Instagram boasts over one billion active users, with more than 500 million using Stories daily. That’s crazy, right?! It is now harder than ever to organically get eyes on your Instagram’s social media content. These staggering numbers highlight the platform’s potential for engagement, but standing out requires strategy and creativity.
Instagram engagement is an important part of your social media strategy. When users like, comment, save, and share your posts, on social media platforms, the algorithm recognizes that your content is relevant. It sees the content getting traction which then pushes it out organically to followers and Non-followers. So how do you stand out on Instagram in today’s busy world to increase your engagement? Let’s find out!
Here are my 6 best practices for maximizing Instagram engagement:
1. Know Your Audience
It’s important to know who your audience is. Use Instagram Insights to look at the demographics and actions of your followers such as: age, gender, location, interests and time active on Instagram. Then tailor your content to what your audience demographics show. Remember to focus on engagement and discovery with your content strategy by keeping in mind that 60% of users find new products on Instagram. Forbes recently stated that Instagram Search is the preferred method, not Google Search for Generation Z. (Younger generations will most likely follow suit.) It is crucial to know your target audience demographics and that your followers are the right audience for your products or services. It is far worse to have a high number of followers (vanity metrics) that are not interested in your business.
2. Create High-Quality Content
Quality Matters! Invest in excellent photography and editing software to make sure your postings have a pleasing visual aesthetic. High-quality content appeals to more viewers and promotes shares, likes, and comments. Some data suggests that engagement rates on posts with strong visual appeal may rise by as much as 45%. Add captions to your images or videos to get responses from viewers and keep them engaged to the very end. Diversify your content so your audience does not get bored. Posts that show the owner, team, or customer, will always have a higher engagement than an education post. People like to see the people behind the account or on the team.
3. Be Consistent
Post content regularly to keep readers interested. Whether you post once a week or once a day, consistency in posting is important. Brands that post regularly find a 32% rise in engagement, which will allow you to build a loyal audience and gain their trust. Instagram’s algorithm is smart and knows when your content is going live when you follow a schedule. When you are not consistent, the algorithm will forget about you. Plan a content calendar and stick to it.
4. Use Hashtags Wisely
Hashtags are the Google Search of Social Media. Using hashtags improves discoverability. Plain and simple. Mix trending and specific hashtags that are relevant to your business, product, service, location, audience and niche. Engagement on posts including one or more hashtags is 12.6% higher. For the best reach, experiment using 6 – 12 hashtags on different posts and track the performance of each post measuring the hashtag quantity and the post’s overall metrics. Instagram recently stated that “less is best” for the quantity of hashtags to be used, but ultimately you have to test and see what works best for you.
5. Engage with Your Audience
Engagement is a two-way street. Participate in your followers’ discussions, like their posts, answer comments, and express gratitude to your followers. Interactions between accounts and their audience increases brand visibility and showcases trust thus building an online friendship. This works with accounts that are not following you, too. It’s an excellent strategy to gain organic new followers by doing exactly what you do to engage with your existing followers. You should now plan 15-30 minutes to engage on your social media accounts every day. Show online love to your followers to receive online love.
6. Leverage Stories and Reels
Reels and Stories are great tools to keep your audience interested. Did you know that stories with less than seven frames have a 70% completion rate? Start off easy with sharing your daily post as a Story and other accounts’ posts to your Stories. Aim for 3 Stories per day and then move up to 6 or 7. You can schedule your Stories just as you do with Reels and posts. Reels have the ability to get further reach and get higher views. This can greatly increase your audience and their interactions. When you want to reach new followers, plan on posting more Reels, Stories and Carousels in your weekly Instagram Strategy.
Conclusion
Remember that it takes multiple touchpoints and time to maximize your Instagram engagement. You need to know your audience, produce excellent content, and engage with them often. These techniques will help you develop a loyal following and greatly increase your Instagram presence. Happy Instagramming!
~Michelle Bixler
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