With over one billion users and 500 million daily users, Instagram is one of the absolute leaders in social media marketing. According to a study by Forrester Research, posts on Instagram have an average follower interaction rate of 4.21%. That’s the equivalent of 58 times a post on Facebook.
However, a high follower count does not equal a successful Instagram presence. Interacting with subscribers is equally essential to prevent visibility from dropping. The higher the engagement rate, the more likely it is that the algorithm will classify the Instagram channel as more relevant and display the published posts to a larger number of users.
Since you need to stand out among countless other posts from other accounts, appealing images and interesting topics are the foundation. Instead of hoping that engagement will increase on its own, you should work on it specifically.
Below, we present some tips on how to use Instagram’s algorithm to your own advantage and, in some cases, achieve great results in terms of engagement rates even with small changes.
#1: Interaction with story stickers
Instagram Story stickers offer the opportunity to encourage your followers to interact. This has the advantage for companies that strong customer loyalty can be built up. Examples of story stickers include polls, questions, countdowns, quizzes, and emoji sliders.
#2: Translate personality into stories
To encourage interaction with your own community, it is advisable to show more faces and the personalities behind them on Instagram instead of pure product images. Because followers want to see what’s behind the brand, and the Instagram story format is perfect for those more personal interactions!
#3: Insta-Collabs
Instagram Collabs is a post that generates reach and interactions on two accounts. Thus, it offers a new way to increase engagement on Instagram – especially with reels. With this feature, the user can invite another Instagram user to write a shared content (feed post or reel). This post will then be displayed on both profiles. In this way, both users share the same views, likes, and comments, and a way is created to interact with the other user’s community.
#4: Launch an enticing sweepstakes
Everyone loves giveaways. Why not include them in your Instagram strategy? In doing so, companies should make sure that the gifts are used consciously. These should be enticing to both the existing target audience and the potential target audience and fit the brand. Because with the right giveaway, whether it’s a product or service, engagement can be greatly increased.
#5: Content strategy: Sharable quotes
Catchy quotes are ubiquitous on Instagram – and they’re perfect for driving engagement. Especially when they are both emotionally moving and aesthetically pleasing. In other words, posting popular sayings and interesting wisdom, is a great way to inspire your subscribers and motivate them to share the post with friends.
#6: Use relevant hashtags
Hashtags are primarily a reach tactic – but greater reach usually means greater engagement.
A recent study by Later found that posts with 30 hashtags on Instagram averaged the highest engagement rates. Importantly, hashtags should also target niche communities that resonate with your content.
#7: Sharing information in carousel posts
Instagram carousels allow you to share up to 10 images and videos in one post. Whether you’re posting image content or supporting a social cause, carousel posts with some added value can help users repost them and get them saved. This in turn is an opportunity to increase engagement.
You have questions about one of the points? No problem, we TACSYs are happy to help!
Author: Tra My Ta
