Engagement is everything on Instagram. It’s the best way to get your posts to the Explore page, where it has the best chance of going viral. How do you ramp up your engagement metrics for your posts? We curated this list of seven tips to get you more engagement on Instagram.
1. Post Top-Quality Content
Your content strategy is the cornerstone of receiving engagement on Instagram. Understanding what your target audience wants to see is vital to gain interest in your account. People who find your content interesting and engaging will share it with friends and draw more eyeballs to your account organically.
Use tools like Cava to create better production quality in your posts. Research trending content in your niche using tools and build your posts around these topics. Take the approach of providing an answer to audience searches on the platform and watch your engagement rate explode.
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2. Use Stories and Reels
Stories and Reels are vital to include in your content strategy on Instagram. “Reels” is IG’s answer to TikTok videos and YouTube Shorts. It gives you a medium to post short-form video content to attract more followers to your account.
Stories are an older content medium on the platform, but they’re incredibly popular. Stories are similar to Snapchat, and they disappear after 24 hours. You can save them to your device to prevent losing your content forever.
3. Create a Balanced Posting Schedule
Over-posting and under-posting on Instagram can make your account look spammy or inactive. Finding the right balance in your posting schedule and volume is important to create optimal engagement with your audience.
Research shows posting one story per day and one image-based post every other day provides your audience with a content schedule they’ll find engaging and interesting. Drop an IGTV or Reels post once a week for the best results.
4. Reply to Comments
Comments are a critical engagement metric on any social media platform, including Instagram. Write compelling captions asking open-ended questions to entice your audience to reply. When you start receiving comments, make sure you respond to everyone. Every comment is a chance to build more engagement, catching the attention of the IG algorithm.
When replying to a comment, ensure you phrase your reply to keep the conversation going with the commenter. The more comments and replies on your posts, the more value you add to your community, and the best chance of seeing your posts end up on the Explore page.
5. Buy Likes for Your Posts
Likes are an important engagement metric on Instagram. The more likes you have on your posts, the more the IG algorithm identifies your account as producing content that adds value to your community. However, building likes on your content with a new account requires work.
If you’re only receiving a handful of likes on your posts, you can gain popularity for your posts with cheap IG likes from reputable vendors. This strategy won’t affect your reputation with the platform, and there’s no chance of the algorithm banning your account.
6. Use Hashtags and Location Tags
People search Instagram using hashtags and location tags. Research the top trending hashtags on Instagram using a tool like Keyhole. Using these hashtags gives you a better chance of people finding your content and your posts reaching the Explore page on the platform.
Location tags are also another great option for boosting your engagement rates on Instagram. A location tag is ideal for a local business looking to get more foot traffic in its store. Location tags make your account searchable to users looking for content specific to that area.
7. Post at the Right Time
Posting your content at the right time greatly affects your engagement rates. You must get your content in front of your target audience at the right time to get the best results. If you post in the middle of the night, chances are people aren’t going to see your content, and you’ll never reach the explore page.
As a general rule of thumb, the optimal times to post on Instagram are from 2 pm to 3 pm on Thursdays, 11 am on Wednesdays, and 10 am on Fridays. The best overall day of the week to post on Instagram is Tuesdays.
