If you are not addicted to Instagram or you have a busy working schedule, you might not often check your app. And when you come back to your feed, you might see that some posts from friends were published a few minutes ago, while others might be some days old.
So, why isn’t your Instagram feed chronological anymore?
It’s because Instagram’s algorithm changed as many other social media platforms.
In this article, we’ll provide you necessary information about what’s new with an Instagram algorithm as well as the ways to create the most engaging posts that allow you to get more comments on Instagram. This helps you to be seen at a higher place in the feed and get discovered by new users.
What is New with Instagram Feed Algorithm?
In June 2016, Instagram announced that it was changing algorithm to let users see the content they care about first, no matter when it was posted. Social media marketers could find it more difficult to get organic Instagram posts seen because according to research, 70% of their content on feed was missed by their viewers.
After Facebook began prioritizing posts of users’ friends and family in 2018, Instagram followed suit. Instagram’s algorithms give less prioritization for brands and advertisements.
However, brand posts with natural engagement can sometimes defeat these algorithms. Some factors impact on the ranking of a post on the Instagram feed. The number of likes and comments that a post achieves is one of these factors. Here are these:
- The number of likes and comments on this post
- If that user has interacted with your content in the past
- Your posting frequency
If your followers engage your organic Instagram posts, it makes a positive feedback loop. The more people like and comment on your post, the better likelihood will appear on the Explore tab, where Instagram users who haven’t followed you yet can discover your popular content.
Here are something that you need to complete before exploring the ways to get more comments on Instagram.
1. Public your account.
You should make your account public to ensure that new followers can find your content. Go to your profile, click the Settings gear icon in the upper right-hand corner, and turn off the Private Account mood.
2. Enable push notifications.
Turn on push notifications so you can be notified if people like or comment on your post, then you can quickly reply to them. Always keep in mind, the more users interact with your account, the higher on their feeds your content will appear.
Go to your profile, click the Setting gear icon in the upper right-hand corner, click Push Notification Settings, and select which Instagram actions that you want to be notified for.
3. Curate engaging content.
People will not comment on boring content, so you should find for your team one member to manage the scheduling and editing of Instagram content. However, open it up to a larger team to collect different photos, videos, and ideas to keep your Instagram feed fresh and interesting. Or you should pay more attention to it if you do it yourself.
4. Develop an Instagram editorial calendar.
Find out an Instagram publishing cadence that effective for you. We recommend that’s enough to post no more than once per day. Always remember, timing is a factor in the algorithm, so you shouldn’t overpost or posts from earlier in the day will get lost in the shuffle.
Now that we’re all on the same page, let’s dive into strategies for getting more comments (and likes) on Instagram.
Here are 13 effective ideas for you.
13 Ideas to Get More Comments on Instagram
1. Host a giveaway or contest.
A simple and interesting way to get more Instagram followers to comment on your posts has become a host of a contest or giveaway. You should publish a post to promote your contest, then require followers to comment on your post to join in. Or you could also make your contest a weeklong campaign, where users have to comment every day. Furthermore, you could even collaborate with user-generated content (UGC). You ask your followers to post their photos and mention your brand in the post.
Here’s an example of an Instagram contest that @hubspot ran for their attendees at a HubSpot’s annual marketing and sales event.
2. Host an Instagram takeover.
Instagram takeovers are an effective and clever way to make content on your Instagram to fresher and to collaborate with colleagues and influencers. They are also a good way to get more Instagram engagement and comment as well.
Takeovers allow other Instagram users to take over your feed, usually for a day and creating content on your feed from their point of view. Takeovers are often done by:
- A colleague
- An influencer
- Another organization in your industry
These takeovers help generate more Instagram comments whether you are taking over other’s accounts or it takes place on yours.
Let’s check this example of a takeover that @hubspot hosted with their friends over at WeWork. WeWork was able to share brand and member stories to a whole new audience of HubSpot’s engaged followers.
WeWork ended this takeover with a call-to-action (CTA) to follow its Instagram account where new followers will start liking and commenting on new posts. Followers of @hubspot also enjoyed comments from WeWork fans and others interested in the takeover.
Takeovers are a win-win for hosts and guests. Learn how to run an Instagram takeover in 7 simple steps here.
3. Ask users to engage in the comments.
Another easy idea to get more Instagram comments is to ask for them.
Post your content on Instagram that lends itself to sharing, then ask followers to answer a question or tag their friends and co-workers in the comments. It’s an enjoyable way to interact with your audiences, and it also helps you gain more comments
Take a look at an example of an Instagram post @hubspot shared in which they asked their followers a question. You can create posts’ caption with simple questions like “Agree or disagree?” or “What’s your advice?” to prompt responses and earn more comments.
4. Post something funny, surprising, or provocative.
In research about what makes content go viral, research revealed some of the most viral internet moments also provoked high-arousal emotions. Among the most common posts were these that created anticipation, surprised the viewers, and provoked curiosity and uncertainty or incited a feeling of joys. So make content on your feed that makes people strongly feel an emotion that they are compelled to comment on your post.
You might wonder that the content you could post is about a surprising fact, a happy moment or an intriguing industry trend. It doesn’t need to related to your brand. Content that’s fun for a broad audience will more likely attract comments.
It can be silly as well.
Here’s an example of this case from @hubspot.
5. Post videos.
People spent 40% more time watching videos on Instagram in 2016, and now Instagrammers can post up to one-minute videos on their feed. Post interesting content which makes followers stop scrolling through their busy Instagram feeds and to watch your video. More and more people tend to watch more videos on social media. And if the one they follow share something compelling and ask them to comment on it, they’ll most likely do it.