Cole Hastings' Instagram Reels, broken down
71,440 followers, and one Reel did 2,127,242 views, 7.0 times the median of the rest.
What this is
Cole Hastings posts about why fiction teaches better than self-help. The account had 71,440 followers when Scrptly analysed it on 2 May 2026, and the 5 Reels in that analysis did 3,354,971 views between them.
All five Reels open with the word why, all five are about the same argument, and the account is the clearest example on this site of a single question worked repeatedly. It did 2,127,242 views, which is 29.8 views for every follower on the account and 7.0 times the median of the Reels analysed alongside it.
Each line is the transcribed audio from the opening seconds, left exactly as spoken. All 5 are Cole talking to camera.
“Why do fiction books so often teach lessons better than self-help ever could?”
2.1MviewsWatch
“Why do fictional characters feel more real than people in real life?”
492.4KviewsWatch
“Why do fiction books improve something in your brain in a way that self-help never could?”
304.0KviewsWatch
“Why do we often suck at taking advice from self-help books, but change our lives instantly after reading fiction?”
286.0KviewsWatch
“Why does reading fiction make ordinary life feel different afterward?”
145.3KviewsWatch
Every hook is a why question about the same thing
"Why do fiction books so often teach lessons better than self-help ever could?" Then: why do fictional characters feel more real than people, why do fiction books improve your brain, why do we suck at taking advice from self-help, why does reading fiction make ordinary life feel different.
This is not a creator short of ideas. It is one question asked five ways to find out which phrasing travels, and the answer was the first one, at 2,127,242 views against 492,413 for the next. The variable being tested is the sentence, not the subject.
2,127,242 views against a median of 304,008
The Reels analysed ran from 2,127,242 down to 145,326, with a median of 304,008. The one that broke out did 7.0 times that median, against 492,413, 304,008, 285,982 for the next scripted Reels on the account.
That ratio is the only reason this account is on the site. 2,127,242 views means nothing on its own, because a large account produces large numbers by existing. 7.0 times the account's own median is a statement about the Reel.
A 10.62 percent like rate and 29.8 views per follower
226,015 likes on 71,440 followers. The account produces almost thirty views per follower, which is the second highest in this batch, and it does it with 294 to 337 word scripts every time. Length is not the constraint people assume it is.
Scrptly picks Reels on performance against the creator's own baseline, not on raw views. Every figure here is from the analysis, not estimated.
| Check | This Reel | Floor |
|---|---|---|
| Followers | 71,440 (preferred tier) | 5,000 to 2,000,000 |
| Views per follower | 29.8x | 3x |
| Views over own median | 7.0x | 2x |
| Like rate | 10.62% | 3% |
| Comment rate | 0.038% | 0.03% |
| Hook strength | 9 of 10 | 7 |
| Retention score | 88 | 75 |
| Words of transcript | 294 | 60 |
The hooks Cole uses
| Hook pattern | What it does | From which Reel |
|---|---|---|
| Ask why, five different ways | One question rephrased across five Reels. The spread between them is a measurement of the sentence, not the idea. | All five Reels. |
| Compare two categories | Fiction against self-help gives the viewer a side to be on before they have heard the argument. | The 2.1M Reel. |
| Claim a feeling, not a fact | "Why do fictional characters feel more real than people in real life?" asks about an experience, which is harder to dismiss. | The 492.4K Reel. |
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