Engagement is the Queen of Instagram. She tells the algorithm that you are sharing interesting content and pushes it out to your current followers and new audiences. So I put together a checklist of my top 10 tips for better engagement to help you.
Engagement isn't about likes and followers. It's about shares, saves, comments, and DMs. These are what you need to focus on if you’re trying to grow your business through Instagram and if you want to have fun. It's not any fun if no one comments on your posts and no one DMs you right?
1. Diversify your content.
Only posting static photos to your feed and your story? Your followers are so bored! Videos, graphics, photos, carousels, lives, reels – your followers (and new ones) want variety!
2. Personalize your brand.
You’re building your brand on Instagram, not just your business. People want real stories and life lessons. They want someone to connect with and someone who’s been in their shoes. You don't need to share every detail of your life, but humanizing your brand goes a long way with your audience.
3. Talk directly to your followers.
Use stories like you’re on Facetime with your best friend. Write your captions like you are speaking directly to a single person – not a crowd.
4. Collaborate.
Have an Instagram BFF that you always find yourself talking to in the DMs? Connecting with other business owners and individuals who compliment your business in some way could make for a great collab! Plan a live together or plan a story takeover. You can get in front of their audience and they can get in front of yours. Think of it like networking!
5. Join the conversation.
Leave meaningful comments on posts and reels that you connect with – especially people that have a larger audience. For example, it can be a person/brand that you admire. They will likely reply to your comment and you may get a few of their followers to check out your page! Bonus points if they end up pinning your comment to the top for everyone to see.
6. Quality photos, graphics, and videos.
I’m not saying your IG will fail if you don't hire a professional photographer. I’m just saying you need to be mindful of how you’re portraying your brand through your imagery. There are so many free tools and tutorials out there for you to take better photos on your iPhone and plenty of apps for video editing and quick graphics. If you want people to take your business seriously, you have to dedicate the time to having aesthetically pleasing visuals.
7. Experiment and ask questions.
The beauty of Instagram is that there are so many features. Play around with content and see what sticks. Stories is the perfect place for this. Use the poll and question stickers to learn more about what your audience wants to see. If something goes over well in stories, plan a reel or an IGTV training to expand on the topic.
8. Consistency.
Your business is open right? You have to show up consistently online or else people might forget about you. If people see that you consistently share valuable and entertaining content, they will engage with you more and more. That’s how you build relationships. Social media is like dating. You can’t ask someone to marry you on the first date. You need to gain their trust and keep their interest.
9. Create interest.
Do you think your business is super boring? If you do, then I can’t help you. Maybe it is boring. I once had to write social media content for an answering service and let me tell you, THAT was boring. No way is your business that boring. If you absolutely love your business and you want to help more people with whatever it is you sell or offer, then you can create interesting content that draws people to your brand.
10. Ask for the saves and shares.
It sounds simple because it is. Start training your audience to save your content and share it to their stories if they found it helpful, funny, whatever it may be. “SAVE this post to reference again when you need it!.” Asking a question in a story? Tell your followers to DM you if them have a thought to share.
