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How much engagement should i have on instagram


What is a Good Engagement Rate on Instagram? — Scrunch

Written By Danielle Lewis

Understand what a good engagement rate is for an Instagram influencer

Recently on the Scrunch blog, we’ve looked at engagement rate and defined what it is, and why it is so important in influencer marketing. Now, we’re weighing in on what exactly a good engagement rate is on Instagram and how you can find out the expected engagement rate of an influencer you are planning to collaborate with.

The Equation

If you’ve read our previous blog posts “What is Engagement Rate and Why is it Important in Influencer Marketing?” and “How To Measure An Influencer’s Engagement Rate”, you’ll know a bit about engagement rates on Instagram.

To calculate an engagement rate on Instagram, follow the steps below:

  1. Look at all of the influencers posts for the last 30 days and add up the total number of likes and comments on each post (e. g. if there are 17 posts in the last 30 days, add up the number of likes and comments on each of the 17 posts).

  2. Divide that number by the number of posts there are in the last 30 days (e.g. divide the total number of likes and comments from above, by the number of posts - 17 in this example).

  3. Now that you have the average engagements per post, divide that by the number of followers the influencer has.

  4. Finally, times the number above by 100, to turn the numbers into a percentage (the percentage will usually be between 0 and 10). This is the engagement rate of the influencer on Instagram.

It's a very manual process, especially if you are trying to work out the engagement rate of a list of 30 influencers. So, instead of doing it manually, you can sign up to Scrunch and see the engagement rate of each influencer in the Directory, which has over 20 million influencer profiles. The Starter Plan is free and will help you get started with influencer marketing and understand the engagement rate of each influencer you are considering working with.

Making Sense of The Numbers

Once you have the engagement rate, you can start to analyze and understand what the number actually means and whether it is good or bad. Below is an industry standard guideline so you can benchmark results:

  • Less than 1% = low engagement rate

  • Between 1% and 3.5% = average/good engagement rate

  • Between 3.5% and 6% = high engagement rate

  • Above 6% = very high engagement rate

In summary, as an industry standard, an engagement rate on Instagram between 1% and 3% is generally good, it is the average we see on an influencer's profile. If the engagement rate is higher than 3%, that is a good sign that their audience is very engaged with their content, and if it is below 1%, it means their audience as a whole is not very engaged with their content.

Keep in mind, a number of things influence engagement rate on Instagram, such as the time of each individual post, the frequency of posting, the number of followers, the content and messaging and the Instagram algorithm (and the limitations that sometimes come with it).

So when you are deciding what influencer to work with, or comparing a cohort of influencers, make sure you consider engagement rate. It's an important metric to consider and should not be ignored when choosing influencers for your campaign.

If you have any questions about engagement rates on Instagram, get in touch to chat with our team any time.

Danielle Lewis

22 Simple Ways to Increase Instagram Engagement (Free Calculator)

If you’re using Instagram for business, you know it’s more than just a platform for saving all your cutest product pics. It’s a powerful tool for building your brand and cultivating an audience online.

With one billion people using Instagram every month, it’s a platform with serious potential for ROI.

But to reap the rewards, you don’t just need an audience: you need engagement. You need comments, shares, likes and other actions that prove your content is resonating with the people who see it.

Importantly, engagement only has value when it’s genuine — coming from real people who really care.

Which is why you’re not going to find any tips here about getting into an “engagement group” or “engagement pod” or buying likes, or anything of that sort. The fact is: that just doesn’t work. (We should know! We tried it!)

The reality is, there’s no shortcut for quality engagement. You get out of social media what you put in. So take the time to craft that great post, to encourage conversation, and to connect genuinely with your followers. The benefits are sure to follow.

Read on for proven ways to make an impact with your Instagram audience and build strong, lasting engagement organically.

Bonus: Use our free engagement rate calculator to find out your engagement rate 4 ways fast. Calculate it on a post-by-post basis or for an entire campaign — for any social network.

What do we mean by Instagram engagement?

Engagement is more than counting your views or followers. It’s about measuring the interactions that your audience makes with your content.

On Instagram, engagement is measured by a range of metrics such as:

  • Comments
  • Shares
  • Likes
  • Saves
  • Followers and growth
  • Mentions (tagged or untagged)
  • Branded hashtags
  • Click-throughs
  • DMs

Check out our complete list of social media metrics, and how to track them, here.

These sort of actions are evidence that people aren’t just seeing your content. They’re actively interested in what you have to say.

Why do we care about engagement? First of all, it means that your content is making an impact on your audience. (They like you, they really like you!)

Secondly, strong engagement is a key factor in Instagram’s algorithm. The higher the engagement, the more likely it is that the content will be boosted in the newsfeed, attracting more eyes and attention.

How to measure Instagram engagement

Your engagement rate measures the amount of interaction social content earns relative to your followers or reach.

In other words: what percentage of the people who saw your post actually engaged with it?

