Instagram has one of the most frustrating algorithms at the moment. Engagement rates have dropped on Instagram and are benchmarked at around 0.7% according to Social Insider.
If you feel like you’re spending hours on content and seeing no results, these tried and tested tips and advice are the best way to increase your engagement.
Start with a content calendar
Being consistent doesn’t mean posting every day for a week. It means picking a convenient posting schedule that works for you.
But there are plenty of scheduling tools out there that can help you keep consistent for months at a time.
Our favourite is Plannable, which offers a collaborative approach between yourself and your clients, or your internal team.
Instagram also has its own posting schedule through the platform or Meta business suite, which also takes your analytics and tells you the best days and times to post.
Understanding your analytics
It's important to understand what you're actually reading when looking at your analytics. How can you leverage your data to improve your content? First, let's take a look at the important metrics.
Reach
Reach refers to how many people have seen your content.
Engagement
This is the number of accounts that have interacted with your content in the form of a like, comment, share and save.
Followers
A number of people that follow your account.
Now that we understand the core metrics, we need to understand how this is broken down in our analytics and you can use it to improve your content strategy.
Reach broken down by content type Take a look at what format is reaching the most people, whether it be posts, reels, or Stories. Whichever format is reaching more non-followers, here is where you should continue to do more educational pieces about your business with a call to action. Content that is reaching more followers is where you should focus your efforts on community building and encouraging conversation.
Top content by reach Find which pieces of content have the most reach. Take note of the format, the call to action, the caption, if the content is short or long form. You may also want to take note if the same piece of content is performing well on engagement. It may be the content is reaching a lot of people but you need to make some minor adjustments so people engage with it.
Engagement by content interactions This gives a clear overview of what format your audience is engaging with the most, whether this be posts, stories, or reels.
Top content by engagement Similar to reach, this shows you which content has the most engagement. Take note of the format, the call to action, the caption, if the content is short or long form and recreate similar pieces.
Profile activity Get an understanding of how many people are looking at your profile and then take the next step in the funnel to visit your link, typically this is your website. If you find people are visiting your profile but aren't clicking on your link, then you may need to make your call to action clearer, or your profile more visually appealing.
Followers most active times Posting your content when your audience is online gives your content a higher chance of being seen.
Testing all content formats
It's important to get creative with Instagram's features to ensure you're testing new and fun ways to engage your audience. You must make sure you're creating content that is formatted to the right size, and not compromise on quality.
Some more best practice tips include the following:
Video
Create short transitions
Test effects
Time your text and emphasise key points
Use trending audio and never create sound-off videos
Carousels
Use all ten slides for in-depth content
Make sure the first slide is visually engaging enough to encourage swipe-through
Test a combination of photos and video
Photos
Use natural lighting
Take high-quality imagery
More tips for compelling content
Show your face for a personal touch
Be reactive with your content jumping on key moments throughout the year
SEO
SEO, or search engine optimisation, is becoming massive for socials as platforms are taking the leap to be search engines in their own right. Keywords are going to be essential for your customers to find you, and you need to be using them in all the right places. Some of these places include
Name
Bio
Caption
Hashtags
Text overlay on Reels
Tags
Before you post make sure you're increasing your chances of reach by utilising hashtags, tagging relevant businesses, adding location and utilising Instagram's product tag feature to make a shorter purchase journey for the user.
Your questions about Instagram engagement answered
What is Instagram engagement?
Instagram engagement measures how people are interacting with your content through passive and active engagement. This includes likes, comments, saves and shares.
How do I work out my engagement rate?
You can work out your engagement rate by taking your total engagement, divide it by the total followers and multiply by 100. This looks like:
engagement / followers x 100
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