Creating Viral Instagram Reels for SaaS Products

Course Introduction: Viral Reels for SaaS

Everyone, this is Desmond, and welcome to this mini course. So you're here probably because you want to make viral reels for a SaaS, and I'm going to share everything I know on how I make reels for my SaaS.

Let me just show you the results of my reels so that you know that I'm not lying. This is my mobile app. It's called RISE. This is a habit app. And then the reels that it got, the most viral one is up to thirteen point eight million views. Yeah. So this is the one. And there's also other viral reels. Another one is almost one million views.

Throughout this course, I'll be sharing my complete process for creating Instagram Reels that can generate massive visibility for your SaaS product, just like I've done with RISE.

Understanding Short-Form Video Platforms

Before diving into creating viral reels, it's important to understand the landscape of short-form video platforms.

What Are "Shorts"?

I use the term "Shorts" to encapsulate three main platforms:

• Instagram Reels
• TikTok
• YouTube Shorts

These are all short-form video formats, and I refer to them collectively as "Shorts" because they function on similar principles. While you can repost the same content across these platforms (which is what I do), simply repurposing without tweaking usually doesn't work well.

Platform Differences

Instagram Reels

• Most diverse algorithm among short-form platforms
• Supports various content types: entertainment, educational, and other video styles
• No specific cultural preference
• Didn't ban regions like India and Hong Kong (unlike TikTok)
• The most diverse type of algorithm in terms of shorts

TikTok

• More US culture-centered
• Content that goes viral tends to be more inclined toward US audiences
• If you're not based in the US, it's particularly harder to go viral on TikTok

YouTube Shorts

• More localized content based on your language
• You're more likely to see shorts recorded by local influencers or accounts
• Favors face videos - if you have faceless videos (like insane edits without showing your face), you're less likely to go viral
• More entertainment-focused

These observations come from my experience creating content across these platforms. The platform differences explain why my content performs differently - working extremely well on Instagram Reels but not as effectively on TikTok and YouTube Shorts.

Understanding these platform-specific characteristics is essential before creating your short-form videos for your SaaS product.

The Culture Behind Viral Content

In this chapter, I'm going to talk about what it takes to go viral and what makes a reel or short run viral. If you find this chapter difficult to understand, you can skip to the next chapter where we'll discuss more hands-on strategies. This section is more about the overview and breaking down the concepts and theories behind what makes reels go viral.

Culture and Subculture: The Foundation of Viral Content

Shorts is all about culture and subculture. When I talk about culture here, I don't just mean race or nationalities. It refers to a more generic way of seeing life - your life experiences or the things that you perceive as a human being. That is culture, and that's the nature of short video content.

Short videos can represent many different aspects of life. They're not like full YouTube videos where you expect a lot of value packed together. Shorts is all about attention - attention that resonates with your culture.

Understanding Subcultures

Subculture doesn't have a very strict definition. What I mean by subculture is a certain niche of living in your daily lives:

• Gym is a subculture
• Memes are a subculture
• The internet itself is also a subculture

Why Engineering Viral Content Is Difficult

It is hard to engineer culture. That's what makes it very difficult to find a real step-by-step process to go viral - because you can't engineer culture. It's a very fluid concept.

For other marketing channels like SEO, ads, or cold email, everything can be done programmatically, automatically, or through a formula because you can calculate results. But you cannot calculate culture. Perhaps one day there will be a deep learning model that can predict and replicate the most viral reels, but that would take a lot of computing power.

Attention vs. Supply and Demand

At the end of the day, shorts are not about supply and demand. They're more about attention and resonation from the mass audience. That's what makes creating viral content so challenging - you have to be part of the mass to make viral reels that resonate with those people, but the masses don't typically create content; they just want to consume it.

Key to Going Viral with Shorts

To succeed with viral short-form content, you need to:

1. Understand your target audience very well

   • What do they like to do?
   • What pages/accounts do they follow?
   • What posts/reels do they engage with?

2. Identify the cultures and subcultures they enjoy

   • Are they into memes, anime, gym culture, etc.?

3. Discover what viral accounts they're following right now

How Instagram Reels Algorithm Works

When it comes to creating viral content on Instagram Reels, understanding how the algorithm works is crucial. In this chapter, I'll explain not just the technical aspects of the algorithm, but more importantly, how it actually functions in practice and what you should expect when playing the "Reels game."

The Role of Luck in Going Viral

Let me start with this important concept: luck is a significant factor in going viral.

Unlike paid ads or other marketing channels where specific inputs reliably produce specific outputs, Reels doesn't work this way. There's an element of luck that constrains your output. This is a fundamental difference between Reels and more predictable marketing channels.