There are a few different ways to get to that number. You might calculate an engagement rate by impressions, by post, by reach, or by followers. It really depends on your social media goals.

You’ll need access to those metrics we mentioned before. You can use Instagram’s Insights tool, Hootsuite analytics, or any of these other great Instagram analytics tools to collect that juicy, juicy data.

Once you’ve got your stats on hand, use one of these Instagram engagement calculators and crunch those numbers to find your engagement rate.

(Want to know how to measure engagement for other social media platforms? We show you how to measure social engagement for Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat here.)

What is a good Instagram engagement rate?

Instagram itself is coy about what a “good” engagement rate is. But most social media marketing experts agree that strong engagement falls around 1% to 5%. And Hootsuite’s own social media team reported an average Instagram engagement rate of 4.59% in 2020.

Here are the global average Instagram engagement rates for business accounts as of 2021:

  • Instagram post types: 0.82%
  • Instagram photo posts: 0.81%
  • Video posts: 0.61%
  • Carousel posts: 1.01%

On average, carousels are the most engaging type of Instagram post, which we talk more about in Tip 4 below.

Follower count can also affect your Instagram engagement rate. Here are the average engagement rates per number of followers of Instagram business accounts as of 2021:

  • Fewer than 10,000 followers: 1. 18%
  • 10,000 – 100,000 followers: 0.94%
  • More than 100,000%: 0.74%

Typically, the more followers you have, the less engagement you get.

Curious about engagement rates on other social networks? Check out Hootsuite’s Digital 2021 report (Q3 update) for more performance benchmarking data.

How to increase Instagram engagement: 22 useful tips

Tip 1: Get to know your audience

It’s hard to make great content if you don’t know who you’re making it for.

The demographics of your target audience will help define the type of content you post, your brand voice, and even what days and times to publish.

For example, offbeat indie clothing label Fashion Brand Company targets people with a bold sense of humor — both product offerings and the tone of its posts reflect that.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Fashion Brand Co. Inc. LLC Tm (@fashionbrandcompany)

For more info on identifying your audience, check out our guide to conducting audience research.

Tip 2: Get authentic

On social media, it’s better to be honest and relatable than perfectly polished. Share content that goes beyond your slick marketing campaign to introduce the real people and experiences behind your brand.

That might mean sharing behind-the-scenes footage in an Instagram story, writing a caption that reveals a cheeky sense of humor or taking ownership of any mistakes.

This meme shared by A Practical Wedding garnered thousands of shares and comments from an audience who found the less-than-perfect joke about wedding culture ultra relatable.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by A Practical Wedding (@apracticalwedding)

Audiences appreciate honesty more than perfection… after all, don’t you?

Find more tips for sharing your authentic side here.

Tip 3: Share great images

Instagram, in case you didn’t notice, is a visual medium. And while you don’t need to be an Annie Leibovitz to thrive on the platform, creating images that stand out from the news feed is important.

Even if you’re not a great photographer or graphic designer, there are a million tools for helping you give your pic a little oomph.

You can edit photos directly in the Hootsuite Compose and add text and filters to them. (Or use one of these many other apps to take your Instagram posts to the next level.)

This image promoting Fast Company’s Creative Conversation podcast takes a standard headshot of model Ashley Graham and gives it a creative graphic treatment that helps it pop.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Fast Company (@fastcompany)

Tip 4: Post carousels

Once you’ve gotten the hang of creating eye-catching images, try posting a few with carousels. Carousels — Instagram posts with multiple images — are a great way to build engagement. (And, as luck would have it, we have some beautiful Instagram Carousel templates right here!)

Hootsuite’s own social team finds that their carousel posts get 3.1x more engagement, on average, than their regular posts. And, globally, carousels have the highest average engagement rate of all types of Instagram posts (1.01%).

It could have something to do with the fact that the algorithm re-serves these sorts of posts to followers who didn’t engage the first time around, giving them a second or third chance to make an impression.

Hack: Create your carousels in advance and schedule them for publication at the optimal time with Hootsuite. For step-by-step instructions, check out our guide to posting to Instagram from a PC or Mac.

Tip 5: Post video content

Video is both eye-catching and engaging. So engaging, in fact, that posts with video receive about 38% more engagement than images.

Here’s a video from Carly Rae Jepsen, sharing some images from a new photo shoot set to music. How can you look away?!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Carly Rae Jepsen (@carlyraejepsen)

Don’t overthink it: video content doesn’t have to be overly polished or perfectly edited. (Remember that “authenticity” tip from earlier?) Shoot now, give it a quick edit, and get it out into the world.

There are a million tools to help you combine scenes, add in music or text, download a free or paid video editing app. InShot and Magisto are great ones, but we’ve got plenty of other suggestions here on our list of the best Instagram apps for business.

Tip 6: Write strong captions

A picture is worth a thousand words, but a thousand words are… also worth a thousand words.

Instagram captions can be up to 2,200 characters in length, and up to 30 hashtags. Use ‘em! Good captions add context and showcase your brand’s personality.

