Today, I will discuss the importance of increasing your Instagram engagement. Instagram is one of the most sought-after trendy social media platforms in the world.
Every month, about 1 billion people use Instagram, which accounts for 13% of the global population.
Also, 8 in 10 (8/10) of Instagram users follow one or more businesses, and slightly over 70% of users have purchased an item they first saw on Instagram.
All these stats point to one vital insight: Instagram is a goldmine for entrepreneurs, businesses, and marketers. The question is, how can you measure your success on Instagram?
Obsessing your follower count would be a top-of-your-head exercise; however, your Instagram engagement is a much healthier metric.
This post aims to measure your Instagram success. It outlines how to calculate your engagement rate and offers top tips for improving and boosting your Instagram marketing efforts.
Table of Contents
Measuring Instagram Engagement Rate.
Simply put, an Instagram engagement rate is the total number of comments and likes per post divided by the total number of followers.
Engagement rates are sound metrics to monitor because they underscore how often your following interacts with your content and obligate you to focus on essential data instead of focusing on hollow measures such as the number of followers you have.
Before going deeper, it is essential to remember that measuring Instagram engagement involves calculating the sum of comments and likes per post, dividing it by the total number of followers, and multiplying it by 100.
When expressed as an equation, it looks something like
(Comments + Likes Per post) x 100 Total number of followers
The following is an example to help you find your Instagram engagement rate.
Assuming that you have around 64k followers on Instagram and, on average, you receive approximately 33 comments and 735 likes per post. Using the above equation, you need to get the total of the two numbers, which adds to a combined total of 768 engagements.
The next thing to do is divide the total engagement, 768, by the number of followers, 64,000, and multiply that by 100.
768/64,000 =0.012
0.012 x 100= 1,2
Your Instagram engagement rate of 1.2%
Instagram engagement rate is a simple concept with an equally straightforward formula.
What is a Good Engagement Rate?
Before looking at the engagement rates, it is vital to get one thing straight: there is no universally good engagement rate. Idyllic engagement rates are subject to various factors, so there is no one-size-fits-all solution.
Now that that is out of the way, you may look at various engagement rates and use those stats to inform your analysis of engagement rate metrics.
The average engagement rates lie anywhere in the region, from 1% to 5%.
If you want to know your industry’s average engagement rate, research it; however, the reference range serves as an excellent average baseline.
Moving on swiftly while keeping this inference range in mind and that it is not cast in stone; for instance, if your engagement rate is 0.90 %, then you are doing pretty well.
You want to aim higher, and in most cases, you will be looking for an engagement rate of 1-3%. 5% or higher percentages represent very high engagement.
Methods of Increasing Your Engagement Rate.
How to increase your Instagram engagement rate is juicy stuff, given the definition of what Instagram engagement rate is covered and how to calculate it demonstrated.
The essence of this article, where possible, is to give top tips for increasing your Instagram engagement rate and provide some real-life examples that can inspire your content.
If you have been stuck and confounded about increasing engagement, Instagram offers several alternatives, and you can use many great strategies. It fundamentally boils down to executing five things.
- Time your post.
2. Use the right hashtags and captions.
3. Leveraging the power of Instagram stories.
4. Holding contests and giveaways.
5. Using omnichannel marketing to boost Instagram presence.
This article profoundly explores strategies and outlines the steps necessary to benefit from each and fully maximize your Instagram engagement.
When it comes down to it, improving your Instagram profile and activity is the key to increasing your engagement rate.
Improving Your Instagram
To use Instagram optimally, you need to optimize your content for your audience. If you want to double your engagement rate, you have to engage.
Posting regularly, engaging with other profiles, and responding to users’ comments and messages can help you improve your Instagram.
Tips shared herein all relate to optimizing content, and it is worth remembering this as a rule of thumb.
Instagram engagement: Timing.
One of the main objectives of Instagram content will be to reach as many users as possible without fatiguing them with excessive content.