If all you do is invest time without understanding the other variables, your results will be severely limited because luck will constrain your output. Don't use time as your only variable.

Why Time Alone Isn't Enough

High school students, university students, and teenagers often make incredibly successful Reels because they're deeply immersed in current culture and societal trends. Meanwhile, those of us who need viral videos to promote our businesses are often disconnected from the mass audience. This creates a significant challenge.

This disconnect is precisely why simply spending more time creating content without the right approach won't lead to viral success.

The Content Approach Testing Strategy

Instead of relying solely on time investment, you need to implement what I call "content approach testing." When running a Reels account, there are hundreds of different types of content you can create, each with slight differences.

The key is figuring out which content approach works best for your specific audience and niche. This requires systematic testing of different content styles, formats, and topics rather than just producing more of the same content.

Breaking Through the Algorithm Barrier

To break through the algorithm barrier and increase your chances of going viral, you need to understand these three critical elements:

1. Understand your target audience deeply

   • What do they do in their daily lives?
   • What pages or accounts do they follow?
   • What posts or videos do they engage with?

2. Identify their cultural preferences and subcultures

   • Do they enjoy memes? What type of memes?
   • Are they into anime, gym culture, gaming, or other subcultures?
   • What cultural references resonate with them?

3. Study successful accounts in your niche

   • What are the biggest viral accounts they're following right now?
   • What content formats are working for these successful accounts?
   • How can you adapt these successful approaches to your content?

If you can thoroughly answer these three questions, congratulations! You're much closer to creating viral Reels content.

In the next sections, we'll dive deeper into specific strategies for implementing this approach and maximizing your chances of success with Instagram Reels.

Instagram Algorithm Deep Dive

Understanding What Actually Drives the Algorithm

Nobody knows exactly how the Instagram algorithm works unless you work at Instagram, but I'll share my hypothesis based on my experience with viral content.

Two Types of Factors Affecting View Distribution

1. Content Variables (Things You Can Control Before Posting)

• The video itself
• Caption
• Audio
• Hashtags
• Audience interest

Honestly, these don't matter as much as you might think. I don't spend too much time obsessing over these elements.

2. Performance Metrics (What Happens After You Post)

• Watch time
• Number of replays (correlates with watch time)
• Likes
• Shares
• Comments
• Saves
• Impressions

Among all these factors, two stand out as the most important:

What Really Matters Most

The video quality matters significantly because Reels is a short-form video platform. Your videos don't need to be professionally produced, but they need to be good. Some content approaches like memes can actually work with lower production quality.

Watch time is absolutely crucial. This is the metric that will make or break your distribution.

The Role of Other Factors

Caption: It matters in certain contexts but isn't always critical. If your content approach specifically asks people to read the caption, then it's important. Otherwise, I've seen completely unrelated captions (even auto-generated nonsense) on viral videos.

Audio: This does matter because it's part of the user experience. People respond to trendy audio they recognize and enjoy.

Hashtags: These don't matter much for established accounts but can help in the beginning when you have few followers. They tell the algorithm what kind of accounts to show your content to.

Why Watch Time Is King

Let me show you examples from my most viral Reels:

1. A 12-second video that achieved a 10-second average watch time (about 80% retention). This is extraordinary when the typical average watch time is only 20-30%.

2. Another 8-second video that showed 12-second watch time metrics - meaning people were actually replaying it to understand the joke.

When the algorithm sees these high retention rates, it recognizes that people enjoy your content and pushes it to more viewers.

Creating Content That Encourages Replays

The second example demonstrates a powerful strategy: creating content that incentivizes viewers to watch multiple times. In this case, I included a joke or script that required a second viewing to fully understand.

If you can optimize for watch time, your distribution will skyrocket. That's the most important thing to remember about the Instagram algorithm.

Finding the Right Content Approach

One thing I forgot to mention in the previous chapter about the Reels algorithm: don't buy followers or ask all your friends to follow you. Here's why this matters.

When you post a reel, the algorithm tries to reach people who might be interested in your content. If they engage at a certain level, the algorithm thinks, "Okay, some people like this. Let me push it to more people." If those people also like it, it gets pushed further. If they don't, distribution stops.

Even with zero followers, you can still get organic traction—it's like a beginner bonus. But if you ask friends to follow you or buy followers who only follow because they support you (not because they genuinely enjoy your content), they won't engage naturally. The algorithm pushes to your followers first, but if they don't engage, your content stops getting traction.

I've previously had accounts with just a few followers (about 10 close friends who would support and engage with my content), and my first videos—which I spent time editing with a good camera—reached up to 10K organic views. It's totally possible. The Reels algorithm somehow knows when your video is high quality.

