It doesn’t matter if you have 1,000 followers or 100,000 followers on IG, if your engagement sucks, well, you may just get passed over for brand work. Brands might think you bought your followers or question your methods for getting them in the first place.
I encourage you to check your IG engagement rate using this Engagement Rate Calculator. What’s your rate? How does it stack up to your competitors?
5 Tips to Increasing Your Instagram Engagement Rate
If you need to improve your Instagram engagement rate, please take a look at my tips.
(1) Engage With Your Followers: When someone leaves a comment on an ice cream recipe you created, comment back. Don’t just say, “Thank you,” say, “Thanks for the comment. What is your favorite ice cream flavor and why?” They’ll be prompted to comment again, and again, and again.
(2) Use Calls to Action: Every post is an opportunity to ask a question or compel your readers to take action. In your caption, always include a call to action such as:
- Leave a comment sharing your favorite gardening tool
- Visit my website and tell me which outfit you’d vote for
- Visit my InstaStory today to see how I made this recipe
- Tag a friend who needs to see this post and tell ’em why
(3) Go Long: Did you know that long captions keep people on your post and increases your engagement? Yep, people read captions so don’t skimp on ’em.
(4) Tag Somebody: Posts that use tags get 56% more engagement, and posts with hashtags get 13% more engagement – true story! Tag people in your posts, pictures, videos or whatever. Do it!
(5) Follow the Right People: I’m way more focused on getting the RIGHT followers than simply increasing my follower account. That is why my account grows more slowly than others I know in my industry, but my engagement rate is good. Be selective about those you follow or follow back. Block anyone that looks spammy. Take care in curating followers.
BONUS TIP: After publishing this article, I realized I had more to say on the topic of increasing your Instagram engagement. This is an EXTREMELY IMPORTANT bonus tip for you if you’re serious about increasing your engagement!!
(6) Stay on Topic: If you’re a food blogger, talk about food. If you’re a style blogger, talk about style. Your followers follow you based on your topic and engage with you based on your common interest or bond. For example, if your followers are simply trying to figure out what to put on the table for dinner but you’re busy talking about your new tank top or posting old wedding photos, they will not engage with your post (and they may unfollow you). Avoid posting pictures of your travels (unless you’re a travel blogger) or political rants (unless you’re a political blogger), etc. Remember, people are following you based on your niche. If they suddenly see you on a beach sipping a mai tai, they won’t feel like they’re getting what they came for. Stay on topic, OK?
Other Tips?
What other tips do you have for increasing Instagram engagement rates? Please share by leaving a comment.