Nike tells a compelling story with its caption here, and asks its followers to share their own story in the comments.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nike (@nike)

Get our tips for crafting the perfect caption here.

Tip 7: Create saveable content

Creating reference material your audience will want to save in their Collections can earn you a little engagement boost, too.

Instagram account So You Want to Talk About creates simple-to-grasp reference material on a variety of complex topics that are perfect for saving in a Collection or Story Highlight.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by So.Informed (@so.informed)

Add a “Save this post” call-to-action to a carousel post with tips, how-to guide or recipe video to encourage users to come visit this content again later.

Tip 8: Go live

Using Instagram Live to stream live video is a great way to connect directly to users, share news and build engagement.

80% of audiences would apparently rather watch a livestream than read a blog post. Give ‘em what they want!

With Live video, you can answer questions live, welcome viewers by name and generally welcome your audience into your world in an intimate, engaging way. You can also build an ecommerce audience with Instagram’s new Live Shopping feature, if you’re so inclined.

Here’s our Instagram Live how-to guide for getting your broadcast going.


Source: Instagram

Tip 9: Craft compelling content

Posting product pics every day is going to get a little old after a while. Mix it up with a varied content schedule.

Contests, polls, questions and quizzes break the routine and directly encourage your audience to get involved and active.

Hi Alyssa Comics, for instance, did a custom card giveaway to celebrate a follower milestone, prompting users to share and interact with the post.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by comics by alyssa (@hialyssacomics)

Find more Instagram post ideas here.

Tip 10: Share audience content

It’s tempting to treat your Instagram account like a one-way street, but social media is a conversation, not a broadcast. Make sure you’re listening and engaging with fans when they reach out.

One great way to do that is to repost or share audience content. If someone tags your tequila brand in a post about an out-of-control Margarita Monday, toss that post up in your story.

The Las Culturistas podcast shared listener compliments of its 12 Days of Culture holiday countdown in its own Instagram Stories. A shout-out within a shout-out, like a little Stories Inception.


Source: LasCulturistas

They’ll feel thrilled you were listening, and other followers may be compelled to start tagging you in their own content.

Make sure you don’t miss a mention with the help of Hootsuite or other social listening tools for business.

Tip 11: Create custom stickers and filters

Sprinkle a little of your brand dust onto other users’ posts by making custom stickers and filters available in Stories.

Sephora launched a special “Holiday Beauty Q&A” AR filter for makeup fans to use on their own Stories over Christmas, to help spread the Sephora brand and build community.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sephora (@sephora)

Here’s a step-by-step for making your own AR filters here.

Tip 12: Respond to questions and comments

When the comments start flying in — in response to all your fun new photo and video content, of course — it’s only polite to respond.

Acknowledging your commenters and participating in conversations makes followers feel seen and heard, and excited to chat with you again in the future.

Sunscreen brand Supergoop not only prompts followers to share their favorite products in the comments of this post, they also happily chime in to share recommendations and offer positive support for everyone’s choices.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Supergoop! (@supergoop)

To track any indirect mentions happening outside of your page, just set up search streams on your Hootsuite dashboard so you don’t miss a chance to keep the conversation going.

Bonus: Use our free engagement rate calculator to find out your engagement rate 4 ways fast. Calculate it on a post-by-post basis or for an entire campaign — for any social network.

Get the calculator now!

Tip 13: Get experimental

You’ll never find out what works best for your brand until you test, measure and tweak.

The beauty of social media is that it’s made for experimentation. If something works, you know pretty quickly; if it’s a flop, lesson learned with little risk.

So get creative… just make sure to keep a close eye on metrics to actually see the impact of your grand ideas. Dig into our guide to social media A/B testing here.

Tip 14: Post consistently, and at strategic times

The more you post, the more opportunities your followers have to engage. Commit to a consistent schedule to keep your feed fresh and your followers intrigued.

Of course, posting consistently at the right times is key, too… if you’ve got a post going up when your audience is asleep, you might struggle.

Here’s our guide to finding the best time to post on Instagram for your audience.

Tip 15: Drive traffic from other sources

Get your Instagram handle out there in the world everywhere you can: share it in your Twitter bio, include it in your email signature, and throw it in your company newsletter.

London (yes, the city) uses its Twitter bio to drive attention to its Instagram handle and content.

The more you can point people towards the platform, the more eyeballs you’ll get on your content and the more chances for engagement.

Tip 16: Join the conversation

At a dinner party (a fun one, anyways), you wouldn’t just wait to be spoken to, right? Some of the time, you’d be prompting the conversation.

The same goes for Instagram. Responding to questions and comments is great; getting out there and starting convos of your own on other posts and pages is even better.

Think of it as a balance of reactive (responding) and proactive (conversation starting) action.

Tip 17: Create topical content

If there’s already a buzz around a current event or holiday, squeeze yourself into that conversation.

