emerges there
But the like thing is very prominent.
So my KPI to work on is like rate
But what makes people hit like button?
https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9709/12/3/59
Well, as per this post, moose legs come at the beginning of the video life cycle and then it decays exponentially.
Well, that means that we need to get things done quickly, preferably as soon as the video hits the Internet.
https://www.ida.liu.se/~nikca89/papers/websci24.pdf
the above link says “As observed, Instagram posts are short-lived, with 75% of the likes being received
during the first 13.1 hours after upload and 75% of the comments being received during the first 7.5 hours.”
So does that means The post might be losing relevance with time and That’s why people are not engaging with it?
Does that mean relevance is a necessary ingredient to get likes?
Relevance can come from the urgency of the message itself or the temporal characteristic of the topic being discussed.
If it is something that is trending right now, then hey, why not?
Or if it is something very urgent, like, hey, if you don’t do this, you’re going to get a heart attack.
Then again, maybe you can get that sweet interaction.
But then again, this is very dicey, because relevance can emerge for different people at different times.
So if the algorithm is nicely optimized, it can show your content eternally to different people
Because hey, we all have different time of getting interested in something.
And someone might always be interested in it.
Maybe they will give priority to some recent video to serve that interest instead of using your video.
I guess that’s why those accounts on Instagram where they post the same reel every day, keep getting views.
The new videos keep getting views instead of the old one just stacking views.
And they have the variability in their performance also.
So that means there might be swelling or waxing interest in that topic and whenever they post as per that interest it gets the interaction or maybe there is also algorithms own nuances at play.
So maybe there is also some luck factor here that hey, you might have a good video, but if you had posted it before or after that could have led to that video performing better or worse.
So I guess unless you are some cult like personality, shotgunning it might be the best way while improving each movement.
I couldn’t find any data set on what makes people like that was not wrapped in some scientific language that just went above my head so this is all we have.
The question is:
Among people who find my content relevant enough to watch, why don’t they like it at the same rate as other creators who end up with 5% like rate?
Relevance determines WHO sees my content via algorithmic filtering
But among those people, something ELSE determines who likes it.
Is it the familiarity they have with the creator? Is it the nature of topic they have chosen? The hooks and the. References they have made?
Most videos are like 30 to 40 seconds long on Instagram, right?
So they means after seeing the video.
You decide to like it within 30-40 seconds, assuming you don’t rewatch it.
So that means it is a very fast process and there is not much time left
Because the average watch time is also low or less than the total time, right?
So that means most people skip to next regardless of whether they liked it or not also, so not much time is being spent on our post specifically.
So something is happening very fast under a minute that causes people to watch, like, and move on.
I don’t know what that is, but I definitely know if whatever that is, if it happens earlier and quicker the better.
Because that way even if people are watching less % of the video, if they are hit with that spell, maybe they will start liking (even if at lesser rate than the ones who already do)
Thus the conclusion is:
Whatever makes them like it should happen quickly at the beginning only so that you target almost all the people watching the video with it (even though they have varying watch time.)
So whatever it is, I need to work more on my video’s start To gain interactions and shelf space in the reels tab
Basically I need to up the intensity of my videos.
If my like rate is 2.5 percent with that it will hit bigger numbers, even if I don’t know the exact ingredient if i have intensity.
Don’t have the clear definition for intensity right now, but you can just say more flavor, more value, more gabagool.
Feels like rate is a function of front-loaded intensity.
Assume,
Video length: 30-40 seconds
Average watch time: Let’s say 50-60% (15-25 seconds)
Like decision window: First 10-15 seconds
If your “like trigger” happens at second 25, you’re only exposing it to 50% of your audience maximum.
If your “like trigger” happens at second 8, you’re exposing it to 100% of your audience.
Same content quality, 2x the potential like rate just from positioning.
We need to somehow have the hook and huge payoff in the first 10 seconds only.
Currently I am losing potential likes purely through temporal positioning.
See, in future when you are recognized and people have built familiarity, then maybe you can make the slow talking head videos.
But right now you gotta build up exposure and intensity.
We just do not have the familiarity needed to pull off that kind of content right now.
But hey, I’m not going to stop posting that. Even after this most of my videos are just going to be that because it’s just so damn easy to post.
But yeah, may be that comfort zone of easy post is exactly why I am doing that 2.5 percent like rate even in best cases lol.
Maybe, Easy to make = Easy to scroll past in this stage
I guess still the familiarity privilege hits. I gotta keep grinding.
Claude’s reaction to the post:
The Real Question
You said: “I’m not going to stop posting that easy content”
Okay, but then what’s the plan? Because you already know:
- Easy content = 2.5% like rate
- 2.5% like rate = algorithm doesn’t push
- Algorithm doesn’t push = you don’t build familiarity
- No familiarity = stuck making easy content forever
You’re in a loop that doesn’t break itself.
The Uncomfortable Truth
You need to decide: Do you want to feel productive or actually grow?
Right now you’re optimizing for “I posted today ✓” instead of “I moved the needle today ✓”
The easy posts aren’t building toward anything. They’re just… filling time. Keeping you busy. Giving you the dopamine of “content created” without the ROI of “audience built.”
Here’s the Compromise
Don’t abandon easy posts entirely. But institute a quota:
For every 3 easy posts, force yourself to make 1 “intensity post” where you:
- Script the first 10 seconds obsessively
- Front-load the payoff
- Edit for pace, not just for completion
- Make it UNCOMFORTABLE to post because it required actual effort
Track those separately. I bet those 1-in-4 videos will outperform the other 3 combined.
And then slowly shift the ratio as you prove to yourself that effort converts.
Because right now you’re stuck at 2.5% by design. You’ve chosen the easy path, and the algorithm is simply reflecting that choice back to you.
The intensity you need isn’t some mysterious ingredient. It’s time and effort you’re currently not spending because the easy version is more comfortable.
(This post is before the implementation of world building article)