How to build an engaged instagram following

How to Increase Engagement on Instagram in 2022

Instagram Tips & Resources

By Jessica Worb

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Updated on May 6, 2022

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10 minute read

Your fast-pass ticket to more likes, comments, and shares on Instagram.

Published December 1, 2021

Are you wondering how to increase your engagement on Instagram in 2022?

From creating memes to hosting giveaways — there are tons of tactics to engage with your community and see your metrics skyrocket.

Ready to see what content gets the most engagement on Instagram? Here are 11 tried-and-tested ways to increase your Instagram engagement in 2022:

How to Get More Engagement on Instagram in 2022

Engage With Your Audience Through Instagram Stories Stickers
Create and Share Relatable Memes
Create Saveable Graphics
Share Valuable Information in Carousel Posts
Include Call to Actions In Your Captions
Let Your Personality Shine Through on Instagram Stories
Host an Enticing Giveaway
Collab on Instagram Reels
Think About What Will Inspire Your Community With the Add Yours Sticker
Post When Your Audience Is Most Engaged
Use Relevant Hashtags

#1: Engage With Your Audience Through Instagram Stories Stickers

Instagram Stories stickers are a great way to encourage your followers to engage with you, which, in turn, helps create a loyal following that feels connected to your brand.

On stories, there are a number of quick and easy stickers to use like polls, questions, countdowns, quizzes, and emoji sliders to name a few.

One of the most engaging uses of Instagram Stories stickers is the question sticker.

The Instagram Stories questions sticker allows you to have direct conversations with your followers. You can prompt your followers to ask you questions on a certain topic or you can open the floor entirely.

One way you can use the sticker is by hosting an AMA (ask me anything).

The trend made popular on Reddit in the early 2000s has heavily made its way onto the Instagram Stories scene.

You’ll be surprised at how much engagement you’ll get from this simple little questions box. Instagram users like to feel like they’re part of something bigger. And opening up the floor to answering their questions is a great way to do that.

Once you’ve collected all of the questions, don’t forget to hop on your stories to answer them.

Each time one of your followers interacts with a sticker, it counts as engagement! So, why not tap on a sticker on your next Instagram story?

#2: Create and Share Relatable Memes

Memes are the way to every user's heart.

They're funny, creative, and relatable. And in 2022, relatability is where it's at.

Simply put: Instagram users want to feel seen and heard.

And with the right meme, your audience will be liking, commenting, and sharing your post with their friends.

Regardless of your niche or industry, the opportunity to create a meme is there.

You can use branded text and a trending photo that ties into your content pillars, like Melanie Laurene:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Later: Visual Social Marketing (@latermedia)

Or source on-brand user-generated content (UGC) and credit the original creator like Later:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Later: Visual Social Marketing (@latermedia)

Whether it's someone reposting the meme on their Instagram Story or sending it to a friend, the more people who share your post, the more engagement you'll see. Wondering where to start? See Later's top tips for creating Instagram memes here.

Start scheduling your Instagram memes with Later today!

#3: Create Saveable Graphics

Quotes, graphics, and repurposed tweets are everywhere on Instagram – and they're perfect for driving engagement.

You’ll find that Instagram users love to share quotes on their stories — especially if they’re both moving and aesthetically pleasing.

A recent trend is repurposing tweets into Instagram feed posts. This type of content is really engaging and popular on Instagram. Ironic, we know.

Similar to meme creation, these sorts of graphics don’t require many resources.

Even if you don’t have Twitter, there are many templates you can use to make it look like a tweet.

Designer or not, you’ve got this!

#4: Share Valuable Information in Carousel Posts

Carousel posts are an engagement gold mine.

Instagram carousels allow you to share up to 10 pictures, videos, and text graphics with your audience in one post.

There are so many creative ways to use carousel posts. it's sharing educational content or supporting a social cause, carousel posts that offer some sort of value can help drive saves and shares.

Think about it: each slide in your carousel post is an opportunity to drive engagement – it's a 10-in-1 kind of deal.

#5: Include Call to Actions In Your Captions

Call to actions (CTAs) continue to stand the test of time.

Including a CTA, more specifically, a direct question, in your caption is a sure way to get more Instagram engagement:

But remember to ask a genuine question.

You don't want your audience to think it's simply an engagement tactic. That's a big no-no.

For example, if you share a selfie asking your followers what their favorite food is, it can look like you’re on the hunt for comments and comments alone.

Whereas if you share a genuine anecdote and follow it up with a relevant question, your community is more likely to respond in your comments.

