How to Increase Engagements on Instagram
More than 1.4 million people actively use social media, and Instagram is a valuable tool for branding your business. Since marketers and businesses aim to connect with their audiences and achieve success, you need more than just an account or followers. Posting content isn't sufficient; you need likes, comments, and shares for your account to perform well—basically, you need engagement. It's crucial to know how to get real people interested in your Instagram posts. This engagement is what links your Instagram efforts to actual business goals.
In this article, you will explore how to boost engagement with real people on Instagram using strategies with no bots. Let's be clear from the start: buying likes or followers is a no-go. Real engagement is available on Instagram, and here's how to get it.
Source: Statista
What is Instagram Engagement:
Instagram engagement is like a report card for your posts. It's not just one score; it's a bunch of scores that show how much people like what you share and how much they are interested about your brand.
Engagement is incredibly important because it demonstrates that your audience is actively engaging with your content, rather than just scrolling past it. Moreover, something in your posts attracts their interest and connects with them, forming a connection and eliciting emotions about your content or brand. This emotional connection fosters loyalty.
Engagement is like a thumbs-up from Instagram's computer brain. When people like, comment, or share your posts, it's like telling Instagram, "This is good stuff!" The more of this interaction you get, the more Instagram will show your content to others.
So, what is engagement? It's the things people do on your posts, like leaving comments, sharing, liking, saving, mentioning your brand, using your hashtags, clicking on your links, sending you direct messages, and interacting with your account in general.
Why is it important?
High engagement not only means your audience likes your content, but Instagram's algorithm also uses it to decide what to show to users. When your posts have strong engagement, they have a better chance of showing up in the feeds of users you regularly interact with. This boosts your reach and brand awareness.
Tips to increase engagement on Instagram
Due to Instagram's popularity, effective social media marketers make Instagram engagement a top priority. Here's how you can boost your Instagram engagement:
1. Know your audience
The first step to keep your followers engaged is understanding your audience. If you don't know what interests and motivates them, you won't be able to create engaging content. Here's how to do it:
Try to understand their persona: Create a clear representation of your ideal customer. Understanding what their interests are, their desires, hobbies, occupation, and daily routine are the key points.
Explore Instagram audience insights: Go to the "Insights" section, then click on "Audience." This provides demographic information about your audience, including their location, age, and gender.
Check out your competitors' profiles: Observe who likes and comments on their posts, the type of content they share, and how they interact with their followers.
Use social listening tools: Monitor mentions of your brand or products to understand what people are saying and what issues they want you to address.
2. Using strong captions
2. Calls to action (CTAs) serves three important purposes.
They:
a. Provide context for the images in your post.
b. Express your brand's personality.
c. Encourage your audience to take action.
The last point is crucial. Once you've crafted an engaging caption that explains the post's content and includes relevant hashtags and emojis, it's time to prompt your audience to act. For instance, you can say, "Share your thoughts in the comments" or "Click the link in our bio to learn more."
3. Get your audience attention through creative interactive stickers
Instagram has cool features called ‘story stickers’ to make your posts more fun and engaging. The more your audience engage, the more you will get high engagement. Here's how you can use them, for example:
Quiz Sticker: Ask your followers fun questions or multiple-choice questions to attract them. It is a easy tool that is found in the story section.
Music Sticker: Add music to your stories to match the mood, like cheerful tunes for Monday motivation or dramatic music for big announcements to make watchers get in the mood.
Poll Sticker: Get opinions from your followers, for example, about their favorite products.
Questions Sticker: Ask your followers for their thoughts or invite them to ask you anything in an "Ask Me Anything" session.
Using story stickers on Instagram helps your audience feel important and that their opinions count. Each time someone answers a question or participates in a poll, it adds to the overall engagement with your content, making your connection with your followers stronger.
4. Eye - Catching Instagram Stories & Reels
Instagram Reels are a hit, especially when they're captivating. They offer marketers and business owners a fantastic opportunity to boost their online presence and connect with their audience.