What is a Content Approach?

I've been using this term a lot, so let me explain. Different types of content approaches include:

• Memes: A popular content approach with various subcategories
• POV videos: Point-of-view style videos (like the examples I mentioned in chapter three)
• Daily series: A recent trend where people record "Day 1 of doing something," "Day 2 of doing something," etc. People love this format, and it can go viral.

Content approaches can also be integrated with each other. For instance, a daily series itself is a meme because it's very cultural.

Finding Your Best Content Approach

Only about 20% of content approaches will fit your SaaS. There are two main strategies to find what works for you:

1. Immerse Yourself in Your Target Audience's Culture

If you're targeting US people, it's very hard to create content that resonates with them if you're not from there or don't understand their culture. Try your best to learn about them and what resonates with them.

2. Replicate What Works for Competitors in Your Niche

You don't have to be a US citizen to understand US people's thoughts or culture if you can study your competitors. If they know your target audience and are making successful content, see what's working for them.

Look at accounts in your niche that target your audience. For example, if you're making a B2B testimonial collection SaaS, your target audience might be indie hackers. See what indie hackers like—maybe memes related to development. Look at what videos went viral on pages they follow, and then replicate similar approaches.

Action Steps

Here's what you should do:

1. Draft a list of 20 accounts that your target audience might be following
2. Create a list of at least 10 content approaches you can test

Important Rule

All your reels should be related to your product. Don't create an irrelevant meme page or space where you never talk about your product. The only exception might be a personal brand page, but even then, you should still try to incorporate your product into your content.

Content Idea Generation Process

Finding content ideas for viral Reels doesn't have to be complicated. In this chapter, I'll share my daily process for discovering and adapting viral content ideas for your SaaS product.

The Basic Approach: Learn from What's Already Working

There's no secret formula here - the easiest approach is to simply find what your competitors are making or what pages your target audience is interested in, and see what's going viral for them. This is the simplest way to get started.

If you consider yourself creative, you can also try developing your own content ideas, which is something I do as well. But even then, having a systematic process helps tremendously.

Daily Content Discovery Process

Here's the step-by-step process I recommend:

1. Create an account that mimics your target audience

   • Make a separate Instagram account that behaves like your ideal customer
   • Follow at least 50 relevant accounts that your target audience would follow

2. Establish a daily Reels scrolling routine

   • Spend 10 minutes each day just scrolling through Reels
   • Remember: about 90% of what you see went viral (the other 10% is Instagram testing if new content can go viral)

3. Analyze viral content in your feed

   • When you see viral Reels, think about how you can adapt them for your product
   • Record these ideas immediately so you don't forget them

Real Example: Finding Content Ideas for RISE

Let me demonstrate my process using my self-improvement app RISE as an example:

1. I open my Instagram account and go to Reels

2. I start scrolling, keeping in mind my target audience: people looking for self-improvement who want to get their life together

3. Example 1: Lifestyle Comparison Meme When I see a meme comparing different lifestyles, I think about how I could adapt it:

   • "My ideal lifestyle in 2020" (showing a luxurious lifestyle - driving Tesla, flying business class to Dubai)
   • "My lifestyle in 2024" (showing the reality - "I'm broke as shit, I didn't achieve my dream")
   • Then I can introduce RISE as the solution to help people get their life back together

4. Example 2: Self-Improvement Content If I see content featuring someone who's achieved impressive self-improvement results:

   • I could use this as a hook
   • Then add a call-to-action: "If you want to be like him, use RISE"
   • (Though I admit this specific approach is a bit too direct/cheesy)

5. Example 3: Repurposing a Meme For a viral meme video:

   • Download the original Reel
   • Open CapCut (video editing app)
   • Keep the same video/audio but change the caption to fit my product
   • For example: "How it feels when me and my bros started the 66-day life reset program together"

Recording and Organizing Ideas

When I find a potential idea, I:

1. Copy the concept
2. Paste it into my "IG Content Strategies" document
3. Keep a running list of ideas I can use for future content

Content Approach Considerations

• Memes work especially well for B2C products
• If you're B2B, memes might not be the best fit (though there are exceptions - Dropship.io uses memes successfully despite being B2B)
• Always ensure your content remains relevant to your product

Remember: The key is to maintain a daily practice of immersing yourself in your target audience's content preferences, analyzing what goes viral, and adapting those formats to showcase your SaaS product.

Creating Your First Reel

Ready to start creating your first Instagram Reel for your SaaS product? I've already demonstrated some of the process in the previous chapter, but let's break down the exact steps to get you started quickly.

