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Are you wondering how to increase your engagement on Instagram? Whether you're a social media influencer, marketer, or simply interested in boosting your personal profile online, chances are you've thought about how to increase your engagement on Instagram.
For now, Instagram remains the king of the social media scene for influencers. And it’s not difficult to see why, since Instagram still has a larger audience than TikTok and has been downloaded more than 1.8B times globally!
Let’s have a look at even more impressive statistics: 18% of people on earth are on Instagram! And 80% of them follow influencers to find interesting products and services.
With such impressive figures, the competition on Instagram is very high. So, to reap the rewards, you don’t just need an audience: you need engagement. Engagement - measured by likes, shares, and comments from users, has become the holy grail of Instagram influencers and marketers.
This is why we are going to talk about the top 5 ways and tips to increase your engagement on Instagram in 2022.
Without further ado, let's dive in!
To understand how to increase it, let’s first discuss what is “Instagram engagement” and why it is so important.
Although interconnected, Instagram engagement and the number of followers you have are two different things! Instagram engagement is all about the interaction and connection your followers have with you and your content!
When engagement is strong, your followers get the urge to react to your content, share their thoughts, give feedback, and more. If this type of connection exists, your audience is more likely to purchase your goods or listen to your advice.
Strong engagement can even get your content prioritized by the Instagram algorithm. And this means you’ll continually reach more and more of the right people organically.
Reading this, you might have a very logical question: How do I know if my engagement is high?
That’s a very simple question with a complicated answer!
There is some debate around this simple definition. If you go online, you will see several different formulas for determining engagement rate.
The answer to this question may change over time considering that the platform changes regularly. But worry not! We’ll constantly update this article to suit the new changes!
For now, let’s see how you can measure your Instagram engagement & tell if it’s an excellent or a not so good one:
These 3 methods are not the only ones used to calculate your Instagram engagement rate. Other metrics you want to pay attention to are DMs, mentions, forwards… etc.
As you can see, measuring Instagram engagement might be a little bit complicated. Luckily, there are some great features that can do this for you!
Mysocial’s MediaKit is the most accurate & fastest one. It offers self-updating reports on the performance of your Instagram account (and other social media channels of yours). All you have to do is connect your account to the MySocial app and you’re ready to go!
Quick Note: You can share these statistics with potential sponsors and other influencers with one click!
Okay; let’s assume you have calculated your Instagram engagement rate. So, what is a good Instagram engagement rate?
Quite frankly, there is no standard definition for a ‘good’ engagement rate. It depends on a wide range of factors, such as specific niche or industry. However, anything that falls between a range of 1% to 5% is considered to be fairly good. Higher than that is just excellent!
Now that we have covered the definition of Instagram Engagement and its importance, let's talk about how to increase engagement on Instagram!
It’s so frustrating to make great content and discover that nobody is paying attention to it. It’s like cooking a very delicious meal for a family and then being upset that people don’t actually eat it.
To avoid this horrible disappointment, let’s discuss tips on increasing engagement on Instagram.
Instagram has recently introduced a way for users to publish content together as a “collab”. By now, you’ve likely encountered a few collabs across your feed or reels, where two accounts are listed as the creators of one specific post.
Essentially, Instagram Collabs open new opportunities to invite like-minded influencers to collaborate in a feed post or a reel.
Collabs are shared with both users' followers. It’s a useful feature for creators and brands as it provides an easy way to tap into relevant new audiences and increase engagement.
The cross-promotional aspect of Collabs means you can share a post on your feed and then amplify it through a partner influencer. This means that all the likes, shares, and comments will appear on the same post on both accounts, allowing you to interact with each other’s followers and double your engagement instantly.
Yes, collaborations are fantastic! But how can you find a like-minded influencer to partner up with?
With the help of Mysocial’s Matchmaking feature, you can find, chat, and collaborate with other like-minded influencers in minutes!
The matchmaking feature is pretty much like Tinder but it’s exclusive for influencers only. It is a place where you can network and work with other content creators.
Using the Matchmaking feature, you will be able to know which influencer is trending on Instagram and instantly connect with one swipe!
In a nutshell, it is a platform where win-to-win relations are established! Imagine, how much easier it is to increase engagement on Instagram by collaborating with other like-minded people?
It won’t be a surprise for you if I say that Instagram is in constant competition with TikTok.
Before TikTok was created, Instagram was all about feed photos and videos. But, in 2017 TikTok came and swept away many Instagram users.
So, Instagram and TikTok entered a fierce competition for the hearts and minds of users (and for their engagement, obviously). And as once said, competition creates innovation… So, Instagram Reels were born!
Reels share many of the same features as TikTok, which is why it’s successfully competing with TikTok, one of the fastest-growing social media apps.
