Our Top Tips to Boost your Instagram Engagement

Boosting your Instagram engagement is one of the best ways to organically (free and not paying for advertising) increase your business social media visibility. There is still huge potential on Instagram to be seen and tell a great brand story without paying to play.

Increased Engagement = Higher Content Reach

Make sure you are tracking your posts in your Instagram Insights so you know what tips work for your audience:

Hashtags

Use a variety of different hashtags, don’t use the same ones every time. We recommend having a number of “hashtag buckets” that you can copy and paste from the notes section in your phone into your posts. You can have up to 30 hashtags in one post, so go nuts…

Create Content That will be Saved

Create content that people will want to save and look back on again. Pretty pictures, great tips, recipes, funny quotes, important information (HOT TIP - it’s generally content that isn’t directly about you or your business. Think about what your audience is interested in). Saving your post is a user engaging with your content and when someone saves your post, the ‘Instagram Powers That Be’ (the Insta algorithm) knows and rewards you for posting excellent content :)

BTW - if you are not sure what is good content for saving on Instagram, have a look at your own saved content in your personal profile. What resonated with you to save something?

Write Longer Captions

When people click “Read more”, they have to engage with your post. They can’t just scroll on by.  Those same little ‘Instagram Powers That Be’ will then once again get the same message - you’ve just posted some good content that people are engaging with and it will reward you with a bigger reach.

Use the Multiple Photo Feature

If you post more than one image, the person looking at your content will have to engage with your post to swipe to see the next images. They are also spending more time looking at your post which triggers the Instagram algorithm once again.

And you know what happens next...Engagement = more people being shown your content by the ‘Powers That Be’!!

Use Icons & Stickers in your Instagram Stories

For better engagement, make sure you are using the gifs, stickers and little icons in your stories. There is a heap to choose from including polls, letting people ask you questions (and then answer them), answer yes or no, etc. Encourage more engagement!

Ask People to Share your Posts & Stories

You know that saying: ‘don’t ask, don’t get’? Instagram is one of those. You often just have to ask.

Get your Timing Right

Make sure you are posting when your audience is online. This is for your stories and your published posts. To find the best times, head into your Insights and look at your audience and when they are most online.

Show your Personality

The more authentic your social media is, the more people will want to engage with you. Instagram in particular is a little window into someone's life and business. The more you share, the more people will engage with you, ask questions, like your posts, save your posts. If you can, share some humour, your highs and lows. Be real and genuine.

TOP TIP - if someone asks you a question and posts a comment, make sure you go back and answer them. It’s got to be a two way street!

Use IGTV Video

Much to Cathy’s amusement, I once told a client she had to get over her ego and start using video. I said that no one actually cares what you look like, but they are interested in what you have to say. I meant it with the best of intentions but perhaps it didn’t come out quite right. But it is true. I get it and I hate doing videos and avoid them like the C-Word...the 2020 C-Word (COVID!) , not the rude C-Word. But to get higher engagement, start posting IGTV videos on Instagram.

Go ‘Live’ with Instagram

Another one that calls for you to step out of our comfort zone. If you want to boost your Instagram engagement, Instagram Live is a must! Don’t overthink it, just point, talk and shoot. It will be gone in 24 hours anyway! You are literally a blip on peoples tiny phones screen for a few seconds and then they are onto the next story. That said, because your content is SOOO good, and so valuable/funny/insightful, no doubt they’ll be thinking about you and your business even after they scrolled on through!