For social media, the past year was a bit of a mixed bag. Due to individuals staying inside, social networks have seen a surge in members who are both engaged and willing to spend money.
People’s tastes have evolved significantly during the past year. Many people are concerned about their personal information being misused, and they also dislike intrusive ad targeting. Tighter restrictions on public life have rendered many influencer strategies obsolete (We Are Social).
This indicates that community management will be a top priority in 2018. Knowing your audience, communicating with them directly (and organically), and investing in content that keeps them coming back are all things you can do to increase your Instagram engagement in 2023.
Improving Instagram Follower Participation
Instagram’s variety of posts is consistent with past years. The key to keeping your audience interested is to provide enough diversity while still catering to their individual preferences.
With the advent of Instagram’s save post feature, it has quickly become one of the many KPIs closely tracked by marketers. However, saves are useful for more than just collecting information; each saved item represents a new opportunity for the user to interact with your business.
Since Instagram now allows users to save posts, the platform has become a more viable platform for “evergreen” content. Tutorials, manuals, and other information items are excellent examples of content with lasting value.
Share Personal Tales
The majority of Instagram posts are now stories. Because tales are transient and people must opt in to view them, they come with the tacit approval to be a little more forthright and conversational than usual. Take advantage of this by sharing material that actively encourages interaction.
Stickers are the quickest and most convenient option. You can use the built-in CTAs on readily available stickers if the need arises.
You should take the time to create a few Instagram story templates that you can use often to increase interaction, and they are designed to be placed directly into any story.
Don’t be hesitant to use a variety of different call-to-actions in a single post. Take this post, for example, which features a subtle swipe-to-shop CTA and a poll sticker.
Mix Your Video Properly
The advent of IGTV (and its post-launch upgrades) have expanded the spectrum of potential video material (for instance, IGTV supports landscape-format videos), and studies have shown that they create consistently high levels of engagement.
In light of the 250% increase in watch time expected in 2020, you should make full use of video previews. One effective strategy for attracting new viewers interested in your longer video material is to upload a brief (about one minute long) preview video to the regular stream.
Previews can be made quickly by flipping a switch during publication, but it’s worth your time to arrange the preview in advance to maximise its visibility.
Building Your Brand One Tweet at a Time
Don’t just focus on improving the performance of individual posts; give some effort to developing your visual identity as a whole as well. A well-organized gallery is an excellent method of getting noticed and gaining followers.
Creating a recognisable logo is just one of many branding strategies. Incorporating identifying design features like colours, typefaces, saturation, and contrast is a straightforward strategy.
The process of creating your portfolio might be simplified with the help of a dedicated photo-editing programme.
Achieving Accurate Information
Utilising Instagram analytics and data is a two-way street. Every day, 200 million people interact with a business presence on Instagram.
You need to know who you’re talking to and where your brand stands for that to work. See what’s happening at the intersection of the two for optimal engagement.
Optimise the Timing of Your Posts
Due to Instagram’s feed algorithm, the timing of your posts has a significant impact on user interaction with your content.
As a general rule, the network is most active around midday on weekdays, but you should still try posting at different times to see what works best for your business.
Find Your Audience
Hobbies and interests are major drivers of Instagram engagement. The platform already makes use of this, and you should too if you want to increase participation.
For instance, Kicksta has its own algorithm to help you find potential audience members.
Other tools, such as Tailwind and Hashtagify, make it easier to research hashtags and related activity, allowing you to determine which ones are worth your time.
Use Your Imagination
The simplicity of Instagram is a major selling point, but it also has its drawbacks.
It lacks some of the capabilities seen on competing social networks, which is why many companies instead turn to third-party social media solutions like Sendible.
Develop Your Profile Channel
Having only one profile link can obviously limit your options. Many companies and brands get around this problem by creating landing pages that link their Instagram accounts to the rest of the web.
Many external services offer optimised landing pages just for your “link in bio.” Pages that serve a specific purpose, like menus, booking forms, or directories, benefit from laser-like focus.
Alternatively, you might utilise a more comprehensive platform to build a microsite (in AMP, of course) that is automatically generated when people visit your profile.
Conclusion
One thing is necessary for any of these strategies to work, though: implementation. Do what you can, evaluate its effectiveness, and make adjustments as necessary.
Consistency is the key to success with any resolution you make, so do things at your own pace.