Top Reels by DMs: How to Know What to Post Next

Views are a vanity number for anyone selling something. The reel that matters is the one that made people comment a keyword and open a DM, because that is the reel that led to a booking, a download or a sale. Viralyze ranks your reels by exactly that, on the home screen, over 7, 30 or 90 days. Read it once a week and the question of what to post next mostly answers itself.

This article explains what the ranking shows, how to read it, and a simple way to turn it into a content plan.

What does "top reels by DMs" show?

Your reels ordered by the number of Auto-DMs they triggered in the chosen period. Each entry links to the reel's own automation, where the full funnel of comments, matched, delivered, clicked and signed up is available.

The list sits alongside the other home screen numbers: DMs sent, link clicks, follower growth and revenue. Together they tell you which content moved people and what happened after.

Why rank by DMs instead of views or likes?

Because a DM is an action with intent. Someone who comments "PRICE" wants to know the price. Someone who watches twice may just like the music.

In our experience, the reels that top the DM list are often not the ones with the most views. A niche how-to with 8,000 views and 400 DMs is a better business reel than a trending audio clip with 200,000 views and 12 DMs. The ranking makes that visible.

How do I read the list over different time ranges?

Use 7 days to decide this week's post, 30 days to spot a theme, and 90 days to see your evergreen winners.

A reel that is top over 7 days but absent over 90 might be a one-off. A reel that stays in the top five over 90 days is a format worth repeating with a new example every month.

How do I turn the ranking into a content plan?

1. Open the 30-day list and write down the top five reels. 2. For each one, note the format (talking head, screen demo, before-and-after), the topic, and the keyword. 3. Look for what two or more have in common. 4. Plan next week's reels around that common element with fresh examples. 5. Set up each new reel's automation to start with your next post, so it is Live from the first second.

A concrete example from a skincare formulator: her 30-day list showed three ingredient-explainer reels in the top five, all with keyword "ROUTINE", and none of her product-showcase reels. She moved to two explainer reels a week, kept "ROUTINE" sending her routine-builder PDF, and let the checkout page sit inside that PDF rather than in a separate sales reel.

What if a top reel has many DMs but few clicks?

Then the reel is doing its job and the DM is not. Open that automation's funnel: a wide gap between delivered and clicked means the message needs a shorter first line with the link up front.

This is the advantage of ranking by DMs and then checking the funnel. The ranking tells you which reels pull; the funnel tells you whether you are catching what they pull.

Does this help with story content as well?

Story reply automations have their own funnels, but the top reels list is specifically about reels and posts. For stories, compare automation funnels side by side.

Everything here is included in the Starter plan at ₹199 a month: analytics, unlimited Auto-DMs, scheduling and contacts export. The data comes through the official Instagram API, and Viralyze never posts to your feed or sees your password.

Frequently asked questions

**Does the ranking count comments that did not match a keyword?** No. It counts DMs triggered, so a reel with lots of general comments but few keyword comments ranks lower than one that drove keyword comments.

**Can I see the ranking for an older period, like last quarter?** The home screen offers 7, 30 and 90-day ranges. Each automation also keeps its own lifetime numbers.

**Will reposting a top reel trigger the same automation?** A repost is a new post, so create a new automation for it, or use the comments-on-any-post trigger with the same keyword.

Start your 7-day free trial of Viralyze, no card needed, and let your next reel be the one your audience already told you they want.