Wondering how to increase Instagram engagement in 2021? You're not alone!
With an ultra-smart algorithm and tons of creative brands competing for people's attention, it's harder than ever to increase Instagram engagement.
Thankfully, Instagram is still one of the best places to market your brand online, gain a loyal following, and build a community that supports your business. So don't be disheartened by a little competition!
Here are 9 ways that you can level-up your Instagram strategy and increase Instagram engagement in 2021:
Tip #1 to Increase Instagram Engagement: Start Conversations with Instagram Stories Stickers
In 2021, it's time to reframe how you think about Instagram engagement.
Instagram engagement is no longer just likes and comments, it also includes engagement from your stories, people following your brand hashtag, IGTV views, and more.
While organic reach on Instagram declines as more users are following more accounts, Instagram Stories is only growing, with over 400 million people posting or watching stories every day.
Because of this, Instagram has been innovating by finding new ways for brands to engage with their followers, in the form of different engagement stickers for stories.
Instagram Stories stickers are a great way to encourage your followers to chat and share their opinions and experiences with you, which, in turn, will help create a loyal following that feels connected to your brand.
Tip #2 to Increase Instagram Engagement: Write Longer Captions
Did you know that your Instagram caption can be up to 2,200 characters long? That's a whole lot of space to share with your audience.
One of the factors that affects how your Instagram post performs in the algorithm is time spent on post.
So what is an easy way to increase the time people spend looking at your post?
By writing an engaging (and long) caption.
Now, we are not saying that every caption has to be thousands of words long, but even writing a full sentence instead of just a few emojis could help you increase Instagram engagement.
So how can you write Instagram captions that will increase Instagram engagement?
Instagram expert Jenna Kutcher says there is always an opportunity it say something meaningful, so ask yourself: why does this post matter? How is it serving anyone other than me? Am I doing the story justice? Your captions should not just be adjectives strung together but more lines of a captivating story that leaves your followers eager for more.
Tip #3 to Increase Instagram Engagement: Optimize Every Instagram Story You Post
While Instagram Stories is still a great place for spontaneous posts and some behind-the-scenes actions, you should still be putting time and effort into optimizing your posts.
Every time you post an Instagram story, you should think about including the following three things if you want to boost your exposure and engagement:
Include a mention sticker:
When you are working with other brands or businesses on Instagram, or reposting some user-generated content (UGC), it is really important that you mention their account.
Not only will the account be notified that you have mentioned them, but it goes a long way when it comes to building your community. That account may, in turn, repost and thank you for the mention, or even share it with their followers.
Add a location:
If you are looking to boost your exposure and improve your engagement, you need to start tagging locations in your posts! Thanks to the location sticker, Instagram Stories are searchable by location, meaning that anyone who searches for that location in Instagram will be able to see your Instagram Stories.
For example, if you are posting a story from a festival in San Diego, you can tag the location with a sticker, and your story might appear in that locations Instagram Stories.
Do not forget to add hashtags:
We know the importance of adding hashtags to your post captions, but are you adding them to every Instagram story too? Sometimes hashtag stickers can ruin the aesthetic of the Instagram story you want to post, but thankfully there are ways around it.
If you want to include hashtags in your Instagram Stories, you can either type out your hashtags (you can include up to 10 in your stories), pinch the text to make them smaller, and then place a GIF or image sticker over the hashtag text so it is perfectly hidden!
Tip #4 to Increase Instagram Engagement: Open Up About Your Brand and Business
These days, people on Instagram expect more from brands than just product shots. They want to know about your brand's mission, the people behind the name, and where and how your products are made and manufactured.
Thankfully, Instagram is a great place to share these details with your followers and, in return, you may find your audience feels more connected to your business and actively follows and engages with your account.
Tip #5 to Increase Instagram Engagement: Pay Closer Attention to Your Hashtags
We have spoken about the importance of having a strong hashtag strategy on Instagram on this blog before. But are you really paying attention to how they're impacting your content?
If you want to increase your Instagram engagement, understanding which hashtags are driving more people to your posts is really important.
Start by categorizing your hashtags. For example, if you are a business that targets female business owners, you may have multiple hashtags that you use on different topics.
Some may be specifically for women in business, while others might be about startups and business leadership. The key is to collate and categorize them so that when they are used in a post, you can easily tell which pulls in the most engagement on your post.
Tip #6 to Increase Instagram Engagement: Reply to your DMs
This one may seem simple, but so many brands are still ignoring their DMs and comments on their feed. Or worse turning off commenting completely!
Instagram's roots are in community building, and that should not change. No matter how big your account becomes, make sure you spend time listening too and responding to both positive and negative feedback.
The simple act of showing your followers that you are listening to them is going to help build that community and online conversation. The more comments, likes, shares, and DMs your posts get, the more likely the algorithm will rank it as quality content and it could be displayed to wider audiences on the Explore page.
Tip #7 to Increase Instagram Engagement: Use our service
There is no denying that Instagram is a competitive place, but there are still tons of ways that you can creatively increase your Instagram engagement.
So next time you are planning and strategizing your Instagram content, try to incorporate these tips and see how your audience responds!