u/Fit-Acanthaceae-7399

If your reels have been flopping over the past few weeks, this is likely why.

Instagram quietly updated how it ranks and distributes Reels and you can check this for yourself. Go into the insights of any Reel and look for a metrics breakdown with percentages. If you see it, the app is showing you exactly what it now uses to decide who sees your content.

I spent a year as a writer and creative strategist at Personal Brand Launch and have been developing personal brands for coaches and founders since. I first noticed a widespread reduction in reach. The strategy that was previously working didn’t seem to work anymore. Thankfully, Instagram wants creators to grow and be able to make users stay on the app so they’ve been pretty transparent about what they changed. When this update dropped I went through it across all my clients' accounts. Here's what the new priority order looks like:

1. Skip Rate

The % of viewers who left in the first 3 seconds. Keep this around 20%.

Your hook controls this number entirely. A bad hook means the majority of viewers are gone before the video starts. From there, every other metric suffers because you're working with a fraction of the audience you should have. Poor watch time, low shares, low likes. Then you blame the algorithm, or you convince yourself organic doesn't work, and you start paying for reach you used to earn for free. It all comes back to the first 3 seconds. Think of it as the 20% that drives 80% of your results.

2. Share Rate

The % of views that turned into shares.

Think about the last thing you sent a friend or saved to your story. It was probably funny or made you think "this is literally me." That's the target. For founders and coaches the sweet spot is educational content delivered in a way that's genuinely entertaining. A story, a live experiment, a format no one's used before. Something that makes someone go "bro you need to see this."

3. Like Rate

The % of views that turned into likes.

This one surprised me. Likes haven't been a priority metric since the early days of the platform. My read is that Instagram is using it to give newer and less established creators a boost. Either way the play is the same. Give people a dopamine hit. Make them laugh, teach them something they didn't know, or say something that lands close to home.

A few other things worth knowing:

• Comments are now last in priority. If your strategy has been built around driving comments through ManyChat or CTAs, that approach just lost most of its leverage. Shift focus to skip rate and share rate.

• These metrics are all calculated from views, not accounts reached. One account watching twice counts as two views. So even on a viral video the percentages won't look impressive. From what I've seen across my clients' accounts, 4-5% in share or like rate is enough to push a video into viral territory. Don't let low percentages panic you.

• One thing I don't have enough data on yet: whether Instagram measures carousels by the same criteria. This breakdown is specific to Reels. Still testing. Will post an update when I have something concrete.

Did the rest of you notice a drop too? If so what metrics were you prioritizing? Would be useful to compare notes.

If your reach has dropped over the past few weeks, this is likely why.

Instagram quietly updated how it ranks and distributes Reels and you can check this for yourself. Go into the insights of any Reel and look for a metrics breakdown with percentages. If you see it, the app is showing you exactly what it now uses to decide who sees your content.

I spent a year as a writer and creative strategist at Personal Brand Launch and have been developing personal brands for coaches and founders since. I first noticed a widespread reduction in reach. The strategy that was previously working didn’t seem to work anymore. Thankfully, Instagram wants creators to grow and be able to make users stay on the app so they’ve been pretty transparent about what they changed. When this update dropped I went through it across all my clients' accounts. Here's what the new priority order looks like:

1. Skip Rate

The % of viewers who left in the first 3 seconds. Keep this around 20%.

Your hook controls this number entirely. A bad hook means the majority of viewers are gone before the video starts. From there, every other metric suffers because you're working with a fraction of the audience you should have. Poor watch time, low shares, low likes. Then you blame the algorithm, or you convince yourself organic doesn't work, and you start paying for reach you used to earn for free. It all comes back to the first 3 seconds. Think of it as the 20% that drives 80% of your results.

2. Share Rate

The % of views that turned into shares.

Think about the last thing you sent a friend or saved to your story. It was probably funny or made you think "this is literally me." That's the target. For founders and coaches the sweet spot is educational content delivered in a way that's genuinely entertaining. A story, a live experiment, a format no one's used before. Something that makes someone go "bro you need to see this."

3. Like Rate

The % of views that turned into likes.

