Have you ever wondered how you could increase your Instagram engagement? Don’t worry, because you are certainly not alone when it comes to asking that question. With the platforms new algorithm, it became increasingly harder to get good engagement overnight.
Initially, all of the content on Instagram was organized within peoples feeds as being chronological. So matter how big the account was, everything was done one after another in the order in which they were posted.
For a long time, this approach worked great on the platform with minimal complaints. But as the platform became more and more saturated with business ads. Instagram (or Facebook as they are the owner) decided to put a stop to it and change how the platform works.
Now it is done based on the engagement of said account. The reason they chose this way is that now instead of you just seeing the hundreds of business ads that have flooded the platform. You now see the things that Instagram already recognized you interact with, and want to see more of.
With this being said, while it is great for users who want to use the platform for looking at their families events. It has made it extremely hard for users to stand out who want to use the platform for business-related purposes. Typically, only the users with high engagement will continually pop up on their customers feeds.
Today we are going to delve a little bit deeper into how you can increase your engagement on Instagram to get over the algorithm change.
7 Easy Ways to Increase Instagram Engagement
1. Start Conversations with Instagram Stories Stickers
It is time that users start to rethink how they go about creating conversations through Instagram. The only way to create meaningful conversation over Instagram is no longer just through mutual likes and comments. But instead through various new features such as; brand hashtagging, IGTV, and their latest feature which can be found when you access Instagram stories – the sticker box.
While your organic reach will typically decrease as your following on Instagram grows. The engagement you receive on your Instagram stories will only keep growing, and it a compelling way of connecting with your audience.
It is reported that there are currently over 400 million people creating and sharing their Instagram stories worldwide. That is an astronomical number which is higher than the entire population in the whole of the United States of America.
Since the popularity of using Instagram stories has only continued to grow since the feature was first introduced. Instagram has to be continually evolving on how accounts can engage and interact with their followers. That is where the formation of the Instagram story sticker box came from.
The sticker question box is a fantastic way for accounts to let their following ask them questions which they want the answer to. Usually, there wouldn’t be any other way of finding out said questions without meeting the person directly. So it’s a great way to build up a rapport with your following.
Nothing sparks a great conversation better than the classic ‘ASK ME ANYTHING’ line. No matter where you are that is always bound to be electric is creating some chitter chatter.
You can ever post poll, and vote stickers also in your Instagram stories to further engage with your audience. You can ask them directly for their opinions on specific matters. For example;
“Do you prefer me to write on my stories, or to speak on my stories?”
This could be an excellent poll option to use as it will give you valuable information which will then further your business. And the overall success of your account with your following.
You can then use the poll sticker also to ask them questions based on how they rate something. For example;
“How often do you look at my Instagram stories?”
Your following can then move a slider, with an emoji of your choice on it. And then your customers can move the slider to tell you how frequently they watch them. With the left end of the scale being not very often, and the right end of the scale is very often.
2. Write Longer Captions
Were you aware that Instagram now lets you type up to 2,200 characters in your caption? Whether you did or you didn’t. That is a whole lot of potential space for you to be sharing your wisdom with your audience.
The amount of time which users spend looking at a post is one of the key contributors to how well a post performs in someone else’s news feeds. So the longer your caption, the longer someone is likely to be looking at that post, thus meaning the higher it will appear on other users feeds.
This isn’t to say that you should write a horrendously long, waffly caption that nobody is likely to read. It means that you should use as many characters as possible to get your point effectively put across to your audience. This will then ensure that you get as many people spending as long as possible looking at your post.
There is always an opportunity to write something meaningful on your social media platforms. So what you write should reflect on a few things.
Why does this post matter to anyone who is going to read it?
How is this post going to serve someone else other than myself?
Am I effectively getting my intended point across?
Your caption shouldn’t just be a load of random sentences which are strung together. It should effectively capture your audience and make them want to keep reading onto the next line of the story so that they can be truly immersed in the world you are living in.
For any users who feel like they don’t have the time to write engaging captions on their posts consistently don’t need to worry. There is now free scheduling services online where you can sit down in the comfort of your own home, and write multiple captions all at once when you feel in the creative zone.
