Instagram is one of the quickest developing social media platforms in the world and is expected to pass 2 billion users this year. People tend to spend more time on Instagram than they do on Twitter and Facebook.
So if you already have an Instagram account and want to drive more engagement to it, you have come to the right place. In this article, I am going to share some easy methods to get more engagement on Instagram.
Ways to Increase your Engagement on Instagram
First of all: Define your goals!
Why are you using Instagram? If you’re just sharing a few pictures just hoping for the best, you will get nowhere my child! Define your goals and find out what you need to achieve and design a strategic plan to reach it. Here are the items that can be the foundation of your strategy:
- Define your objectives: Do you want to drive more traffic to your website, more clicks, build a brand awareness or to generate more sales?
- Define your target audience: What does your current or potential customer look like? What are their favorite subjects? What would they prefer to see on Instagram?
Engage and inspire
Replying the positive comments under your posts with a simple ‘Thanks’ looks pretty manageable. Though, engagement on Instagram means, well, trying to be more social. Leverage your followers and fans to create UGC (user-generated content). One of the most significant advantages of planning a good hashtag strategy is to develop and engage with your niche community. These are existing followers, relevant influencers and potential customers. Explore to see which hashtag is popular in your community and influencers and apply them on your posts. Run campaigns and competitions for pictures shared using your branded hashtag, an excellent way to increase your engagement, reach and gain more followers for your brand.
Get visually creative!
Users are viewing your profile and posts on a mobile device, to make your photos or videos stand out between them. Always try to take pictures in portrait format to get more engagement and screen space — influential visuals with less text. For instance, do not post a picture of your menu if you are a restaurant, display a yummy photo of your foods with a link to your digital menu.
#Hashtag worm!
Using relevant hashtags is necessary for your Instagram marketing. Up to 30 hashtags are allowed on Instagram but try not to overuse them; I think 11 to 13 looks more decent to use. Instagram hashtags are a simple and easy way to be found by other users who might be interested in your work. The following hashtags should almost always be included.
Which Hashtag should I use?
- Category: Your niche, productor service.
- Description: What is your picture of?
- Expertise: Your precise area of knowledge, e.g., #doctor, #personaltrainer.
- Community: Use your community as a hashtag such as #dronestagram for instance which is used by most drone artists.
- Location: Where you are. If you are running your business in a big city use the hashtag for your exact location- e.g., #NottingHill- instead of just #London. Still, if you offer a city-wide delivery service for fast food or pizza, then you can use #LondonPizza
Post at the right time
When should you post your content on Instagram and how often? There is no perfect time for posting on Instagram. However generally the best times to post on Instagram are between midday and 1 pm and evenings from 7 to 9 pm. Thursdays and Wednesday are usually the best and Sundays are the worst. Remember to use your own Instagram account stats- which you can find in your options if you switch to business account- to find out when the best time to post is.
Conclusion
The methods outlined above will let you reach a deeper level of organic engagement on your Instagram. Still, as always content is the king here! The key is to post content that your target audience wants to see, learn, watch and share.
Don’t forget to comments us below and share your successful methods.
