A Gen Z’s Guide to Discovering the Latest Trending Instagram Audios– Fast!
There’s a lot of information out there on the strategy of using trending audio to go viral. If your feed is anything similar to mine, you may stumble across those posts claiming an immediate increase in views and engagement solely based on the audio you use.
“USE THESE AUDIOS TO GO VIRAL”
orrr
“I GOT TO THIS AUDIO EARLY AND LOOK AT MY STATS”
The sad part: No audio is solely going to make you go viral
The WORST part: These creators claim this audio virality and just end up making you go 5 links deep on their website to find the link to the audio (… I may or may not know this from personal experience)
The good news?: As your token Gen Z, I want to help you not only find trending audios right when you need them, but also teach you to passively save them so you can have a juicy “saved audios” bank when you’re ready to post some content!
In short, utilizing trending Instagram audios for your Reels won’t automatically guarantee an insanely high performing video. However, viewers are more likely to watch, like, comment on, and share Reels that contain recognizable or viral sounds. Identifying trending sounds as they gain momentum gives you an advantage in a sea of endless content.
1. Scroll Through Your Instagram Reels Tab
The easiest way to find trending audios is to simply scroll through your Instagram feed. I call this the doomscroll which is essentially, “ when you start scrolling and you just can’t stop”.
When I’m trying to find a quick audio– this strategy is my first go-to. There are a couple tactics you can go for, either checking if the audio has an upwards arrow next to the audio title, OR manually pick up on the repetition of certain audios as you scroll.
When scrolling through your Reels, check the bottom left corner where the audio is displayed. If you see an upwards arrow next to the audio title, that indicates the audio is gaining popularity and trending on Instagram!
BONUS: Instagram just implemented a “trending audio” sticker on Reels within the feed as shown in the screenshot above! Acting as a Billboard Hot 100 type of list, creators now have a one stop shop to all of the latest trending audios!!! (woo-hoo go insta)
In addition to these tactics, I also suggest scrolling through your Reel’s not to look at arrows, but trying to manually pick up on the repetition of certain audios.
Finding a trending audio pre-saturation is like digging for gold. Sometimes, an audio can be repetitive on your feed before it’s categorized as “trending” by Instagram’s algorithm. If you notice the same song or audio clip repeating, there's a good chance that it will continue to grow!
I recommend either saving the video you viewed to a dedicated folder on Instagram or just directly saving the audios to your “saved audios” folder.
Here’s how to see all of your saved videos and audios:
Tip: Building intentional “feed scroll” time into your schedule WILL make your life easier when it comes time to find audios instead of a chaotic last minute scroll.
2. Take Inspiration From Creators
There are SOOO many Instagram creators that are always on top of sourcing the latest trending audios. For my brand personally, I feel comfortable using a range of audios, including the *RiSkY* ones. Meaning, if they contain a cuss word or a reference to something silly, I’ll use it because my brand is me and my services!
If you relate, I’d recommend following and taking inspiration from various lifestyle creators! ↴
Here’s a couple of my favs:
– Ashlee Bock, a Pinterest-dominating lifestyle creator icon who posts inspirational Reels about all things travel, look books, editing tips, & her cute pup Koda :)
– Clara Peirce, the queen of quick-paced editing and lifestyle creator who I’ve noticed get consistently high views and engagement because of her blend of editing style and use of popular audio <3
If you’re a social media manager or a business owner running socials of a brand that has its own separate tone and personality, then that’s when you’d take inspiration from accounts that have a similar, neutral tone.
A couple of accounts I’d recommend to you:
– Steph Kaluza, a UK-based creator who I originally found organically via a classic doomscroll. I adore her use of audios because she tends to lean into soft and relaxing songs.
– Annika (Sweet and Tidy) – As a lover of all things organization, I fell in love with Annika’s ability to captivate an audience by her CLEANING! Like Clara, her fast-paced editing and use of sound caught my attention. She tends to use pop radio songs that are great for brands who don’t want their audios to be too chaotic.
Repurpose TikTok Trends
TikTok trends are destined to make their way over to Instagram. As sounds gain popularity on TikTok, creators repurpose content with those audios on Instagram, then Instagram picks up on them and adds them to its own audio library.
Remember when I mentioned that “using top trending audios is great, but finding a trending audio pre-saturation is like digging for gold”?
Bringing TikTok audio over to Instagram, dare I say, is like mining a diamond! You are ahead of the curve x2.
Although no audio is guaranteed to get higher views, the clients that I implement this strategy with, tend to get higher views! 🤯
To reuse a TikTok video on Instagram without the TikTok watermark:
1. On TikTok, copy the link to your video. (Click on video → click the three dots on the right → select “copy link”
2. Open a third-party watermark eraser. (I use SnapTik, she’s a little rough around the edges, but she gets the job. Do notttt click on any of the pop-up ads, only download the video when you get a notification that the video is done processing!!!)
3. Navigate to your downloads tab, save the video to your camera roll.
4. Open Instagram and post your watermark free TikTok with the connected audio!
5. With time, Instagram’s algorithm will automatically connect your audio once it’s in their database. In the meantime, it will say “original audio”.
For short-form video content like Instagram Reels, using the right audios is KEY! Finding trending audios can give you an advantage in a sea of endless content.
3 Ways To Find Trending Audio On Instagram:
Scroll Through Your Instagram Reel Tab
Take Inspiration From Creators
Repurpose TikTok Trends
In case we haven’t met, how rude of me to yap for this long without introducing myself. Hi! My name is Kate, and I’m a social media marketer specializing in social strategy and content creation for founders who want to level up on TikTok and Instagram.
Be sure to save this blog post and if you’re feeling extra inspired, check out my Instagram where I share my tips to help business owners like you level up their socials! (Orrrr if you’re more of a hands-off kind of person, I offer full service social media management packages, see HERE for more info)
… I’m currently in the process of finding a sign-off that feels right for me. Today I’m feeling a spin-off of Gossip Girl!
And that’s a secret I WILL tell!
Xoxo,
Kate
