Instagram is one of the largest social media platforms. Millions of people are just waiting to discover your content. And through Instagram marketing, you can spread your service or products all over the world. But, it may seem discouraging when you consider how much content is out there. How do you reach a large number of people when everyone has so many other options? This article will show you how to increase engagement on Instagram your content finds loyal and enthusiastic consumers.
In order to ensure your content gets visibility, your account needs to have high engagement with the Instagram community. Engagement refers to the interaction between members of the community who come across your content. And for business, this engagement is very important to get the desired ROI.
But, this engagement comes in many different ways. So here are a few sure and true ways to increase your Instagram engagement authentically and sustainably.
How to Get More Engagement on Instagram
Consistent Posting
Posting great content is important to gain an audience, but retaining them is important as well. This can be achieved by posting consistently. When someone follows you, they expect your brand of content from you – by sticking to a consistent posting schedule, you fulfil that expectation and remain at the forefront of their Instagram experience.
Moreover, posting consistently helps you to keep building your audience as well as to give your content a wider reach!
Calls to Action
Calls to action (commonly called CTAs) are all the buzz right now, and for good reason. A call to action is when your post, story or reel asks the consumer to respond in an active manner. An example of this would be a simple, clear request, such as, “head over to my website for a discount!”
The difference this makes is that the user feels involved in your content and therefore in your story – you are letting the user know that their participation matters and is needed. This keeps their engagement far better than just providing information with no meaningful call to act upon it.
Use # Hashtags to boost engagement
Hashtags are one of the best tools Instagram has to offer. Using relevant and creative hashtags will not only boost your reach but also let people from your audience know that you share the same interests as them.
The idea here is to use specific hashtags relevant to your content, your audience and the niche community that exists and would be interested in what you have to offer. An example of this would be using the hashtag #canon if you are a photography account. The right combination of hashtags can work wonders for your engagement.
Engage Audience Through Stories Using Stickers
Instagram stories have a treasure trove of engagement tools hidden away, and the chief among these are the interactive stickers. These can be polls where users choose multiple options, answers to the questions, slides, etc. to accept responses to let your audience know about major events.
This helps your engagement by removing the digital barrier through direct communication, where each user can give their direct opinion or ask questions to the creator. Story stickers are truly an invaluable tool for engagement.
Creating saveable or shareable graphics
One of the most valuable pieces of content is easily saveable and shareable content – this can be in the form of memes, text quotes, or a tweet. Posting this kind of content that is simple to absorb and may be shared between friends, or saved to read later, such as an inspiring quote, is an easy way to increase engagement.
This does not require much effort from the user and allows the user to express themselves through your content.
Sharing Information in Carousel Posts
Carousel posts are a goldmine of engagement opportunities. Having multiple images to slide through on one post ensures that the user interacts with your post. Moreover, carousel posts allow the content to be expressed as a continuous story. This makes the user feel involved with your content.
Though carousels require a longer attention span, they are also personal and unique opportunities for engagement.
Collaborating on Reels
Instagram reels are a great way to reach a wide audience. Instagram pushes reels the most out of any content on the platform, and a good reel is a great way to increase reach. However, a lesser-used feature of reels is the collaboration option.
Collaborating with the right people, who may have something to offer your audience, is a great way to increase engagement. This is because you are doing the same for them! When either of your audiences interacts with the post, it counts as engagement. The possibilities are, therefore, endless!
Share Your Authentic Story
The number one thing you can do to get people to ask questions, take part in polls, visit your website, comment, share your posts, or any other form of engagement is to be authentic. This means really thinking about what your content represents, where it comes from and the real reasons and motivations behind your posting.
Aiming to represent this will always help increase your engagement. Since people are continuously interacting on Instagram, someone will always relate to an authentic story told well.
Giveaways
If you offer a product or a service on your Instagram page, giveaways are a great way to increase engagement as well as provide a meaningful sample of what you have to offer. Giveaways refer to giving away for free a product or a service that you offer – in exchange for this, you can make audiences engage with your content, page or website!
For example, if you offer a giveaway on a speaker, you can pair this with calls to action such as “visit my website to sign up for this giveaway!” The options are really endless, as everyone loves a freebie!
Take part in conversations
As an Instagram creator, you are part of the community that you are trying to reach out to. Therefore, it only makes sense that one of the best ways to engage with that community is to simply talk to them. You can do this by responding to comments, asking relevant questions, simply DMing fellow members of the community or by engaging them through stories.
You can also start conversations through meaningful captions that share your experiences or parts of your journey that you feel you can talk about. Always be open to communication!
Conclusion
As you have seen, it is really not difficult to increase Instagram engagement. Follow these ten tips and watch those numbers get higher! But always remember – authenticity is sustainability.
