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Is your Instagram account growing slower than you’d like it to? Do you wish your photos received more likes and comments than they are now?
Here are five tips to increase your Instagram engagement (likes, comments, shares, and sends) and grow your account.
#1: Post Consistently
When you post consistently on your account, the Instagram algorithm shows your posts to more of your followers – increasing your engagement metrics. One of the biggest mistakes people can make trying to grow their IG account is posting sporadically and not keeping up with a continuous stream of content. People follow accounts because they want to see more continuous content. Also, consistency is an easy way to increase your chances of ending up on the Instagram Explore page. This allows users who don’t follow you to see and engage with your content. Try posting a few times a week while actively engaging with your followers and watch your account reach start to expand.
#2: Use Hashtags
Despite how clunky they can look in the comments section, hashtags can be a game-changer for Instagram engagement, growth, and brands finding accounts they would like to partner with. Hashtags allow your content to be categorized in an easily-searchable way, allowing other users or brands to easily find influencers who could potentially promote their product within a certain niche (such as #collegefashion). Try using a software like Dollar Eighty to help generate targeted hashtags for your page, and add them to the comment section of your next post. You can make them less noticeable through commenting a period (.) or emoji and replying to that comment with your desired hashtags.
#3: Engage With Your Audience
According to Later, a relationship is one of the critical components of the 2021 Instagram algorithm, along with interest, timeliness, frequency, following, and usage. Later describes that the Instagram algorithm favors posts from people you like and care about (and that care about you), so engaging with your followers is an easy way for Instagram to recognize that. This engagement can include commenting, responding to/liking comments, liking in-feed posts, and reacting to stories. Don’t underestimate the importance of communicating with your audience on the app.
#4: Create Interactive Captions
A simple way to increase engagement, particularly comments, on your posts is to write a caption that includes an interactive element. This may be in the form of asking a question that pertains to the topic of your post or can include using the poll and Q&A features on Instagram stories. An example would be asking “comment your go-to coffee order” on a post where you are posting at a coffee shop. As comments begin to come in, try liking and replying to select comments to further that conversation. Encouraging your followers to engage with your posts regularly is a tried and true method of increasing your engagement and developing relationships with your audience.
#5: Post at Varied Days/Times
While consistently posting is essential in growing your IG page and increasing your engagement metrics, it is also necessary to post at varying times and days of the week. The algorithm doesn’t have a specific time/day to maximize post reach, so it’s recommended to play around with the days/times that seem to work best for your followers and account. Using the audience insights feature in the Instagram app is one statistic you can look at when choosing when you’d like to try posting. It details when your audience is most active on the app (hours and days).
If you feel like your Instagram page is in a growth or engagement plateau, try out these strategies to kickstart new page growth and increased engagement!