They provide a straightforward method for sharing your content with a much broader audience, reaching far beyond your current followers.
To boost your Instagram engagement with Reels, it's important to maximize watch time. This means having the viewers attention in the first three seconds and keeping them interested throughout. Here are some key Reels features you can experiment with:
Transitions: Create dynamic motion with quick cuts from one scene to the next. Use the align tool for smooth transitions.
Timed Text: Highlight specific words or phrases, or label individual moments in your Reel.
Trending Audio: Incorporating popular audio tracks in your Reel can significantly increase your visibility and engagement.
Voiceover: If you're explaining or describing something, like a process or a recipe, a voiceover can work well.
5. Post consistently
To attract followers and increase engagement on Instagram, brands should maintain a consistent level of activity. The ideal frequency is generally 1-2 posts per day. This regular posting keeps your feed fresh and relevant, providing more opportunities to capture the attention of your audience.
In addition to frequency, knowing the best times to post is crucial, especially considering Instagram's algorithmic timeline.
It's essential to experiment and analyze your specific audience's behavior to find the optimal posting times for your brand.
6. Tell Stories instead of Boring Posts
On Instagram, it's easy to get lost in a sea of mundane brand messages. But remember, Instagram is meant to be a visual inspiration platform. Instead of bombarding your audience with marketing content, try storytelling to boost engagement.
Use captivating images, videos, and text to share 'micro-stories' through your captions, videos, stories, and profile. People crave connections, and storytelling helps create that experience. When your audience feels emotionally connected to your content, they're more likely to embrace and share it with others.
One way to incorporate storytelling into your Instagram strategy is by sharing user-generated content that resonates with your brand. Another way is to tell a story through your captions.
Longer captions with storytelling elements are particularly potent. They make your brand appear more human and allow you to form deeper connections with your audience. Well-crafted, wordy captions can also stop users from mindlessly scrolling and encourage them to spend more time with your posts.
7. Make a eye-catchy feed
Instagram is all about visuals today's users prefer authenticity and diverse perspectives.
However, what's even more critical than a specific editing style is having a visually consistent feed. According to a WebDam social media report, 60% of the top-performing brands on Instagram maintain a consistent look in every post.
In a nutshell, on Instagram, focus on visual consistency that suits your brand and appeals to your target audience.
8. Choose the right Hashtags
Selecting the right hashtags for your Instagram posts is crucial for their visibility. Using overly generic hashtags like #christmas or #fashion will pit your post against millions of others. Instead, strike a balance by using a mix of trending and industry-specific hashtags to connect with your desired followers.
To make the most of hashtags, do your research. Examine the content and engagement levels of the top posts for each hashtag. If your content aligns with these top-performing posts, you've found a winning hashtag.
The number of hashtags you use also matters. While you can include up to 30, posts with over 11 hashtags tend to get the most interaction.
To determine the right number for your brand, check how many hashtags your competitors and industry influencers typically use, then experiment to find your sweet spot. Be sure to vary your hashtag choices to avoid appearing spammy, as Instagram's algorithm penalizes such behavior.
Additionally, be cautious about the hashtags you select. Some seemingly innocent hashtags may have associations with internet subcultures or communities that you might not be aware of.
9. Personalized Content
User-generated content is a goldmine for marketers on Instagram. It's an opportunity for followers to engage more deeply with a brand while simultaneously reducing marketing costs, as the content is created and approved by your audience.
This approach has proven immensely successful in various campaigns. For example, Starbucks' #RedCupContest is a prime illustration of how you can turn followers into brand advocates. This annual campaign, held in December, invites followers to share creative photos of Starbucks' iconic red Christmas cup. With a whopping 37,000 entries to date, it's clear that this strategy has been a resounding success.
10. Content Creation for any occasion
Adding subtitles and closed captions to your Instagram videos is a smart move for marketers. Why? Because not everyone watches videos with the sound turned on. In fact, Instagram reports that 40% of stories are viewed without sound.