When Taylor Swift’s 2020 album drops got everyone talking about cottagecore (everyone), clothing brand Farewell Frances was wise to tag some of its coats as #cottagecoreaesthetic.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Farewell Frances (@farewellfrances)

Particularly if there’s a trending hashtag involved, you’ve instantly given your content a “why now” topical hook.

Tip 18: Get active on Instagram Stories

Instagram Stories have incredible reach. Half a billion people use Stories every day, and 62% of users say they’ve become more interested in a brand or product after seeing it in Stories.

Satirical news site Reductress shares its cheeky headlines both in posts and Stories to capture readers’ attention in two different places.


Source: Reductress

Not only will people be watching, with Stories, you’ve got the opportunity to engage with stickers.

Questions, Polls and Countdowns are all opportunities to spark conversation and connect directly with your fans.

Here are some creative Instagram Story ideas to get you started, plus all the hacks and features every master Instagrammer should know.

Tip 19: Add strong calls to action

Want engagement from your posts? Sometimes, it just comes down to asking nicely.

Welks General Store didn’t just tell the world it had puzzles with this post: it gave specific information about how to purchase them.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Welks General Store (@welksonmain)

A compelling call to action can prompt activity, likes, responses or shares when done with care. Check out our guide to writing the CTA of your dreams here.

Tip 20: Harness the power of hashtags

Instagram hashtags are a double-edged sword. Used correctly, you can drive some serious traffic and build buzz. Overdo it, and you come off looking spammy.

Be thoughtful and strategic about the hashtags you use, to reach a specific community or industry, join a trending conversation, push a branded campaign or identify your service offerings.

Illustrator Cecile Dormeau, for example, tagged her sweet drawing with both art-related hashtags and mental-health ones.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Cécile Dormeau (@cecile.dormeau)

The consensus is that 11 or fewer hashtags is the right number to look professional but not desperate. More info on making the most of Instagram hashtags over here.

Tip 21: Boost your posts

Getting your post in front of more eyeballs is one easy way to build engagement (and hopefully increase your follower count while you’re at it).

With a potential audience of more than 928 million users on Instagram, your next superfan could be out there, just waiting to discover what you have to offer.

Using Instagram ads or boosted posts can be a strategic way of getting your name in front of the right people. Check out our Instagram ads guide here for more details on maximizing your reach.


Source: Instagram

Tip 22: Slide into their DMs

Sometimes, the strongest engagement can happen in private.

Direct messages and story interactions are great examples of engaged audiences, and amazing direct connection to a passionate fan. So when someone reaches out in your DMs, make sure to reply and treat ‘em right.

Tip 23: Embrace Instagram Reels

Instagram Reels joined the Insta fam in summer of 2020, ostensibly offering an alternative to TikTok. With Reels, users can create and edit short multi-clip videos with audio and effects.

Drag artist Eureka O’Hara is using Reels here (well, a repurposed TikTok video within Reels, anyways) to promote an upcoming season of their show We’re Here.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Eureka! 💜🐘👑 (@eurekaohara)

Because it’s a shiny new Reel, this will get boosted in the newsfeed higher than a standard video. More eyeballs means thousands more people get to enjoy these sick dance moves.

Any new feature to social media tools typically gets a boost in the algorithm, so it’s in your best interest to try out the latest and greatest offerings. Reels are appearing prominently on the Explore page, so embrace this new content form, and you might just find yourself in front of some fresh faces.

Take a peek at ideas for memorable Reels here.

Whew! There you have it: your crash course on Instagram engagement. For a more in-depth dive into building a successful social strategy, check out our social media marketing guide.

Increase your Instagram engagement rate using Hootsuite. From a single dashboard you can schedule and publish posts and stories on a consistent schedule, respond to comments, measure your performance over type, and run all your other social media profiles in the same place. Try it free today.

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With files from Shannon Tien.

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90,000 research 21 million accounts. Read on Cossa.ru

What is Engagement Rate
How many likes should there be?
What happened in countries where likes are hidden?
Germany with likes vs. Italy with no likes
States with likes vs. Canada with no likes
Russia with likes so far vs. Brazil with no likes
What have we learned?
Does engagement vary by city?
How do accounts grow?
Russia
USA
Findings
What did we learn?

Alexey Tkachuk's Dnative blog published data on how likes fell in countries where likes were hidden. Here is a screenshot:

You can read his analysis in the telegram post.

Especially for Cossa, we decided to tell you about the main numbers for influencer marketing. In this article, we will describe how many likes should be, how fast accounts grow, how things are in different countries, and much more. If you like graphics, then it will be very interesting.

What is Engagement Rate

Engagement Rate is the sum of likes and comments divided by the number of posts and followers. ER indirectly shows how engaged subscribers are - it becomes easier to compare bloggers :-)

For example, Instagram Yuri Dudya:

He has 3. 8 million followers, ER 5.5% and an average of 179k likes per post.

Or the account of Philip Kirkorov (it just so happened that at that time they had approximately the same number of subscribers).

