Instagram Tactics That Help Enhance Engagement Rates

Instagram tactics

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Instagram engagement is about how your audience interacts with your content. High engagement means your content positively impacts your audience. And this is the key to Instagram’s algorithm. For example, suppose your followers consistently like and comment on your posts. In that case, Instagram gets the signal that they need more of your content, resulting in your posts being prioritized on their feeds. 

As Instagram is becoming more popular, it gets increasingly difficult to stand out from the crowd on the platform. So how can you increase your brand awareness and drive more traffic to your website? 

This article discusses five tactics for increasing your Instagram engagement rates today.

#1 Know when is the best time to post

As Instagram has changed its algorithm and prioritizes posts made by friends and family, businesses need to play the game well to make themselves visible. And here, great timing plays a crucial role. Knowing when is the best time to post on Instagram comes with great opportunities for engagement. But how can you determine when to post to reach more audience? 

First, the best time to post on Instagram will mostly depend on your target audience. So you need to identify your audience based on city, country, time zone, and even age group. Next, you need to pay close attention to when your audience is active and interacts with your posts. Considering these two aspects will help you narrow down the optimal times for content posting to maximize the likelihood of reaching the maximum number of right people. 

Assuming that you will post more than once per week, consider that various studies suggest that the best time to post on Instagram is 6:00 a.m. local time.

#2 Be consistent

Keeping to a regular posting schedule will essentially enable your followers to know what to expect from you. Most importantly, it will build a consistent experience for your audience. On the other hand, posting inconsistently is a bad idea to increase your engagement rate because it will cause them to disengage with your profile. 

When you regularly share engaging content, you enable more of your followers to start to see your posts, which means you will be more likely to engage with them. As posting takes a lot of time and energy, planning and scheduling your content in advance is essential. Remember to keep it simple. Set yourself weekly goals that you know you can achieve.

SEE ALSO: How To Use Instagram Stories And Its New Features

#3 Measure your engagement rate

To enhance your engagement rate, you must first start measuring it. Your Instagram engagement rate is a comprehensive metric. It is essential because it tells you how many people have interacted with your posts. 

In addition, it is a great way to identify the content (graphics, messages, and topics) that your followers are most interested in. As a result, you will create and share the right content, increasing engagement. More importantly, high engagement rates also serve as social proof to attract loyal customers.

Instagram hashtags

#4 Use hashtags and stories

Instagram hashtags are the platform’s primary method of sorting and filtering content. Unlike other platforms, you can use up to 30 hashtags per post, but using too many of them is not the answer. Instead, using the right and most relevant hashtags can help you grow and reach the right people on the platform. 

For example, you can use hashtags in your bio or Instagram Stories that lead to a topic page and create higher visibility. Keep in mind that content hashtags are beneficial for increasing engagement even though they are not extremely popular. They are commonly used to enhance your posts’ SEO as users would use them to search specific topics.

SEE ALSO: What if We Overused Hashtags in Real Life Like We Do on Social Media?

Even though Instagram Stories only last 24 hours, you can get much more mileage out of them if you use them smartly. How? When you add a new Story, your profile image gets a red circle around it. That indicates to your followers that there is new content. Keeping your content fresh and posting regularly is a perfect reminder for your followers to learn to come back regularly and increase engagement. 

#5 Sign up for Instagram for business

Suppose your brand does not have a business account. In that case, you should consider signing up for it as it gives you extra analytics, a more professional aesthetic, and access to ads. Perhaps even more critical, you get the opportunity to include links in stories and a “contact” button on your profile. So, if your goal is to drive traffic from Instagram to your site or products, this is a significant win. 

Conclusion

Instagram engagement is essential to increasing your brand exposure and achieving growth. Use the tactics in this article immediately, and you will enhance your engagement rates in no time.