If you are a brand or business looking to increase your engagement on Instagram, you are not the only one. Instagram is a great platform for marketing; it’s not hard to see why considering Instagram users are increasing every day. Keep in mind that increasing Instagram engagement takes time and effort. Good things take time after all. In this blog, we will go over what Instagram engagement means, and then give you the three best ways to increase that engagement for your business.
What does Instagram Engagement Mean?
Put simply Instagram engagement is how the public interacts with the content you publish. It’s about more than just getting likes. When using Instagram for your business, you should be keeping track of your metrics using Instagram Insights. This tool can help you look at your reach, website clicks, profile visits, followers, comments, and so much more. Instagram Insights will help you with the tools you need to see where your current engagement rate is. Once you see where you currently are (as far as numbers are concerned), you can set up a game plan using the following tips to increase your Instagram engagement.
1. Write Longer Captions
Instagram gives you 2,200 characters for the caption on your post including hashtags. One of the factors that affect how your Instagram post performs in the algorithm is “time spent on post.” Therefore, one of the easiest ways of improving your Instagram engagement is by writing longer captions. One great way to write longer captions without overthinking is by telling stories. For example, you can incorporate stories about your business while trying to sell a product. When people feel an emotional connection to your content, they are more likely to buy into it and share it with others. Also, it helps your brand to appear more human and build deeper connections with your target audience. If you write great captions, you can potentially stop scrollers in their tracks and increase the time they spend looking at your post. Writing long captions may help your engagement, but this doesn’t mean that every single caption has to be thousands of words long, so don’t overdo it.
2. Create More Video Content
2020 was a big year for Instagram video, especially with Instagram Reels launching earlier this year. Incorporating video content into your content strategy will definitely help increase engagement on your Instagram profile. The benefit of using Instagram is that all your videos don’t have to be long-form content (on IGTV). You can start getting into Instagram reels to do something fast and fun that will captivate your audience just the same.
Keep in mind that even though video content is becoming more popular, audio is becoming less popular. Meaning there are a significant number of users that prefer to watch videos with no sound. This is important information because subtitles are going to be your best friend. Research from Facebook shows that captioning videos increases average video view times by 12%. Therefore, when making video content make sure you caption them. It may take more time but it will help your brand increase Instagram engagement.
3. Consistent Posting
Like anything in life, consistency is key. Consistently posting content will help increase your Instagram engagement. The best time to post content is when your target audience is online. Using Instagram Insights (mentioned above) you can see when your audience is most likely to be online. That information can help you create a content calendar to keep track of when to post on Instagram. Most brands say that the “sweet spot” is 1-2 posts a day because it allows your feed to stay fresh and relevant, giving you more opportunities to attract eyes to your content. However, the best thing you can do is pull up your own numbers and determine what times and days work best for you and your business.
Final Thoughts
Increasing your Instagram engagement takes time and work. If you are serious about increasing your Instagram numbers, you will have to put in the work and research on Instagram insights. Then you may have to tap into that creative side to make fun content. While there are other things you can do to increase engagement, these three tips will be the most helpful as you begin the process to grow your business account to reach more people. For more social media tips and coaching, click here to learn about my master course!