Getting Started with Your First 5 Content Ideas

1. Begin by gathering at least five content ideas if you're just starting out
2. Select one idea that resonates most with your product and audience
3. Ensure your content showcases your product - your Reel must plug your SaaS offering

The only exception to this rule is if you're building a personal brand that's relevant to your niche. In this case, you might not want to promote your product too aggressively too early. Otherwise, make sure to feature your SaaS product prominently.

Equipment Recommendations for Filming

Camera Requirements for Different Types of SaaS Products

• For mobile apps: You need a good quality camera to properly showcase your UI and POV shots
• For web-based applications: Camera quality is less critical, but still aim to use at least a good iPhone or similar smartphone

The quality of your footage directly impacts how professional your product appears, so don't underestimate this aspect.

Introduction to CapCut as a Free Editing Tool

CapCut is an excellent free tool with powerful features for creating professional-looking Reels:

1. Download CapCut from your app store
2. Spend about 30 minutes learning the basics through YouTube tutorials
3. Master the essential editing features needed for your content style

There's no secret formula here - just practical application of basic video editing skills.

Timeline for Creating and Posting Your First Reel

The most important thing is to start quickly rather than overthinking the process:

• If you decide to start with Reels today, gather all your necessary resources and equipment tomorrow
• Aim to post your very first Reel within two days

Don't get caught in analysis paralysis or perfectionism. The sooner you begin posting, the sooner you'll learn what works for your specific audience and product.

Remember, your first Reels don't need to be perfect - they just need to exist. You'll improve with each new creation as you learn what resonates with your audience.

Optimizing Your Instagram Profile

Your Instagram profile setup isn't the most critical part of your Reels strategy, but it's still worth optimizing. While testing content approaches and finding good content ideas are more important, your profile is an area you can fine-tune to support your overall strategy.

Understanding Profile "Vibe"

The most important aspect of your profile setup is your "vibe" - what people feel when they click into your profile. Do they think:

• "This account is cool, I want to follow"
• "This account is funny, I want to follow"

There are different kinds of vibes you can create with your profile, and you need to determine the right vibe based on:

1. Your target audience
2. Your market
3. What aligns well with your product

Only you know which vibe will work best for your specific situation.

Popular Vibe Types

Some common profile vibes include:

• Chill & goofy (these typically go viral best because they're funny and humorous)
• Minimalist
• Calm
• Motivational
• Informational & educational

Remember that your choice depends on your product type. If you have a B2B SaaS, a chill and goofy vibe might not align with proper brand positioning.

Balancing Different Vibes

You can actually have a mix of different vibes in one account. For example, with my app RISE, the vibe balances between motivational and funny/chill. Some content is serious and not funny, while other posts are memes.

Don't feel restricted to just one vibe - you can experiment with combining different approaches as long as they work together cohesively.

Writing an Effective Instagram Bio

After locking down your vibe, you need to create your bio that reflects this vibe. Keep it simple:

• Use your tagline
• Include your website link or bio link

That's it! Don't overcomplicate this part of your profile optimization.

The key is to keep your profile focused, simple, and aligned with the content approach you've chosen to pursue. Your profile is simply supporting your content strategy, not driving it.

Posting Strategy and Consistency

Finally, you have your reels edited and prepared to post. So what to do and how to post?

Just Post - Don't Overthink

Just post. Don't overthink. This is an example: The most viral reel that I made was a Kung Fu Panda meme. I had it sitting in my drafts for two weeks after I edited it. I didn't post it for two weeks because I thought it didn't align with my brand. It didn't really align with the vibe that I was testing earlier. I was testing motivation and serious vibe.

But I only had like a hundred and fifty followers back then. I didn't have to overthink. So after I posted it, it blew up. That's why you don't have to overthink.

Posting Frequency Recommendations

Post every day until you get your first viral reel. That is the key to consistency. And after getting your first viral reel, you don't have to post every day. I suspect that it might negatively affect your short distribution actually, because Instagram doesn't want to show your reels all the time. So you don't have to post every day after you have your first viral one.

Defining Viral Success

For viral reels, the definition is at least 100K views - that is viral. Anything less is not viral.

Troubleshooting Zero-View Reels

If you see your reels getting zero views somehow (there are some examples where people send me their reels that keep stuck at zero), Instagram is not willing to distribute their shorts. This is probably because:

• Your video is too basic
• You didn't spend much time editing it
• Maybe you just copied another account's reels and directly posted it without re-editing anything

Instagram actually somehow knows that. Maybe they have an AI model that screens your reels. I don't know. But that's why you have to up your editing game.

Testing Multiple Content Strategies

If you have time, you can make multiple accounts to test different content strategies. I had a lot of content strategies tested and a lot of accounts prepared in the beginning so I could speed up the iteration process.