He has 4 million followers, ER 1.2% and an average of 42k likes per post. That is, we see that Dud's audience on Instagram is more involved than Kirkorov's. Although Dud does not collect stadiums, of course :–)

ER became a benchmark because it's easy :-) 5.5% is better than 1.2%. Just right?

In reality, everything is not so simple: a blogger can wind up likes, thereby increasing ER. But this is checked by the type of followers and likes.

How many likes should there be?

For example, we say that for an account from 100,000 to 500,000 subscribers in the Russian Federation, it is normal to have an ER of 1.1%. This means that the number of likes should be approximately equal to the number of subscribers without two zeros. The blogger has 324,560 subscribers. 3245 likes on average gaining? Fine. Less is very bad.

Now that the theory is over, let's move on to statistics and answers to questions.

What happened in countries where likes are hidden?

Some time ago, Instagram decided to hide the like rate under the posts. They say it drives people into depression. For example, Tolya has 16 likes, and 6ix9ine has millions after the scandal and trial, so Anatoly will be sad and sad.

Here in some countries they hid how many likes someone has (although you can click and see the list of likes).

I wonder what effect it has?

To do this, we compared what is happening with the median ER in countries that are conditionally nearby. Why not just compare the period? Because I want to compare similar data. Involvement in the middle of summer and during New Year's Eve madness is different. Therefore, either compare month to month, or similar audiences.

What is the median? Median allows you to cut off extremely large and small values. It is considered as follows: we sort all the values ​​​​from largest to smallest and take the value that is in the middle.

For example, Vasya has 1 million subscribers, and 99 other bloggers have a thousand each. On average, each has 10 thousand subscribers, but the median value is a thousand (since this value is between the 50th and 51st blogger). The median is closer to the truth, it allowed us to exclude Vasya's extremely high value.

Germany with likes vs Italy without likes

In a country without likes, there is less engagement. For example, for accounts from Germany with 5 to 10 thousand followers, the median ER value will be 4%.

It can be compared with the average value. The mean value is greater than the median. For example, in Germany for accounts from 5 to 10 thousand, the average ER is 5.8%. But the trend is the same.

States with likes vs. Canada without likes

In these countries, the difference is at the level of error. That is, there is no difference.

Russia with likes so far vs Brazil without likes

It was difficult to find a country to compare with Brazil. In South America, most people live in this country. Colombia is in second place, but there is 4 times less population. Therefore, we took Russia for comparison as a country with a large number of inhabitants.

And we see that there is not much difference either.

What is the conclusion? Most likely, engagement does not drop from hiding likes.

What did we learn?

  1. There is a correlation between the number of subscribers and ER.

  2. If you have from 2 to 3 thousand subscribers, then ER is more than 3.8% - already good.

  3. For any macro blogger (from 100 thousand subscribers), ER more than 1.3% is also good.

Does engagement vary by city?

No.

We took the top 10 cities in the country and compared how the median ER value differs. For example, on the chart we already see the summarized data for Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities. We see that bloggers with between 2,000 and 10,000 followers have very similar metrics. From 10 to 100 thousand - differences appear. And then everything looks as if all bloggers are moving to Moscow :–)

How do accounts grow?

trendHERO has a search criterion - the growth of subscribers in 30 days.

For example, on May 1, the _super_puper_blooooger_ account had 50,000 subscribers, and on May 31 it already had 67,000. We consider: (67,000-50,000) / 50,000 = 0.34 or 34%. This is a very actively growing account.

Therefore, it became interesting how accounts are growing in Russia. In order not to mix, we decided to divide all accounts into 4 groups.

  1. Conditionally personal (from 1 to 2 thousand subscribers) - novice bloggers and just real accounts.

  2. Nanobloggers (from 2 to 10 thousand).

  3. Microbloggers (from 10 to 100 thousand).

  4. Macrobloggers (from 100 thousand).

Russia

What do we see?

  1. All segments are growing by 20% or more.

  2. Virtually no one falls sharply. Only every 20th blogger loses 5% per month or more. Even less.

  3. The bigger the account, the better they grow. Probably, if you know how to score 100K, then you need to continue in the same spirit.

  4. Every tenth millionaire grows by 10% or more. That is more than 100,000 every month.

  5. 35% of nanobloggers lose followers. Only 18% of millionaires lose followers.

  6. Mostly microbloggers do not grow and do not fall (46%).

US

What do we see?

  1. The outflow of subscribers is less than in Russia. Basically, the quantity does not change at all.

  2. Millionaires are growing approximately the same as in Russia (46%), but in the States they are growing more slowly - 36% grow from 1% to 5% per month against 25% of bloggers with a similar growth in the Russian Federation. This is most likely due to the fact that there are many more millionaires in the States :–)

  3. Microbloggers are again the most stable (60% neither grow nor lose).

Terminals

  1. You need to grow at least 5% per month to stay ahead of similarly sized accounts.

  2. In the States, competition is higher.

  3. Almost half of bloggers do not grow and do not fall.

  4. Macrobloggers care more about subscriber growth.

What did we learn?