Reels are fast, fun, and effective - everything that the audience wants!
People today tend to have a pretty-short focus span. So. if you can create engaging and attractive reels, they will be watched and shared actively - benefiting your engagement rate!
Another reason why reels can increase your engagement rate as an influencer is their discoverability!
The more people see your content, the higher are chances to have strong engagement. In this sense, reels are a real innovation. If you have a public Instagram account, you can share reels in a dedicated space, called “Explore”.
In the explore, people see your reels even if they are not following you!
And this is exactly why Instagram Reels is a new way to build your community and grow your reach on Instagram. Think of it as a medium to share viral (and creative!) snippets with your potential audience.
With that in mind, YOU should grab the opportunity to engage new audiences through Reels—people who prefer quick-and-easily-digestible content! And needless to say, always throw a call to action (CTA) and ask the viewers to like, comment, and follow you for more.
No one likes being neglected or ignored. And nothing prevents you from increasing engagement on Instagram more than you being inattentive, passive, and so distanced.
Each time an Instagram follower interacts with you, it’s time to engage right back. Show your followers that they are valuable and important to you by dedicating some time and energy.
Respond thoughtfully to comments, DMs, and the Instagram content they tag you in.
And you should not always wait for your followers to start a conversation first. Create polls, ask questions, and request feedback from your audience…! You can easily do that through Instagram stories.
For instance, if you are a fashion influencer, you can create a poll through Instagram Story to let your followers decide what you should wear for an important event. Just put a Story with a picture of you in a black tuxedo suit on the right and a floral dress on the left. Then, ask the question: What should I wear tonight?
Want to take your engagement a step further? Grow your engaged community by reaching out to like-minded influencers! (Don’t forget that you can rely on Mysocial’s Matchmaking feature to accomplish that).
Be proactive and make the first step! Comment on posts from accounts with a similar target audience to gain exposure within their following. You can also follow relevant hashtags to easily identify and comment on posts from potential clients, directly on your feed.
It may sound like a cliché, but if you really want to achieve something, consistency is the key.
This applies to every aspect of life, including social media presence! In other words, having a consistent social media presence is a sure way to increase your Instagram engagement.
By creating new content daily, you keep the posts fresh for your audience. After a few weeks of consistency and your followers will eventually develop a habit of coming back regularly to check if you have posted anything new! And this way, you will increase engagement and build a loyal fanbase.
If you only post once in a while, people may forget about you…
Imagine your favorite Instagram content creator suddenly decides to post only once a week. You go check their reels, stories, and posts… and nothing is new. You come back in a day and still no fresh content.
How long will it take for you to just stop checking?
However, we’re not saying you should go to the platform and start scheduling an endless number of Instagram posts day after day.
There is no ready-to-use recipe for how often you should post. Instead, listen to your followers, read their comments carefully and you will understand what they are expecting from you!
Give it to them!
One of the questions that’s on every influencer’s lips is: What type of content should they post to increase Instagram engagement?
And truth be told, there’s no one-way, single receipt for choosing the right type of content. However, Instagram carousels have proven effective to drive more Instagram engagement, especially for smaller accounts.
Carousels, mostly used for storytelling purposes, are the way you post multiple photos on Instagram on the grid. This grid post can have up to 10 photos, videos, or a mix of the two. Viewers swipe through from right to left on the screen to view each slide, one at a time.
What’s interesting about carousels is that they bring higher engagement rates for small accounts. For accounts with 5K followers or less, well-made carousels can result in a 4.9% engagement rate.
However, there’s a twist that makes everything much more interesting. For bigger profiles, between 10K - 100K followers, video is the type of post that brings a higher engagement rate, up to +2.88%.
Does it make you wonder why carousels increase your Instagram engagement?
Well, it’s all about discoverability!
If you create a carousel post, and a follower scrolls past the post with the first image, Instagram will show them the same post a second time with typically the second photo or video from the same carousel!
This gives you a second chance to grab your follower's attention if they didn't react to your first post image or video! So, make sure that the first two parts of your carousels are catchy and attractive!
As an influencer, you should know that the overall look of your online presence can attract followers.
However, that does not mean that each and every picture you post should be perfect. Oversaturated filters and picture-perfect setups are out! To increase your Instagram engagement, share what’s going on in your life in a raw, unprocessed manner.
The best way to increase your Instagram engagement is to show people that you are a human, just like them. Don’t be afraid to post pictures of daily life, important events, and monthly highlights.
These ways for increasing Instagram engagement are just a few of the directions in which you can boost your performance. But there are plenty of other nuances you have to keep in mind.
People are all different, and so are their Instagram accounts. So, feel free to experiment with yours, try new things, and see what works for you!
Now that you have all these ideas, it's time to put your creativity to work!