Continue with some other ways to increase Instagram engagement…
Try a short caption
A 2,200-character caption is not always needed. Less is more sometimes.
There are lots of other ways to make a short yet engaging caption. For instance:
- Pose an open-ended question for fans to reply in the comments.
- Encourage calls-to-action by recommending fans tag a friend or vote on a multiple-choice question.
- Encourage fans to click on the link in your profile bio.
- Trade words for emojis.
- Launch a contest or giveaway.
Starbucks sticks to writing short and sharp captions that incorporate emojis.
Tag other Instagram users
Think your Instagram post will be of interest to other brands or to Instagram influencers? Need to get the attention of somebody you admire? Hope to thank a star or influencer who’s working with your brand? Tag them in your caption.
This shows you value that person, however, it additionally increases the opportunity of that user’s following of seeing your post. Because they could easily share it on their Story. And that grow your Instagram engagement!
The clothing brand Aerie uses celebs, like Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman, to promote its clothing and its corporate values. The brand always tags these people in its captions.
Geotag your posts
Geotagging makes a sense of community among Instagram users who visit your brick-and mortar location and update pictures when visiting.
Or, it showcases which good places your brand visits to get its pictures.
Either way, it helps new users find you and interact with you. If you geotag your location, your picture will show up in the “Places” tab in Instagram’s Search and Explore section, along with all the other posts tagged to the same location.
Keep up with what’s trending on Instagram
In December, the 10 Year Challenge took over Instagram. Users posted changes from 2009 to 2019. (There are over four million posts with the hashtag #10yearchallenge.) And of course, who could forget all of the Baby Yoda memes in November 2019.
Another instance? The Dolly Parton Challenge.
Brands such as Dunkin’ Donuts and MCDonald’s both received concerned within the Dolly Parton Problem in January.
If it’s suitable for your brand, staying up-to-date with social media trends and pop culture news shows that your brand knows what’s occurring and prevalent on the platform. It’s additionally a method to showcase your brand’s playful side.
You may even have fun taking part in the trend. There are 407,000 accounts at least did for the Dolly Parton Challenge! Many of them were businesses.
Share beautiful pictures to stop thumbs
Good pictures still matter. A lot. However, you don’t have to spend lots of time to make your pictures Instagram-quality.
Take a great image, then edit that Instagram photo like an expert photographer.
The result is a consistent brand aesthetic and eye-popping pictures that your followers could not help however interact with.’=
Lush is just one instance of a brand whose pictures are edited for consistency. Their bold colors stick out in the feed.
Or go the authenticity route
That being mentioned, you may not want your Instagram posts to be picture-perfect. Genuine, authentic posts without filters could also be appealing to your audience relying on your brand’s purposes.
Think about content by brands and influencers which are connecting with their audiences by celebrating normalcy or touching on vulnerabilities, like:
Lululemon
In the summer of 2019, Lululemon interviewed 7 women who shared real, personal stories for its Boob Truth Tuesdays series.
Dove
Dove’s Real Beauty campaign and Self-Esteem Project mean the brand regularly posts real and diverse photos.
Sarah Nicole Landry
Landry celebrates personal experiences and body positivity on her @thebirdspapaya Instagram account.
Don’t be afraid to get creative
Your brand doesn’t have to stick to the same kind of content all the time. Actually, diversifying content you post on Instagram and including a little creative flair could help your engagement rate.
Particularly, making content that users could save and come back to later (like a recipe) or visit time and time again (like an instructional workout video) will result in an increased engagement rate on Instagram.
Try out new post types, like:
Numbered lists and checklists
Infographics or fascinating data
Quotes from an article
Behind-the-scenes photos and video
Workout ideas and tutorials
Incorporate video into your Instagram strategy
Videos could be three to 60 seconds long on Instagram, which means there’s the potential for your brand to interact with fans for an entire minute.
(If you wish to post longer video, share a preview to your feed and then publish the long-form video, which could be up to 10 mins long, to Instagram TV.)
Need ideas? Recent Instagram statistics show that the platform’s most prevalent video content contains how-to tutorials, followed by behind-the-scenes video, interviews, and news.
Don’t be afraid to cross-promote content across your social channels. For instance, let your users know through Twitter which you have a new video on Instagram. Or share snippets of your common YouTube movies on Instagram, like Bon Appetit does with its Connoisseur Makes movies.
Take advantage of Instagram Stories
The info shows Stories are helpful for brands’ Instagram engagement.
On average, brands update 2.5 Instagram Stories each week. Over 30% of Instagram’s most-viewed Stories are from businesses. Plus, brands’ Stories have an 85% completion rate.
Utilizing stickers or other interactive features increases Stories’ potential for engagement. Features like polling, question-and-answer boxes, quizzes, and countdown tickers could all be added to your Stories. You could even try creating your own Instagram AR filter.
Right here, Speedo uses Instagram Stories to connect its fans with product reviews.
Use hashtags — in your posts and your Instagram Stories
Hashtags assist users to find your content since your posts with hashtags will show in the “Tag” section of Instagram’s Search and Explore. And nobody could interact with your post if they could not find it.
Keep in mind to choose your hashtags carefully. Research prevalent Instagram hashtags, track that are trending in your industry, and monitor what tags your competitors are utilizing.
Making a unique, branded hashtag could also improve engagement. This makes it simple to collect pictures when you are planning on a competition, giveaway or campaign that centers on user-generated content.
Consider National Geographic’s #yourshotphotographer which is used for members of the public to get their own picture onto the National Geographic Your Shot page:
Rising your Instagram engagement takes time and it takes work. It requires evaluation of your Instagram metrics, calculating your Instagram engagement rate and some creativity on the platform itself.
However, by following these easy tips, your brand will see a boost in its engagement!