  1. Kirkorov has as many subscribers as Dud. Even though we didn't want to know.

  2. Has engagement dropped without likes? Probably not.

  3. Engagement in Europe and the States is greater.

  4. ER depends on the size. More than 10% is cool.

  5. Does engagement depend on the city? No.

  6. How many subscribers do you need to get per month? 5%, and you will be in the lead.

Now you know the averages and can independently find Instagram bloggers in the search and verification service. For example, in our trendHERO :–)

P.S. Want to get more statistics? Check out three bloggers in the service for free or write in the comments what you would like to know.

Editorial opinion may not reflect the views of the author. Send us your articles to [email protected]. And our requirements for them are here.

Instagram engagement: how to raise (GOD level)

Instagram engagement (ER) is an indicator of the number of people performing targeted actions (subscription, like, comment, view).

That is, this is the percentage of users who are interested in your content and interact with it. The level of engagement plays a huge role in the promotion and promotion of an Instagram account.

We figured out what engagement on Instagram and the ER coefficient are. Now let's look at ways to increase it - and at the same time I will answer the most popular questions.

How to increase engagement on Instagram

Achieving a high level of engagement on Instagram is not easy. The competition is high - especially for young accounts. The main indicators that affect ER are comments, likes, saves and views of stories, so below I have collected life hacks for each.

- How to type comments

Let's start with the most difficult. In order for the user to write something under the post, the author needs to try. Simply because people do not want to make unnecessary movements - and even more so to come up with a comment. But this can be fixed:

1. Reply to comments

Do not leave comments of subscribers unattended - always answer them. Thus, you will at least double the number of comments under the photo - as well as increase the loyalty of the audience on Instagram and give the user a sense of his importance.

2. Ask open-ended questions

Ask a question at the end of a post to encourage the reader to engage in dialogue and discussion in the comments. The more subscribers answer your question, the higher the coverage of the account.

3. Push subscribers to answer

Often, users would write something, but they are afraid that they say "who cares about my opinion" or "I didn't formulate a smart idea, but why write garbage." So: explain at the end of the post that you can write not only a super expert opinion, but also an ordinary human thought.

4. Arrange interactive activities

Engage your subscribers in interesting games, make themed riddles, publish comic predictions, emoji puzzles. The easiest option is to guess the correct and incorrect facts about you or the company and write about it in the comments. And if you don’t want to invent games yourself, then use the constructor. Click and increase coverage -> Sub. by

5. Kill two birds with one stone

A method that will increase both the number of comments and content views. For example, mention an interesting moment from a video and ask the audience for their opinion about it. So you will not only get comments, but also push users to watch the video.

6. Include a comment in the contest conditions

On Instagram, it can be more than just an invitation to enter the contest to leave a smiley or a number in the comments. For example, if the competition is creative, then let users write their ideas right under the publication. The method is good, because others will definitely cling to one comment - compliments, hate, etc.

7. Start interaction with a short comment

This could be a call for a price, useful materials, etc. for a simple comment - a sign, one word, a phrase. People will do it out of interest: the action is simple and does not obligate you to anything, and the engagement rate of the posts will grow.

- How to get likes

The set of likes depends both on the use of specific features in a post and on maintaining a profile as a whole - the quality of images / videos, text, the general appearance of the feed, the type of posts, etc. We already have separate articles about this:

Related:
How to write posts for Instagram: TOP 50 tipsQuality content: what it means + how to do itHow to manage Instagram: 50 features of 2021 + 40 services

As an advertisement

1. Encourage "I Like"

Ask your followers to like the post if they liked it or found it helpful. Often people automatically go to another publication and forget to click on the heart. And your unobtrusive reminder will not let them do it. You can enhance the effect with gratitude for the activity and a text about how important it is for you.

2. Create intrigue by splitting up

Divide the text into several parts and publish the continuation after the entry gets a certain number of hearts. In a post, you can write like this: let's get so many likes and I'll post the second part. By the way, this technique can also be used for typing comments.

3. Make like a contest condition

The scheme is the same as with the comment. The only thing that can be done as mandatory conditions is not only "like this post" - but also, for example, 3-5 previous posts.

4. Use activity chats

Groups where users gather to like each other and show other activity in every possible way. It can be a chat on Instagram or Telegram. You can get likes on a reciprocal basis, or you can pay - and you won't have to do anything on other people's accounts. Read more about activity chats in our article.

Related:
Activity chats on Instagram: how to find + frequently asked questions

5. Put the first like

Maybe it seems to you that this is stupid and everyone will think they are strange, they like themselves. But believe me, no one in the stream of publications will think about it. It is psychologically difficult for people to like first - and much easier if there is at least one on the publication. You can also get a couple of likes for free through TmSMM.