Timeline to Viral Success

Everyone wants to know: When will I get viral? The hard truth is that there's no correct answer to this question. Somehow, someone might make it on the first day, while others never get it. That's the algorithm risk I mentioned in earlier chapters.

You could do everything perfectly, but the algorithm might not like you. Or perhaps your market is just too difficult for the algorithm to distribute. At some point, you may have to consider giving up on a particular approach.

My Personal Journey to Viral Content

For me, it took around ten weeks to get my first viral reel. Before that breakthrough:

• I created four different accounts
• Tested twelve different content approaches
• Experimented with memes, POV videos, and personal branding
• Tried SaaS UI edits, anime content, stoic quotes, and many other formats
• Posted almost daily throughout this testing period

Platform Considerations

I didn't even repurpose content for other platforms because TikTok and YouTube Shorts didn't work well for me. Additionally, TikTok was banned in Hong Kong, which meant I would have needed to invest significant effort to post there. That's why I didn't repurpose content for TikTok.

Setting Realistic Expectations

It's not a must for you to go viral across multiple platforms. If you're just focusing on the Instagram Reels ecosystem, that's enough to get good traction for your SaaS product. However, having presence on multiple platforms can certainly help if you have the resources to maintain them effectively.

The key takeaway is that viral success requires patience, persistence, and systematic testing. Don't expect overnight success, but also don't be afraid to pivot when a particular approach isn't working after sufficient testing.

Advanced Strategies for Viral Growth

After implementing everything we've covered in the previous chapters, you might be wondering what else you can do to increase your chances of going viral. Let's explore some advanced strategies and considerations.

Cultural Enrichment as a Content Creator

Since shorts are fundamentally about culture, getting culturally enriched is essential. This doesn't necessarily mean reading books (although that helps), but rather getting more exposed to different kinds of culture, especially the culture of your target audience.

More importantly, critically observe the culture you're exposed to every single day on Instagram. What kind of culture are you being immersed in? If you can observe, understand, and explain the culture behind what you're seeing, you'll develop the ability to replicate it and transform cultural elements into reels that promote your product. That's the ultimate goal.

Observing and Analyzing Instagram Culture

Pay attention to:

• What trends are currently popular
• How different accounts interpret these trends
• What cultural references resonate with your target audience
• How successful accounts in your niche adapt cultural elements

When you develop this critical eye for cultural patterns, you'll be better equipped to create content that feels authentic and resonates with viewers.

Transforming Cultural Observations into Promotional Content

The key skill is taking cultural elements that you observe and adapting them to showcase your product. This requires:

• Understanding what makes certain content culturally relevant
• Identifying how to incorporate your product naturally into these cultural frameworks
• Maintaining authenticity while promoting your SaaS solution

Diversifying Marketing Channels

Be patient with your Reels strategy, but don't rely exclusively on Reels. It can take significant time to reach the breakthrough point, so diversify your risk by exploring other marketing channels simultaneously. This multi-channel approach ensures you're not putting all your eggs in one basket while waiting for viral success.

The Effectiveness of Engagement Groups

Engagement groups are communities where members agree to like and engage with each other's content. In my experience, these didn't significantly contribute to viral success. I was invited to some engagement groups in the motivation niche (since RISE was in that space), and while members would like each other's posts, none of our posts went viral through this method.

My viral success came from a meme that wasn't related to these engagement group activities. So while you can try this approach, don't count on it as your primary strategy for achieving viral status.

Considerations for Using Reels Boost

Instagram offers a paid promotion option called Reels Boost. I tried it and spent about $20 in the beginning. While it didn't directly help my content go viral, it might have signaled to the algorithm that I was serious about creating Reels.

My advice:

• You can try Reels Boost if you want
• Don't spend too much on it (stay under $50)
• Consider it as an optional supplement to your organic strategy

Why Organic Reach is Preferable to Paid Promotion

The best thing about Reels is the potential for organic reach. You don't want to rely heavily on paid promotion unless you're specifically running Meta ads (which is a different strategy altogether). The power of Reels lies in their ability to reach audiences organically through the algorithm, so focus your energy on creating content that can spread naturally.

Course Summary

That concludes this course on creating viral Reels for your SaaS product. I've shared my complete process and insights based on my experience creating viral content for my habit app RISE.

Resources for Further Learning and Support

If you enjoyed this course, let me know! Send me a message on X (Twitter) if you've completed the course. I'd be happy to chat and share any additional insights.

Also, check out my latest project, Marketing AI, which will be launching on Product Hunt soon. I'd appreciate your support when we launch!