By doing this, you can benefit from writing multiple captions when you are in the correct flow. Then when the time is right to post the selected image or video, you do not need to worry about experiencing a creative block.
3. Optimize Every Instagram Story You Post
We have already covered why POSTING Instagram stories are vital. But now we are going to cover why OPTIMISING said Instagram story posts are equally as important.
Utilizing the Instagram story feature is a fantastic place to give your audience a location to view more spontaneous photos or videos. But it is also an excellent place to provide them with a more ‘behind the scenes’ view of your life. Less of what you stop and capture, but more so what you see directly out of your eyes so that they can feel immersed in your life.
Every time you post an Instagram story, you should focus on following these three key points. This will make sure that you are giving yourself maximal exposure and engagement from your audience, and also from your potential audience.
4. Include a Mention Sticker on Your Instagram Story
This particular trick is especially useful when you are working with other accounts or businesses on Instagram as it will publicly show that you are collaborating.
Not only will it let the other user know you have tagged them, but it will also help you to build up your community online. In the long run, the separate account can then repost your mention on their platform which will then allow their audience to see you also.
5. Add a Location to Your Instagram Story
If you are looking to boost your exposure on a much more extensive range, then tagging your locations is an absolute must. Thanks to Instagram introducing the new location sticker function, you can add one of these over your IG story to let your audience know precisely where you are.
Other users on the platform can then search for these stickers, and once they click on the one you tagged, your posts will then appear, and they can then view your profile from there. This will allow you to connect with people on a much larger scale when utilized correctly.
For example, if you are at Coachella festival in Los Angeles and you tag the festival. Anyone else who tags, or looks at the ‘Coachella’ tag will be able to see your content, and if they like it, they will then in turn engage and follow your account.
6. Don’t forget to Include Hashtags on Your Instagram Story
While the majority of people are aware of how effective the use of hashtags can be when used on your posts, very few know the benefit of using them on your IG stories.
When you have large hashtags on your story, it can appear quite unattractive and unpleasant when looking at them. The best way to get over this is to shrink the size of said hashtag down and to change the color of the text to the color of the background. This will still allow the function of the hashtag to work. However, you and your audience will no longer be able to see the hashtag as it will be entirely hidden.
7. Schedule Your Instagram Stories to Get More Views
We have already covered today the main points to consider when it comes to utilizing your Instagram stories to the best of your ability. But did you know that through posting your content at the wrong times, or just not regularly enough can be hurting your engagement? If not, let me explain why.
To see when your audience is most active you can turn your account into a business account. This is entirely free of charge and can be done very quickly through the settings in your account. This will then allow you to look at the analytics of your account a lot more in depth. By doing this, you can see when your audience is most active on the platform, and when they are engaging with posts the most. This will then allow you to learn what times of day, and what days are best for you to post either photos or videos to maximize the amount of engagement you are receiving on your account. Also, you can use Instagram schedule post services like Instazood that you just design your post (video or image), after that choose your time for publishing. If you are busy, it is the best and useful way to manage several posts for publishing in different days just in some minutes. And use a watermark on your posts that others can’t copy them.
For anyone unsure of what content to post it advised that you choose a specific time of day to display your stories and content. This is so that your audience can expect you to share your content at a regular time each day, and your audience will then become familiar with that pattern.
Open Up About Your Brand and Business
With the world being full of narcissistic and fake account floating around online, being genuine and transport goes an incredibly long way in building up trust with your audience. When your audience knows more about you personally. What your brand’s mission is. Who is behind the brand. And how and where your products and services are made, they become a lot more trusting and engaging with you and your brand.
Instagram is a fantastic platform to do just that. You can share whenever you send out a new shipment when you are about to launch a new product. When your employees birthdays are, or even when your dogs birthday is. The more you share, the most rapport you will build with your following and this will be very beneficial in the long run for you and your business.
Throughout this year we have seen an enormous surge in accounts regularly doing live Q&A’s online with their owners, and employees. More companies are posting videos about their day to day working lives in one of their offices. And even more content about what their job entails.
If there was ever a time to follow any of the points spoken about today to increase your engagement on Instagram, this is the year to do so.
See also: How to get more followers on Instagram