6. Don't forget about manual massliking

The method works like this: You subscribe to an account and like publications there (it's always better to perform actions in combination). But, of course, not everyone, but your target audience. Thus, you get into their eyes in notifications and most likely they will go to your account. And in the most successful scenario, you will not only be mutually liked, but also subscribed.

7. Use hashtags

Hashtags are a good tool for navigation and search, so be sure to include them in your post description. Using them, subscribers will be able to instantly find the necessary publications and navigate the Instagram space. Use general (by type #shop #clothing #shoes) and special (for example, #clothingirkutsk #in stock #suborder) hashtags. The main thing is not to overdo it, do not use only high-frequency ones.

Related:
Hashtag on Instagram: instructions on how to get to the top

8. Specify the geotag

institutions.

By the way. Have you heard about the new method of promotion on Instagram? SocTool has a unique algorithm that allows you to intercept the target audience from competitors online. The service will instantly establish a contact (subscription, like, message in Direct) while the user is online. Click and test - SocTool

9. Mention the page on social networks

Tell other social networks that you have an Instagram account. Briefly tell us what you can find there - or create intrigue with the phrase "and I posted the continuation on my instagram" and leave a link. Another option is to leave links to relevant posts in the comments, for example, in a discussion of an issue.

10. Spend liketimes

The principle is the same as in activity chats - only you do not need to be a member anywhere and there are no obligations regarding reciprocity. Usually the conditions are as follows: like a certain number of publications, comment on the publication, go to the page of the one who commented before you and be active there.

11. Post announcements

A great way to get to know your audience and significantly increase your engagement rate. For example, write a catchy post about the contest coming up soon and set out the conditions for participation, and then keep people informed about the process and results with story updates.

12. Organize marathons

The essence is not very different from the competition: just complicate the conditions for participation and make the terms longer. As a result, you will get a lively and interested audience.

- How to type save

To save a post, it must be once - useful, and twice - easy to read. Here are a few tips on how to make a publication exactly like this:

1. Create guides, checklists

Something that people can immediately use - and without even reading the text. To do this, duplicate the information in the image: the main idea + a brief description + plus an illustration on the topic.

Related:
Instagram guide: creation + 35 ideas

2. Leave a call to action

Encourage your followers to share your post. For example: “Was it helpful? Save it to the wall so you don't lose it!"

3. Publish video tutorials

Video is much better perceived by the audience than text. In the video, you will present the product more clearly and more interestingly. A person does not need to strain: you only need to watch the video and add it to your bookmarks for the future. Of course, don't forget about video quality, editing, music, etc. I will leave an article to help:

Related:
Video content: 13 types + our work

- How to get views of stories

Stories are perhaps the most commonly used post format on Instagram. They form into their own feed and are easy to use - in addition, many users prefer stories because they are more dynamic and lively than classic feed posts.

As advertising

1. Offer mutual PR

Do not be afraid of cooperation with competitors: your target audience lives in their profiles. Find accounts with a similar theme and a similar number of followers and offer them mutual PR. We have a detailed article on this subject.

Related:
Mutual PR on Instagram 2021: what is + how to spend

2. Add GIFs

Decorate your stories with GIFs. By the way, despite the fact that there are already a lot of gifs, you can create your own - for example, using the GIPHY service.

3. Ask the audience

Ask the audience open-ended questions in stories: ask for advice, ask for experience - or give them the opportunity to ask you something.

Subscribers are always interested in getting in direct contact with a blogger. But if you are already taking on this matter, then answer fully. Better even in video format: it will show that you are really interested in communicating with your audience.

3. Conduct polls

Ask the audience for their opinion on any occasion: in this way you will establish a trusting contact and increase its loyalty. You can also check the number of relevant subscribers using surveys.

4. Implement interactive

These can be tests, puzzles, riddles, search for differences or words in stories spelled out. Users are always interested in poke, check something - and in search of results they will scroll through all the stories.

Related:
Instagram games: 32 examples (posts + stories)

6. Mark GEO

Geolocation in stories obviously shows subscribers where a person is. This is relevant in cases where you need to contact people nearby - or, for example, they often do this to hint at a meeting.

In addition, other users can find your stories by geotagging. Therefore, it is very important for a business to have its own geolocation and periodically remind about its existence.

7. Create a consistent story

You can talk about you personally and about the company, depending on the specifics of the blog: when it all started, how it developed, key events, your products / services, etc. In order for stories not to be scrolled through, they must be interesting. Therefore, ask in advance what the followers would be interested to know.

8. Announce profile events

Talk about the fact that soon, for example, some interesting post will be released for the audience, news, something will be added, for example, in the price list and supplement it with the phrase "Follow the stories." Thus, you motivate users to visit your profile more often and watch stories in anticipation of an event.

9. Write subtitles

Subscribers can't always watch stories with sound. The situation is not the same, there are no headphones, or in principle you don’t want to do this. And usually the viewer just scrolls through all these stories. Therefore, write the text - not a whopper of course, where you duplicate each word, but the main idea.

