Gone are the days when Instagram was all about scrolling through pretty pictures and cat videos. Now, everyone, including pets and businesses, is on the platform.
Indeed, Instagram has become one of the most popular social media platforms in the world.
That’s why if you’re a brand using Instagram to market your business, it’s crucial you learn how to create authentic engagement. It’s natural for brands to feel pressured to be present on social media. But don’t forget, the most important thing is your Instagram strategy.
To build a successful presence on the platform, posting high-quality content alone won’t cut it if no one is interested in interacting with your content.
You need your target audience to like, share, and comment on your post to tie your Instagram efforts to your business goals.
With that said, this article will give you an in-depth guide on how to get more engagement on Instagram in order to scale up your Instagram marketing efforts.
What is Instagram Engagement?
Instagram engagement is a collection of metrics that tell how well your content resonates with your audience.
In essence, it’s a measure of how people are interacting with your content and how passionate they are about your brand. Instagram engagement can be measured in terms of posts like count, shares, saves, and comments.
What is a Good Engagement Rate on Instagram?
According to Instagram standards, a good engagement rate should be around 1%. So, if you can achieve anything around this number, you’re good to go. However, in most cases, it’s recommended to shoot for a higher engagement rate than the platform’s average.
If you can achieve 3%-5%, that’s considered a high engagement rate and will likely work in favor of Insta’s algorithm.
But how do you actually calculate the engagement rate on Instagram? Here’s one of the most straightforward formulas.
Total Interactions= Likes, comments, shares, saves, story replies
8 Proven Ways to Increase Your Instagram Engagement
Now that we’ve determined the importance of Instagram engagement and how to calculate it, we’ll get a bit practical in this section. Here are eight proven ways to increase your engagement rate.
1) Know Your Audience
If you want to create content that your audience loves and interacts with, it all starts with getting to know your audience first. By knowing specific details about who consumes your content, you can fine-tune your Instagram initiatives and influence to suit their needs.
On top of that, you can craft content that resonates with them and address their pain points. To find out the kind of content that gets the most engagement from your loyal fans, look at your Instagram analytics data.
Also, you can use the questions and poll stickers on Instagram stories to get real-time feedback on the kind of content your audience loves.
2) Create High-Quality Content
Instagram users love some good visual content.
Therefore, if you want your brand to stand out among the crowds, you must utilize visuals to communicate with your target audience. Also, since visual content is more engaging, it has a better chance of being liked and commented on.
And by visuals, we are talking about memes, gifs, images, animations, photos, videos, graphics, and charts. Lighting is the first thing you need to pay attention to when creating high-quality content. Dark, grainy, and dimly-lit photos are a bad look for your brand.
Therefore, capture your images and videos in natural light to make them more realistic and boost your Insta presence.
In addition, pick a cohesive color scheme for your Instagram profile. Such consistency appeals to the eye and will likely encourage people to engage with your content.
Finally, don’t shy off from telling a good story with your captions. While short and sweet is seemingly a better choice, don’t be afraid to take up space. Good captions add context to your visual content and showcase your unique brand personality.
3) Post Consistently at the Right Time
The more content you post, the more opportunities your followers get to engage with your content.
Therefore, commit to a consistent posting schedule to keep your content fresh and your audience intrigued. And while consistency is key, timing also influences your engagement rate on Instagram.
Ensure you post on Instagram at the right times, preferably when you have active users.
No matter how many posts you put out, your engagement will still be relatively low if your audience is asleep. As a general rule of thumb, the best time overall to post is Tuesday.
But you will also get good engagement on Wednesdays from 10 a.m., 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursdays, and 10 a.m. on Fridays. Brands are encouraged to use this guideline, but looking at your analytics to see what posting times work best for your specific audience is crucial.
4) Share User-Generated Content
To boost your engagement, you need to stop treating your Instagram profile like a broadcast. You need to engage with your audience, and the best way to do this is by posting user-generated content.
If someone tags you on their post, share it on your Instagram stories. That way, your audience will feel listened to, almost like they are part of a secret club. At the same time, it may encourage more of your followers to interact with your content.
Another useful way to collect UGC is by using branded Instagram hashtags. But before you share user-generated content on your profile, always ensure you have their permission to repost.
5) Collaborate with Other Influencers
Instagram collaborations are the newest way to boost engagement. With the Collabs feature, you can invite another influencer to collaborate on a post or reel. That allows them to share the content with their followers as well.
Collaborations give you a chance to co-author content with another influential figure on the platform, and the post will appear on both of your feeds. That way, you get to leverage each other’s communities.
6) Interact with Your Followers
Do you like being left on read? Well, neither do your followers. Therefore, when your followers reach out through DMs or comment on your posts, engage with them. And tapping on the heart button is not how to respond; it’s no better than ignoring them.
The best way to make your followers heard is by thoughtfully responding to comments, DMs, and any content they tag you in. That will inspire them to engage again in the future and create a solid ground for a great relationship.
A great place to start is by reaching out to your followers yourself. Make the first move and watch how fast you’ll be able to grow a community of like-minded followers. Also, engage with others in your niche by commenting on relevant posts within your industry.
7) Run a Giveaway Contest
People love free things. That’s why a giveaway should be part of your strategy for boosting engagement on Instagram. Giveaways get people to engage with your brand like never before.
But don’t just throw in a giveaway. Make sure it’s intentional and authentic to your brand. Also, it must be enticing to your audience.
That means you must offer prizes that provide value to your audience. It needs to be something that the audience will likely appreciate.
And to increase your Instagram engagement through giveaways, you could have an entry requirement. One of the best ones is the tag, follow and share. It’s one of the most straightforward ways to get tons of engagement on your profile.
8) Buy Instagram Engagement
Organically building engagement on Instagram is no easy feat. Even with all the savvy tips in this article, it takes a lot of time and commitment to see small results.
That’s why if you want to give your Instagram account an instant boost, one of the easiest ways is to buy cheap Instagram comments and likes from Buy Real Media.
Buy Real Media is a reputable social media service platform. Therefore, you can rest easy knowing you’ll get high-quality comments and likes that will catapult your engagement rate. The best part is that you get real people’s comments and likes, not bots.
That works in favor of Insta’s algorithm, increasing your account’s likeness to appear on explore pages.
Conclusion
And there it is- 8 ways to creatively boost your Instagram engagement.
These tips will give you a much-needed boost. But keep in mind that one spike of engagement is not enough. Follow these tips consistently, and don’t be afraid to keep experimenting and refining what works best for you.
