Here are ways to increase your engagement rate on instagram in 2020. Based on my experience managing a large luxury brand’s instagram of 1.7M followers as well as my own personal account, I’ve learned what factors truly increase your engagement rate on Instagram.
Whether you’re a Blogger, Marketer, Brand, or Content Creator, chances are you’ve definitely thought about how to increase engagement to help grow your online business. You’re also probably wondering, where to begin or have tried everything to beat Instagram’s advanced algorithm. Not to worry, I’m here to help you break it down for you to measure up your success!
So let’s begin with what is an engagement rate? Engagement rate is a metric that measures how your audience is involved with your content. This degree is used to analyze the health of your audience and the level of interactions they have with your posts and stories. Below are some important functions on Instagram that make up engagement – they are likes, comments, shares and saves.
Important Metrics That Make Up Engagement On Instagram:
Likes
Likes are when you tap on a photo and the heart lights up in the lower left corner. It’s a way to express appreciation and engage with someone’s creativity.
Comments
Comments are messages you receive in your captions. This form of engagement creates unity and community amongst your followers. Try to put time and thought into your captions, as this will influence your followers to respond. I truly believe this is the most valuable form of engagement, as it shows the connection you have with your followers.
Saves
Saves are when someone selects the little badge on the right under your post. This will save your post to their saved folder, so they can access it in the future. Instagram favors saves as well. I see a huge lift in impressions when theres a large amount of saves for a post. Therefore, create inspiring content that’s save worthy.
Shares
Shares are the paper airplane icon that looks like an arrow under your photo. This is when someone shares your post with another person or to their story and is a great indicator of their willingness to be connected with your account. Additionally, this is great advertising for your brand, as someone is organically promoting your profile for you.
Now Let’s Learn How To Increase Your Engagement Rate On Instagram
1. Engage with Others
When I’m asked how can someone grow their engagement rate, my response is to put in the work that you want to see on your own channel. To increase your engagement rate on instagram, you also need to engage!
Engaging is simply liking, commenting, saves, and sharing. I see a huge lift in accounts viewing my IG page when I engage with others. It’s putting yourself out there to be seen.
Hint – if you like someone’s content, take the time to read their caption and engage with what they’re writing. This creates a stronger bond between you and the influencer and will entice the influencer to go on your account and engage.
Moreover, when commenting on other accounts, try to go beyond the basic emoji. You’ll have more eyes on your comment if you put in a little more effort. Essentially, write something that you would want to see on your account.
Finally, don’t be a Lurker. No one likes that. Instagram built this platform for social engagement. To make unique connections with like minded people. So have fun with it and meet new people along the way!
2. Your Caption Speaks Volumes
In the past, I never put much emphasis in my captions. I felt like the image was enough, why should I waste more time trying to also have a caption behind it? Well, fortunately I didn’t let my stubbornness get the best of me. I started to put more effort into my captions to describe the photo and spoke about personal emotions and achievements. My followers learned more about myself and slowly my comments grew as a response.
When I brought my personal life into my account, my audience connected with me more and told me what they wanted to hear. I recognized what my audience responded to the most, so I stuck to that messaging and my engagement rate increased.
3. Actions After You Post Content
After you post on Instagram, engage for at least 20-30 minutes with your followers. This helps get more eyes on your content, beat the algorithm, and increase your engagement rate on Instagram.
Be aware of the accounts that comment on your content the most, those are the ones to engage with when you post. They are your loyal followers, so they’ll also go to your page to see your recent content. My professional experience has taught me that when your content performs well in the first hour, then Instagram reads it as great content to push out to a bigger audience.
4. Frequency
The Facebook team said that it’s not about the time of day you post, but the frequency of your posting. To increase your engagement rate on Instagram, you should focus more on consistency as opposed to the best time.
Therefore, commit to posting every day. This tells Instagram that you’re an authentic account and loyal to your followers.
Additionally, when you post consistently your followers are aware to engage with your content regularly. So, make it a priority to post everyday to develop a great relationship with your followers and Instagram.
5. IG Stories
IG Stories is a different outlet for you to reach your followers. This is a great platform to test different forms of storytelling that are less edited and more organic. A behind the scenes glimpse of your life, this form of storytelling creates a stronger connection with your audience.
Also, IG Stories are a great way to test different content. Such as interviews, how-to’s, and DIY’s. See how your followers react and learn more about how you can service them.
Through my professional social media experience, I’ve learned that 8 story frames a day is enough to avoid follower fatigue. After 8 frames, I’ve seen a higher exit rate which isn’t great because you want your followers to stay on your channel.
6. Polls and Question Stickers
These are features in IG Stories that truly increase your engagement rate. Additionally, they create a stronger interaction with your followers.
Polls
Question polls are Yes/No feature stickers for your IG Stories. Once you create one in your stories, you’re able to monitor the results for 24 hours. It’s very easy to get creative with IG Polls from gathering feedback, educating your followers, or just having fun.
Emoji slide polls allow your followers more options for feedback. This is a great feature for you to step away from the standard yes or no question and allow for a neutral response.
Questions
Question sticker allow you to ask more general, specific questions. This enables you to widen your question possibilities. You can do a basic “Ask me anything,” and give your followers the freedom to learn more about you.
Polls and questions are a fantastic feature for you to engage with your followers in a more active way. This form of engagement also allows you to learn what they want to see in order for you to better service them.
How does this help your engagement rate? Instagram can read the involvement your followers have with your account. The more interactions your account has, the more Instagram pushes it out to more followers.
7. Hashtags
Many say that hashtags are not as relevant as they used to be. I 100% disagree. Hashtags are still very relevant and a great way for your account to get notice by new followers. Instagram’s new algorithm only pushes your content out to 10% of your followers. Therefore, hashtags are the best alternative for a higher reach.
Moreover, hashtags are the easiest way for you to connect with new followers within your niche. Use hashtags that fit your content, so the audience within that hashtag will visit your profile. The purpose of using hashtags is that you essentially want more viewers with similar interests to your profile. Once they’re on your feed, they will be more engaged to follow you.
My impressions are significantly higher when I use hashtags specific to my niche. I would definitely recommend using at least 15-30 hashtags per post. It truly increases my accounts visibility and helps grow a following.
8. Tag and Mention Other Accounts
Mentioning other accounts helps grow your reach and bring more unique followers to your profile. Tagging other accounts and brands in your feed and IG stories will enable your account to be seen by their followers.
9. Provide Value
I associate Content Creators as providing a free service. You are servicing others with aspirational or informative content on social. Content Creators should provide some sort of value to the viewer in order for them to feel the need to follow.
Whether its fitness routines, styling techniques, or cooking recipes, Content Creators who provide value or solve a problem always have stronger engagement rates. I have seen accounts skyrocket because they offer robust and educational content for free.
So, how do you provide value on Instagram? Figure out how to solve a problem. What are people searching for? What do you think is missing from the space? When I create a post, I’m always asking myself how can I add value. When you’re providing a service, your customer’s needs come first. The same goes for Instagram content.
10. Be An Authority On Your Niche
Finally, be an authority on your topic. Show up on the channel with confidence and be the expert in your niche. You want your followers to think of you when they need advice or inspiration. So don’t overwhelm yourself on different topics to cover. Pick one or two topics and make it your focus.
Word of mouth marketing is the best form of marketing, so be an authority on your niche in order for a follower to recommend you. More importantly as an authoritative voice, you gain trust amongst your followers which is a key factor in increasing your engagement rate.
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