Do you want to increase your Instagram audience engagement and take your social media marketing to the next level?
You’ve come to the right place to get help.
According to data, the median engagement rate on Instagram is 1.22%, which is 13.5 times higher than Facebook posts.
The data highlights how Instagram can be a great space to drive engagement.
While there are countless ways to get more engagement—from adding hashtags to your posts to using Instagram Stories in marketing—you can jumpstart your efforts with the tips below.
Continue reading to learn the five strategic tactics to increase your Instagram audience engagement.
1. Use hashtags to increase visibility
Hashtags can boost your Instagram engagement because they help users discover your content.
When you use hashtags, your content becomes searchable, and users who search for specific hashtags or topics can easily see your content.
The more people see your content, the higher your engagement opportunities.
Hashtags also help you connect with users who are interested in your content and gain new followers and customers.
Follow these tips to use Instagram hashtags effectively for more engagement.
- Use relevant hashtags. Add relevant hashtags in your Instagram posts to reach a specific audience interested in your content.
For example, if you’re a fashion brand, using hashtags such as #fashion or #style can help you reach a wider audience interested in fashion.
- Create branded hashtags. Make branded hashtags to help build a community around your brand and encourage users to engage with your content.
You can use your company name, a specific slogan, or a campaign tagline as your branded hashtag.
- Include popular hashtags. Use popular hashtags to help you reach a wider audience, but be careful not to overdo it.
Adding too many popular hashtags can make your content look spammy and decrease the chances of your target audiences seeing your posts, lowering your engagement opportunities.
Find popular and relevant hashtags easily using hashtag tools from platforms such as SocialPilot, Hootsuite, and Vista Social.
For instance, the hashtag tool from Vista Social lets you search for the most popular hashtags by keyword within the platform.
Include your hashtags in your descriptions and photo dump captions to help your posts be more searchable and visible.
Develop a solid hashtag strategy to help expand your content’s reach and engagement opportunities on Instagram.
2. Collaborate with influencers
Working with influencers or micro-influencers with a loyal following in your industry or niche can allow you to tap into their audience and gain credibility.
It can also help you create authentic, engaging content that resonates with your target audience.
Learn from these actionable tips to boost your Instagram audience engagement via influencer collaborations.
- Research and identify influencers who are a good fit for your brand. Look for influencers who genuinely connect with their audience and whose values and aesthetics align with your brand.
- Use Instagram’s tagging and mentioning features to make it easy for influencers to share your content and give you a shoutout. It can increase your visibility and reach.
The post by an Instagram influencer mentioning the supermarket brand Waitrose below is a good example.
- Collaborate with influencers to create authentic, valuable content that resonates with your target audience. You can make sponsored posts, giveaways, or other content collaborations.
Follow reliable content writing hacks to create compelling and engaging Instagram posts through your influencer collaborations.
3. Interact with your followers
The most practical way to engage your Instagram audiences is to interact with them.
Reply to your followers’ comments, start conversations, respond to DMs, and share interesting content to engage your audiences.
For example, you can run a live Q&A on Instagram answering questions about how to calculate shipping costs for small businesses.
You can also share the essential tools every ecommerce business owner must have to succeed.
You can discuss key points about tools such as ExportYourStore that allow users to automate exporting and syncing product listings and data.
Remember to include a Call-to-Action (CTA) at the end of your live event to entice your viewers to act on your offers.
For instance, you can add a link to your landing page to get viewers to sign-up or to an ExportYourStore review on the website to provide more information about the tool.
Showing your followers you value their engagement can go a long way in building a strong and loyal community.
4. Post compelling Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories can be a great space to post interactive and engaging content.
You can share behind-the-scenes content, promote products or events, and engage with your followers in a more casual and personal way.
For instance, you can create an engaging short video or carousel of photos containing quick tips on how to become famous on social media.
Then, include a link that takes your audiences to your blog post to help drive traffic to your website.
You can also use features such as polls, questions, and quizzes to encourage interaction and gather feedback from your followers.
Snickers nails this by running a poll to determine the best flavor on its Instagram Stories.
Include creative and eye-catching visuals and graphics in your Stories to capture your audience’s attention.
It can entice your viewers to interact with and share your content, increasing engagement.
5. Analyze and optimize your engagement efforts
Regularly track and analyze your content’s performance to determine the best results from your efforts to engage your Instagram audience.
Use analytics to identify the types of posts that perform best and the optimal times when your audience is most active.
You can also leverage the data to test various content formats, types, hashtags, and other elements to see which ones help drive the most engagement.
Having this information can help you gain valuable insights to make informed decisions about your Instagram marketing strategy and skyrocket your engagement rate.
Use proven tactics to step up your Instagram engagement
Time-tested Instagram marketing tactics can help you boost your audience engagement and reach your business goals.
Whether you want to increase brand awareness, drive traffic and conversions, or connect with your followers on a deeper level, this guide’s strategies can help you achieve your objectives.
So don’t hesitate to put these tactics to the test and watch your engagement soar.
With some experimentation and a lot of dedication, you can take your Instagram marketing efforts to the next level and reap the rewards for your business.