It’s no secret that Instagram is one of the most influential social media platforms when it comes to advertising. The platform is one of the most popular worldwide, with 80% of its users following and interacting with brands on a regular basis. Understanding how to optimise your Instagram engagement rate is key to reaching new potential customers and persuading them to make a purchase.
We’ve put together 8 top tips for boosting your Instagram engagement rate, making it quick and easy for your brand to put together an effective Instagram strategy.
1. Discover the best time to post
One of the easiest and most effective ways to increase Instagram engagement is to work out when the best time to post is. It goes without saying that if you post when most of your audience is offline, your post will be viewed and interacted with less than if you post when the majority are online.
Finding out when your audience is most active is as simple as using Instagram’s Insights feature. This shows you what times your audience tends to be most active based on their activity over the past few days. Once you have this info, it’s easy to make sure you schedule your posts to go up at these peak times!
2. Create carousel posts
It has been proven that carousels are the most engaging post type on the platform, compared to posts consisting of just a single image or video. There are plenty of ways you could utilise the carousel post format to optimise Instagram engagement. These could include revealing different clothes in a collection on each slide, showing before and after photos, or describing a recipe that your audience could follow. Whatever works best for you and your brand!
3. Make your captions engaging
Nothing is worse than long Instagram captions that are super dense with text. Instagram is a visual platform, so your audience will not stick around to read something that is not concise and visually appealing. Your captions should always be short and fun, while still informing people of your brand values. Using emojis can be a great way to keep things lighthearted and aesthetically pleasing.
Another great way to boost Instagram engagement through your captions could be to pose questions to your audience. This encourages them to share their opinions in the comments. It is a good idea to try a variety of different caption formats to see what suits your brand best.
4. Use relevant hashtags
Using hashtags is an excellent way to boost your Instagram engagement rate. However, it is important to make sure you only use the hashtags that are most relevant to your brand. Consider what your brand is and who your target audience is in order to narrow down your hashtags to just a few that best represent you. Remember that having too many hashtags can look messy and may prevent you from reaching your target audience as effectively, so keep it concise.
Also, Instagram recently announced that to get the benefit of hashtags, they must be in the caption, NOT just included in a separate comment on your post. Make sure to bear this in mind!
5. Make your feed aesthetically pleasing
Potential customers are much more likely to engage with your brand if your feed is visually appealing. Again, remember that Instagram is a visual platform, so aesthetically pleasing content is a necessity. What visual style or theme you actually choose is less important than making sure your feed is visually consistent. You should find a visual style that matches your brand identity and appeals to the audience you want to attract. Do this and you’ll see your Instagram engagement rate increase in no time.
6. Make the most of all the platform’s features
To increase your Instagram engagement rate, you will need to do more than just post regularly on your feed. The most successful Instagram accounts take advantage of all the different content types the platform has to offer. These include Instagram Stories, Instagram Lives, IGTV, and Instagram Reels, in addition to in-feed posts. It’s a good idea to come up with a range of content that can be compatible with each of these formats. This will allow your brand to reach people across all areas of the platform.
7. Start conversations with interactive Stories
A really fun feature of Instagram Stories is Stickers. This feature allows you to ask your followers questions, set up polls and quizzes, as well as featuring many more exciting options to help you engage with your audience. Stickers are perhaps Instagram’s most interactive feature to date, giving potential customers a stimulating and fun opportunity to engage with your brand. The Stickers option is located at the top of your screen once you’ve selected your image. It looks like a little square with a smiley face in it.
A great example is fashion brands that regularly post “this or that?” polls on their Stories. This usually involves showing their followers two different items of clothing from their site and asking them to vote for which one they prefer. The potential customer who engages with the post therefore not only has a positive interactive experience with the brand, but also actively shows interest in an item of clothing by voting for it in the poll. These posts also usually include a link to the items of clothing shown, so that the potential buyer can immediately locate the item on-site and complete the purchase.
Think about how this useful feature could work best for your brand and start testing out different interactive Stories to increase Instagram engagement!
8. Post consistently
This probably goes without saying, but posting consistently is essential for increasing as well as maintaining your Instagram engagement rate. The only way your audience will remember your brand is if you post on a regular basis. The more you post, the more opportunities people will have to engage with your content. Posting consistently also helps people to trust your brand, as it demonstrates authenticity and commitment. Some of the most successful brands will post on their feeds, Instagram Stories, Instagram Lives, IGTV, and Instagram Reels several times every single day, making it impossible for people to forget about or ignore their brand.
Figure out a schedule that works for you and get posting to see an increase in your Instagram engagement rate!
Well, there you have it! Follow these top tips and prepare to see your Instagram engagement rate soar in no time.
Want to see how we can grow and scale your brand? Get in touch today!
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