Gone are the days when Instagram was a mere photos and videos sharing platform. It’s now an excellent marketing tool. With the right strategy, your Instagram account can position your brand in the mind of your audience. But it starts with having enough engagement with your audience. If you are new on the platform, here are ways to increase your engagement on Instagram.
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#1. Host a Contest
One of the easiest ways to increase engagement on Instagram is to host a contest. Once you host a contest or giveaway on Instagram, more people will comment and like your content.
Depending on what works for you, you can host the content and ask your audience to drop a comment. You can also make it a one-week contest. During the contest, contestants can post a picture or video on their Instagram account and tag or mention your brand.
Surprisingly, some brands became popular online by hosting Instagram contests. You can also reach more people with the right contest on Instagram.
#2. Post Content That Will Inspire Your Audience to Comment
The type of content you post on Instagram can also increase engagement. So, try posting content that will trigger your audience to drop a comment. For instance, you can post a hilarious meme and use any of the following captures;
- Who can relate?
- What do you think?
- Agree or disagree?
- What’s your advice?
These types of interactive captures will help you interact with your audience and get more comments.
#3. Post Funny, Provocative, and Engaging Content
Posting funny, provocative, and engaging content is one of the ways to increase engagement on Instagram. Trust me, any Instagram post that creates anticipation or provokes curiosity, will always go viral.
So, try to come up with creative content that triggers the right emotions in your audience. It will help to increase your engagement on Instagram and expand your reach.
#4. Post a Video
Instagram audiences always react to video content. Videos have a way of getting users’ attention. They will surely stop scrolling their Instagram feeds to watch video content. So, if you want to increase your engagement on the platform, try to post more niche-related videos.
However, it’s not enough to post just any video content. Try to make your videos compelling; that will get you waves of response from your audience.
Again, it’s essential to use captures that will trigger good responses. For instance, you can post a compelling video with the capture – Agree or Disagree? Captures like this will always get people to comment and possibly share your video content.
#5. Use Relevant Hashtags
Hashtags are among the best ways to increase engagement on Instagram. They are combinations of letters, emojis, and numbers that go with the #symbol.
Hashtags are important in Instagram marketing because they help to categorize your content and increase their reach. Interestingly, you can use this feature to increase your brand’s engagement on Instagram.
Whenever you include popular and relevant Instagram hashtags to your content, that content tends to appear when you search for those hashtags. And this will give more exposure to your brand and increase engagement.
Additionally, Instagram influencers and other users will comment on your post organically if they find the topic interesting. Of course, this will also increase your followers on the platform.
#6. Publish Your Instagram Content at the Right Time
If you want to get more engagement on Instagram, try to publish your content at the right time. Generally, there are different opinions about the best time to publish your content on Instagram.
For instance, some people advised that the best time to post content on Instagram is 9 am to 4 pm during weekdays. Well, I’m not convinced with this recommendation because there’s no general formula for it.
The time your content performs best on Instagram depends on your followers, the type of content you are posting, and your niche.
So, instead of relying on what people say, try it yourself. Publish your content randomly at different times of the week and observe the time they perform better. Once you figure it out, that should be your publishing time.
#7. Post More Human Photos
I don’t know if you have observed it yourself, but people react better to selfies or group photos on Instagram. I don’t know the science behind this, but different analyses supported this assumption.
Yahoo Labs and the Georgia Institute of Technology analyze over one million Instagram Photos. And the analysis revealed that Instagram posts with human pictures get 32% more comments and 38% more likes.
So, always post the human side of your brand on Instagram. Try to upload Instagram content that features selfies, group shots, and candid photos. You would be surprised how people will engage with such content.
#8. Post Pictures of Your Pets
Again, I can’t explain the science behind it, but people tend to engage with content featuring animal photos. Regardless of the industry your business operates in, the audience will always react to pet pictures.
It could be a cute picture of you and your pet having a great time in your office or one of your team member’s cute pets. Just take photos of beautiful moments with pets within your office environment. It will give a good impression of your brand to your audience.
Wrapping Up
Everything about Instagram marketing is strategic. If you want to increase your reach and create awareness for your brand on the platform, you must do more than uploading quality content. You should know the best time to publish your content and how best to increase engagement.
