Instagram is the second most popular social media platform after Facebook, and its popularity is seeing sustained growth. It has already high engagement with 60% of its users logging in every day. One of the fastest-growing platforms, Instagram raked in more revenue than YouTube in 2019. The platform is barely a decade old, but Instagram has quickly become one of the best social media channels to market your brand.
However, the complex algorithm that keeps changing, and the number of brands vying for the attention of the audience means that engagement is neither easy nor straightforward. However, with some highly effective tricks you can still manage to boost your engagement rate and make the most of this platform.
Use Instagram Stories. And use them daily.
Instagram posts are no longer prioritized chronologically in users’ feeds. With an algorithm that is complex, difficult to crack, and ever-changing, using Insta stories can be your best bet. The good thing about stories is that they look and feel different from the regular posts and show up right at the top. So, chances are that even if your posts are missed while scrolling through the feed, the stories that keep showing at the top will still garner engagement.
Of course, making sure that the content is interesting enough and aimed at starting conversations among the audience will further increase engagement. Having an Insta story will increase your chances of users noticing your brand and interacting with you. A fun element in the story has most chances in driving engagement. However, that totally depends on the brand image you are trying to build.
Use all the Instagram features.
So, a little birdie told us that posts from Instagram accounts that use all the features get a priority in the users’ feeds. This is because Instagram wants to encourage diverse content creation on its platform.
Go on and create a business account if you think it’s relevant to you. The business account comes with some nifty analytics that you can use to understand engagement and improve performance. If you usually stick to only one format for your content, try using different formats such as videos, carousels, stories, highlights, polls, ads and more.
Aim to post at peak times
Aim for the peak times, when most users are online, to post your content. This ensures that more people see your post in their feeds. Also, the Instagram algorithm favors posts that have good engagement at the onset and boosts these posts. So, the posts that perform well from the start get a chance to perform even better.
A simple Google search will tell you at what time most users are online. Aim to post your content at these times. Also, some tools allow you to schedule posts at a specific time. So, you don’t have to actually hit the post button at the stipulated time. With Instagram choosing to hide likes, an early boost in engagement can be helpful in improving the overall engagement rate.
Aim for the optimum number of posts per day
Posting more frequently directly translates to more people being reached, right? But how much is too much? It entirely depends on your specific business and your existing engagement levels. Of course, we don’t recommend posting once in ten days and still hope to engage users. Also, posting several times a day will also not guarantee you followers.
To find the right balance that works for you, try once every day, then switch to two posts per day, or one post every two days. Look at your engagements and see what works best for you.
Go for promotions across different platforms
Cross-promotion is a great idea to reach a wider audience and bring them to engage with your Instagram posts. If they like your posts on other digital platforms, they will like your Instagram posts, too.
CTAs to follow you on Instagram can be added to posts on other social media platforms, emails, websites, etc. Social bookmarking sites let you share links to your social media handles. So this is another option you could check out for increasing engagements.
Video Content is always a good option
Users prefer content in the form of videos and always engage better with this format. Videos are a very easy to consume form of information. They also are quick to grab attention and good videos have the potential of keeping users hooked for the entire duration. This makes sure the content reaches the users and delivers complete information.
While we are not saying that your posts should only be in the form of videos, a good mix of formats including entertaining and informational videos makes sense for better engagement rates.
Pay attention to your bio
The quality of the content of your posts is obviously very important in driving engagement. But, so is your bio. Your bio should be able to build immediate trust in your brand. It should convey what your brand represents. This is very helpful in increasing followers which in turn means that organic engagement for your posts also increases. Also, choose the relevant keywords to make it more effective. Instagram bios can only be 150 characters long. So, choose your words well.
Invest in Instagram Growth Services
With Instagram becoming an effective platform for businesses to market their brands, dedicated services to increase organic engagement are available in the market. If you want to boost your engagement to new levels and make a difference to your Instagram brand marketing, it is a good idea to go for Instagram growth services. With the right services, you can increase the reach of your brand across Instagram to a great extent.
With more and more businesses vying for user engagement, buying followers on Instagram is also on the rise. But here are a few mistakes you should avoid if you are considering buying followers.
