How to Analyze and Study Content That Works on Instagram

One of the most common questions I get is: How do you study content? How do you analyze and figure out what works?

If you’re trying to grow your personal brand or document your journey on Instagram, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel—you just need to study what’s already working and apply it to your own content.

Here’s exactly how I research and analyze content to improve my own videos.

1. Finding Viral Content in Your Niche

The easiest way to see what’s already working is to go to Instagram’s Search (Explore) page and type in relevant hashtags related to your journey.

For me, that’s:
✅ #WeightLossTransformation
✅ #75HardChallenge
✅ #FitnessMotivation

I’ll spend a solid hour scrolling through viral Reels, looking at which ones have the most engagement and impact.

Once I find 3-5 creators whose content style I like, I bookmark their videos for future reference.

2. Studying Patterns & Formats of Successful Creators

Now, I go one step further—I visit their profile and analyze their entire content strategy.

📌 Do they have a series? (Ex: “Day X of My 75 Hard Challenge”)
📌 Are their videos a specific format? (Talking head? Vlog-style? Text overlay?)
📌 What’s their structure? (How do they hook viewers? What’s their pacing?)

For example, I came across a creator named Andrew Artea (500K+ followers) who also documents his fitness journey.

I noticed that:

• His videos are always under 40 seconds
• He follows a clear format: Hook → Story → Lesson → Call to Action
• He switches up narration styles (sometimes using his girlfriend’s voice for a unique perspective)

Instead of copying his content, I applied his format to my own story.

For example, he had a video where his girlfriend narrated the changes she noticed in him after losing weight.

I took that idea and had my wife do a voiceover talking about the weight loss changes she saw in me.

Same concept—but unique to my journey.

3. Writing Out Successful Video Scripts (Manually!)

This is the secret sauce most people don’t do.

I don’t just watch viral videos—I write out their scripts manually.

Why? Because writing activates your brain and forces you to see patterns in their storytelling.

Here’s what I do:

1. Find a high-performing video
2. Manually transcribe everything they say into bullet points
3. Break down the structure (ex: 10-20 bullet points, under 40 seconds, etc.)
4. Ask myself: Why did they say it this way? What makes it work?
5. Repeat this for 10+ videos to spot patterns

Once you do this across multiple videos, you’ll start noticing clear patterns in successful content—how they hook viewers, deliver value, and keep people watching.

4. Understanding Different Video Styles

There are many different ways to create engaging content:
🎥 Vlog-Style: Capturing your day and narrating over it
🎤 Talking Head: One static shot with captions
📝 Text-Only: No speaking, just video clips with overlaid text
🎞 No Dialogue: Just music, movement, and visuals

By analyzing different styles, you can see which one fits your personality and your journey.

Final Thoughts: Reverse-Engineer Success

If you want to get good at creating viral content, you need to study what’s already working and apply it to your own unique story.

👀 Look at what’s going viral in your niche
📌 Find patterns in successful videos
📝 Write out and analyze their scripts
🎥 Test different content formats

And most importantly…keep posting and refining.

That’s how you crack the content game. 🚀