This one surprised me. Likes haven't been a priority metric since the early days of the platform. My read is that Instagram is using it to give newer and less established creators a boost. Either way the play is the same. Give people a dopamine hit. Make them laugh, teach them something they didn't know, or say something that lands close to home.

A few other things worth knowing:

• Comments are now last in priority. If your strategy has been built around driving comments through ManyChat or CTAs, that approach just lost most of its leverage. Shift focus to skip rate and share rate.

• These metrics are all calculated from views, not accounts reached. One account watching twice counts as two views. So even on a viral video the percentages won't look impressive. From what I've seen across my clients' accounts, 4-5% in share or like rate is enough to push a video into viral territory. Don't let low percentages panic you.

• One thing I don't have enough data on yet: whether Instagram measures carousels by the same criteria. This breakdown is specific to Reels. Still testing. Will post an update when I have something concrete.

Did the rest of you notice a drop too? If so what metrics were you prioritizing? Would be useful to compare notes.

If your reach has dropped over the past few weeks, this is likely why.

Instagram quietly updated how it ranks and distributes Reels and you can check this for yourself. Go into the insights of any Reel and look for a metrics breakdown with percentages. If you see it, the app is showing you exactly what it now uses to decide who sees your content.

I spent a year as a writer and creative strategist at Personal Brand Launch and have been developing personal brands for coaches and founders since. I first noticed a widespread reduction in reach. The strategy that was previously working didn’t seem to work anymore. Thankfully, Instagram wants creators to grow and be able to make users stay on the app so they’ve been pretty transparent about what they changed. When this update dropped I went through it across all my clients' accounts. Here's what the new priority order looks like:

1. Skip Rate

The % of viewers who left in the first 3 seconds. Keep this around 20%.

Your hook controls this number entirely. A bad hook means the majority of viewers are gone before the video starts. From there, every other metric suffers because you're working with a fraction of the audience you should have. Poor watch time, low shares, low likes. Then you blame the algorithm, or you convince yourself organic doesn't work, and you start paying for reach you used to earn for free. It all comes back to the first 3 seconds. Think of it as the 20% that drives 80% of your results.

2. Share Rate

The % of views that turned into shares.

Think about the last thing you sent a friend or saved to your story. It was probably funny or made you think "this is literally me." That's the target. For founders and coaches the sweet spot is educational content delivered in a way that's genuinely entertaining. A story, a live experiment, a format no one's used before. Something that makes someone go "bro you need to see this."

3. Like Rate

The % of views that turned into likes.

This one surprised me. Likes haven't been a priority metric since the early days of the platform. My read is that Instagram is using it to give newer and less established creators a boost. Either way the play is the same. Give people a dopamine hit. Make them laugh, teach them something they didn't know, or say something that lands close to home.

A few other things worth knowing:

• Comments are now last in priority. If your strategy has been built around driving comments through ManyChat or CTAs, that approach just lost most of its leverage. Shift focus to skip rate and share rate.

• These metrics are all calculated from views, not accounts reached. One account watching twice counts as two views. So even on a viral video the percentages won't look impressive. From what I've seen across my clients' accounts, 4-5% in share or like rate is enough to push a video into viral territory. Don't let low percentages panic you.

• One thing I don't have enough data on yet: whether Instagram measures carousels by the same criteria. This breakdown is specific to Reels. Still testing. Will post an update when I have something concrete.

Did the rest of you notice a drop too? If so what metrics were you prioritizing? Would be useful to compare notes.

I spent a year at Personal Brand Launch, writing for over 15 new founders/business owners/coaches looking to grow their personal brand every month. More recently, helped a rugby coach from Australia get multiple viral videos, go from 700 followers to now 6K+ and turn his followers into customers. Want to give back and help, those struggling with any of this.

Ask me anything below! 👇

Or drop your IG @ for honest feedback.

I spent a year at Personal Brand Launch, writing for over 15 new founders/business owners/coaches looking to grow their personal brand every month. More recently, I’ve helped a rugby coach from Australia get multiple viral videos, go from 700 followers to now 6K+ and turn his followers into customers. Want to give back and help, those struggling with any of this.

Ask me anything below! 👇

Or drop your IG @ for honest feedback.