However, there are two crucial things you need to know if you are serious about stepping up your Instagram game.
- when to post
2. How often to post
Based on research, the best time to post on Instagram on weekdays is around midday, and you will have success posting in the evenings.
The reason is that most users check Instagram from mobile and are inclined to avoid browsing during work hours. Wednesday is the best day to post, and Sunday registers the lowest engagement.
The research also revealed that significant brand postings averaged 1.5 per day, and thus, you should aim to post on Instagram 1-3 times per day.
Of course, you will need a wealth of content to achieve this and maintain the pace of maximizing your Instagram engagement.
Using Hashtags & Captions
Hashtags are an excellent feature that can help increase your Instagram engagement rate, and they can help you to;
-Reach a broader audience
-Gain more followers
-Gain more likes
You are wondering how to find hashtags that improve Instagram engagement! Research holds the key to plenty of hashtags. Look at what your competitors, audience, and, to an extent, Instagram influencers are posting, and pick out hashtags that are most popular in your niche.
For instance, if you were selling headphones, your first task would be to hit Instagram, explore the function, and check out #headphones.
Look through the recent top posts and determine which hashtags generate the highest engagement. Many businesses have branded hashtags.
If any of your competitors deploy branded hashtags, you can try utilizing them to get a better perspective of the types of Instagram content that interest them the most.
Instagram hashtags portend immense potential to bring a whole new wave of users to your Instagram, and therefore, it is crucial to choose your hashtags carefully.
Fortunately, there are tools, such as TagBlender, InstagramTags, and Seekmetrics, that can help you find popular Instagram hashtags.
Remember that while you can use 30 hashtags per post on Instagram, you do not need to fill your caption with hashtags.
Captions
Carefully chosen captions for your content can spike your Instagram engagement rate. Captions help provide additional context and engage and delight your audience.
There is plenty of room to experiment with captions, try different tactics, and determine what works best for you.
Advantage of Instagram Stories
A staggering 500 million people use Instagram stories. Although Instagram stories are not used to calculate engagement rates, they are critical to boosting them.
Instagram stories can help you retain the attention of your existing followers, provide more personable, spontaneous content, and even redirect your following to other Instagram posts or your store.
Users interacting with individual accounts are much more likely to see the content again, which is due to the Instagram algorithm. Instagram stories are a marvelous feature that you can utilize to maintain a high engagement rate on Instagram.
Videos
Do not be afraid of videos because Instagram users love videos. As a matter of fact, in 2018, the number of videos created on Instagram increased by 80% year over year.
Many businesses and marketers consider video content an integral part of a successful Instagram strategy. However, creating video content can be daunting, especially if it is your first time.
Contests & Giveaways.
People love free stuff, and this rings true in many quarters. But this article seeks to interrogate and bring to the fore what free stuff does to you and your account.
Running contests and giveaways allows you to tap into that joyous feeling that results from a person having a chance to win something.
Look at it this way: you have engaged an audience in your content. The next thing to do is find a prize that interests your audience and promote it to them in exchange for engagement.
Ordinarily, businesses ask folks to like their account, tag their friends, or like a photo to enter, all of which work to spike their Instagram engagement.
Contests and giveaways could be a great option to increase your Instagram engagement.
Omnichannel Marketing.
You can not rely solely on your existing Instagram presence to boost your Instagram engagement rates.
Omnichannel marketing involves engaging an audience on various platforms. Leverage all your marketing clout to attract engaged users to your Instagram content.
To get omnichannel marketing rolling, start with low-hanging fruit, like pairing some Instagram content with a relevant blog post (your blog post).
Please do all you can to ensure your audience gets content they like and your Instagram engagement rates soon. It’s sure to hit the roof.
In sum, now the cat is out of the bag; you know what Instagram engagement is and how to measure and improve it.
You are all set for success on Instagram. Be creative, create unique content that contrasts with others, and enjoy it.
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