As video content takes over the online space, many users prefer to keep their devices muted while viewing videos. Subtitles are essential for marketers as they allow your core message to be displayed on the screen alongside visuals. Kuasar Video is a valuable tool for boosting your video content as a marketing strategy. This platform analyzes the videos on Instagram and offers you personalized recommendations and features to help you create engaging and effective Instagram videos for the target audiences.
Research from Facebook, Instagram's parent company, reveals that adding captions to videos increases average view times by 12% and significantly boosts messaging effectiveness to an 82% success rate, compared to sound is on but without captions. Another study found that 80% of people are more likely to watch the entire video when captions are available.
Additionally, Instagram Reels is a powerful video feature worth exploring. This feature, similar to TikTok, allows you to create short, engaging videos up to 10 minutes in length, complete with creative tools, effects, and music. It's a fantastic way to showcase your brand's authenticity and creativity on Instagram.
11. SEO and Instagram
Using SEO (Search Engine Optimization) on Instagram is essential in today's competitive environment. There are two key areas to focus on: your account username and your account name. Your account name is displayed under your profile picture and is what Instagram uses when people search using words or emojis. Make sure it reflects your account handle and industry by inserting relevant keywords. Think about the words people would use when searching on Instagram.
Offer special deals or promotions to encourage your followers to click your website. If you're collaborating with influencers, work with them to promote your URL in their content.
In summary, consider the importance of SEO on Instagram, even though it might not be an obvious connection. It's a valuable strategy to stand out on this competitive platform.
12. Use Other Social Media Platforms to Promote your Account
Boost your Instagram presence by sharing it on your other social media accounts. For example, you can announce your Instagram profile on Facebook and include a clickable link.
You can also use Instagram's built-in tools to share your posts on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. This way, you can connect with followers from all your social networks. But be cautious not to share every single Instagram post on all your other social channels. Doing so could discourage followers from visiting your Instagram account since they've already seen everything elsewhere.
In Conclusion
Understand that your Instagram journey is ongoing. Your Instagram profile is like a business, always growing and building stronger connections with your followers.
By using these tips to boost Instagram engagement, you can make the most of your Instagram account. This way, no matter how Instagram changes, you can continue getting likes, shares, and comments.
Monitor and study your most successful Instagram posts. Understand what makes them work and use that knowledge to improve your Instagram marketing strategy. You can do this by identifying the most effective hashtags and visual styles, as well as determining the best times to post. This way, you'll be able to create content that boosts your Instagram engagement rates.
You can receive valuable assistance from AI-powered marketing tools like Kuasar. These tools not only save you time and money but also provide innovative ideas to enhance your Instagram video content. They analyze trends, user preferences, and performance data, making it easier to create engaging and effective videos for your Instagram marketing strategy.
FAQ:
Will Artificial Intelligence conquer the content creation world?
Since day 1, it’s the question on everyone’s mind. The difference between artificial intelligence and humans is feelings, empathy skills. AI will help you to create contents: for example, blog posts or movie scripts but it can’t be the same as the one that you write since you add your beliefs, taste, emotions and culture in your creation. It’s like watching a tv series that's scripted from your favorite book. It won’t give you the same taste.
Can you give an example of a product that uses AI for content creation?
You can receive valuable assistance from AI-powered marketing tools like Kuasar. These tools not only save you time and money but also provide innovative ideas to enhance your Instagram video content, ensuring it resonates with your target audience. They analyze trends, user preferences, and performance data, making it easier to create engaging and effective videos for your Instagram marketing strategy.
In what ways can AI assist the process of producing content?
Artificial Intelligence is enhancing the process of content production by utilizing data and information about audience preferences, likes, and behavior gleaned from insights, and identifying popular keywords. It helps content gain more visibility, receive more clicks, and, most importantly, provides valuable information to the target users and audience through algorithms