5 Ways To Increase Instagram Engagement

If you aren’t on Instagram, you NEED to be.

Instagram is the social media channel that can no longer be ignored.  While some have turned their backs on Instagram simply because they were on Snapchat or couldn’t imagine it being as fun as Facebook, times have definitely changed.

The social media platform has over one billion active users and is steadily growing.  I can’t stress the “active” part enough.  Most other channels might have a user engaging in a like here or a follow there but Instagram users are thriving on this platform.  They share, engage, comment and interact on a daily basis.  In fact, consumer engagement with companies on Instagram is almost off the charts.

Companies and brands on Instagram see user engagement that is 10 times higher than Facebook, 54 times higher than Pinterest and a WHOPPING 84 times more than on Twitter!

It’s no wonder then why Instagram is the new Utopia for marketers and brands.  Here are a few helpful tips to ensure positive user engagement on Insta.

• Posting – You should be posting 1 to 2 times per day.  For specific times to post, follow your own user’s habits.  See when they are most active and that will be the sweet spot to post so you can pop up at the top of their newsfeed.  Use Instagram’s native analytics tool, Insights, to see the pattern of your followers.
• Visual Stories – Instagram is supposed to be a “visual inspiration platform” so use images and video to reach your audience.  Heavy handed marketing ploys or mediocre content will only hurt you in the end by decreasing engagement and losing followers.
• Subtitles – Many users view videos on Instagram without the sound turned on so if you are posting vids in your story or feed, add subtitles or closed captioning so users can follow along.  You can use YouTube’s subtitle tool to add your captions.
• Boomerang – Instagram’s take on the GIF, the Boomerang tool is extremely effective in engagement.  GIFs are loved by users across the board so you should be experimenting with those 15 second or less options.
• Hashtags – This is a very tricky terrain.  Using too many hashtags can make you look unprofessional or even risk you being “shadowbanned” by Instagram.   Try using 7 or less hashtags on your posts.  The key here is relevancy.  Generic hashtags will have you duking it out with millions of other accounts for users and likes.  You want industry specific and targeted hashtags.  I myself am guilty of this but only because I tend to get excited – not from a marketing perspective!

There are tons of other ways to increase or expand your engagement levels on Instagram but these few are the perfect start to getting your content under control and to start reeling in those users.  Instagram is a tight-knit community so focus on quality content and interactions.  Build relationships on the platform and the community will reward you greatly.  Try and remember that people initially flocked to Instagram to escape the mindless chattering of other large social media channels.

Focus on visual content and interacting with your user base in order to succeed in the Instagram environment.

If you find yourself a little short on the time needed to launch a full scale marketing plan or feel like you might be missing something, give us a call and find out how we can help.