Tools to increase reach

When using all the chips that I have already described and the following, do not forget about the main thing - quality content. Before implementing the tools, think ahead of the strategy and draw up a content plan for your Instagram profile. Well, now the methods, so to speak, of a complex impact on an Instagram account:

Related:
How to increase reach on Instagram: ways for posts and storiesQuality content: what it means + how to do it

1. Clean up the audience

It is necessary to block "dead" accounts and bots in subscribers: this may be a beautiful number, but due to inactivity they really spoil the statistics. Manual cleaning is tedious and boring, so I advise you to use the InstaHERO service. Read more about this in the article.

2. Buy advertising from bloggers

People trust people - those who gather a large audience around them, have authority and are able to influence the opinions and actions of subscribers. I'm talking, of course, about bloggers. Select a suitable influencer for advertising and offer him cooperation. I will leave you a couple of materials on the topic to help you.

Related:
Advertising with bloggers: a complete guide + marketing secretsTOP 10 Instagram blogger exchanges + 8 life hacks

Interesting. Do you want to cooperate with a blogger, but are you worried that he is winding up his statistics? Then we recommend TrendHero. The service will show the real activity in the profile and compare the interests of your target audience and the target audience of the blogger of interest. And you will also see the quality of his posts and stories by reach. Click and check -> TrendHero

3. Run targeted ads

The target is not inferior to blogging advertising in any way, in addition, you can set the territorial and time criteria for display, and the system will help you select the target audience. Target is a voluminous topic, so read the articles for all the details.

Related:
Targeted advertising: 5 types + description (instruction)

Life hack. Top up your advertising account via GetUniq and return up to 20% of the top-up amount back to your balance. Click -> GetUniq

4. Record and save live broadcasts

Instagram live streaming is a great tool for building contact with your audience. And therefore to increase engagement. In this way, you can (and should) communicate directly with subscribers, tell details about your product, etc.

5. Communicate in direct

In addition to comments, it is important to communicate with people in a personal format. Try to respond to each user promptly. With a large flow of messages, it can be difficult to respond manually, so use tools such as quick responses, chat bots, mailing in direct - we already have articles about everything.

Related:
Chatbot for Instagram: instructions + 2 examples + 5 services Direct mailing: 30 services + how to doDirect marketing: 9 ways + secrets from a marketer

6. Use cheat services

Cheat on social networks is a quick way to increase your performance. We are not fans of this method, then at the initial stages of account development, it can be carefully used to, so to speak, bring it to the light. Below I will leave reliable cheat services.

Service Cost per action Trial period What can be screwed on
Likeinsta From 0.05 ₽ No Likes, comments, views, followers
TmSMM From 0. 11 RUB No Likes, comments, views, followers
CommentHero From 0.3 ₽ Yes Likes, comments

Frequently Asked Questions

Now let's go over the details and nuances of Instagram engagement.

1. How to calculate ER?

The Instagram engagement index for each post and the average engagement are considered to be the most relevant and indicative. The ER of an individual post is calculated as the sum of likes and comments divided by the number of followers multiplied by 100%. Engagement Index Formula:

Average audience engagement is calculated by adding up all engagement and dividing it by the total number of posts.

2. How to calculate engagement on Instagram?

After analyzing the formulas, a logical question arises: what is the best and fastest way to calculate the Instagram engagement rate and where to get the data from?

  • Manual . Business account holders can see statistics under each post or story. Everything is written there: from views to reach. Collect the data you need and calculate ER using the formula above;
  • Automatic . You can also find out the percentage of involvement using special online calculators (for example, Storins, Phlanx, Tanke). Enter the initial data and immediately get an answer.

3. What kind of involvement is considered optimal?

After calculating the engagement, you need to understand what percentage is considered an indicator of the positive dynamics of the development of an Instagram account. This is where the Livedune service comes in handy. It will tell you if your audience engagement differs from similar accounts and how much.

According to statistics, normal and competitive instagram engagement is 10-12% - and anything below indicates a lack of audience engagement. However, the percentage may vary depending on the volume of the audience and the field of activity:

  • Online stores - 10-13%;
  • Services and applications - 8-10%;
  • Health and sports - 7-9%;
  • Beauty industry - 10-13%;
  • Services - 9-eleven%;
  • From 10k subscribers - 10-15%;
  • From 100k - 7-10%;
  • From 1 million - 6-7%.

4. How to track engagement?

Independently, collecting data every week or month - or turn to the services of specialized services that display the dynamics in the form of a graph (for example, Livedune, trendHERO).

5. How to stabilize engagement?

If you notice a floating trend in your account, when some publications noticeably lose to others - start to act actively. To do this, regularly post publications and stories, interact with followers as much as possible, etc. In general, revitalize the profile, lead it and do not let it sag.

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Briefly about the main thing

Involvement in Instagram is one of the most important profile indicators, which is taken into account both in cooperation and in promotion in general.

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