You can be creative with your questions. You can ask for advice, recommendations (restaurants, vacation spots, books), or what type of content they want to see from you.

Another way to drive engagement with CTAs is by encouraging your audience to click the link in your Instagram bio.

Since you can’t include direct links in your Instagram feed post captions, using a link in bio tool, like Later’s Linkin.bio, is a great way to combat this.

With Linkin.bio by Later, you can build a clickable version of your Instagram feed, along with the option to add customizable button links:

When your followers click the link in your bio, they’ll be able to tap on any image or button and be directed straight to the links you’ve added.

This can be a landing page for a product launch, a blog post, your YouTube channel, and so much more.

Ready to drive more traffic from Instagram? Join Later today to turn your Instagram feed into a clickable landing page!

#6: Let Your Personality Shine Through on Instagram Stories

If you want to drive engagement with your community, bringing your personality to Instagram is a great place to start.

Stories are the perfect format for chatty, informal interactions – share a personal anecdote, ask questions, and show your face!

The popular podcaster and influencer @lexniko frequently jumps on her Instagram Stories to talk with her community directly:

Likewise, as a brand account, Later’s social team shows up on stories with tips or behind-the-scenes content:

As a brand, it’s important to show your face every once in a while. Your followers want to see that you’re more than a logo.

People tend to be more engaged when they see a face pop up on a brand account’s stories. If you're wondering where to start, here are 25 Instagram stories ideas to start building that engagement.

If you want to take your Instagram Stories strategy to the next level, try planning them out in advance.

With Later’s Instagram Stories scheduler, you can prep a whole week’s worth of stories in one go.

Set aside time in your day to batch film stories content — maybe that’s you talking to the camera about an upcoming sale or an upcoming project.

Next, upload your stories into Later’s Media Library. You can quickly drag and drop your videos into the right order, resize them, add links, and set a time for posting.

It really is as simple as it sounds.

Storyboard, plan, and schedule your Instagram Stories with Later today — available on all paid plans.

#7: Host an Enticing Giveaway

Everyone loves free stuff. We don’t make the rules.

And with this knowledge, it only makes sense to include giveaways in your Instagram strategy.

But, not just any giveaway.

In 2022, giveaways need to be intentional, enticing to both your existing and target audience, and authentic to your brand.

Whether it’s a product, service, or experience, with the right prize up for grabs, you’ll be racking up the engagement.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Later: Visual Social Marketing (@latermedia)

If the goal for your giveaway is to increase engagement, the tag/follow/share entry requirement format may be best.

It’s a straightforward and clear way to gain tons of engagement on a single post.

#8: Collab on Your Instagram Reels

Instagram Collabs are a new way to boost engagement on Instagram — especially on Reels, which are only growing more popular.

The Collabs feature allows you to invite someone to collaborate on a Feed post or Reel, so they can share the content with their followers.

Essentially, you can co-author content with a fellow Instagram user, and the post will show up on both of your profiles.

This way, you’ll be able to share views, likes, and comments – allowing you to leverage and engage with each other’s communities.

With the introduction of the Add Yours sticker it’s now easier than ever to create a viral challenge with your audience and beyond.

From the recent tree planting fiasco to creators encouraging users to share embarrassing childhood pictures, the Add Yours sticker has already made big waves.

Even Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, is taking part:

If you’re a lifestyle brand, you can ask your audience to share their favorite home decor trend. If you’re a skincare company, you can ask your followers to share their morning routine.

Or if you’re a photographer, you can ask your audience to share their favorite photos.

The sky’s the limit with this new trendy feature – you could reach hundreds of new accounts from one single sticker. Talk about engagement.

#10: Post When Your Audience Is Most Engaged

Posting when your audience is most engaged is a great tactic for boosting engagement. According to Later, the best time to post on Instagram is 6 AM - however, your own personal best time will vary based on your audience's behavior.

So, how do you know when your audience is most engaged?

You could manually track when you post on Instagram, and see how your content performs over time in an Excel sheet or Google Doc.

However, if you want to skip the experiments you can make life easier with Later’s Best Time to Post feature:

It automatically calculates your top posting times based on your best performing posts from the recent month – game-changer!

Later’s Best Time to Post feature is available on all paid plans. Upgrade now to find the best days and times to post on Instagram for maximum engagement.

#11: Use Relevant Hashtags

Hashtags are, first and foremost, a reach tactic – but greater reach typically equals higher engagement levels.

Without a doubt, hashtags should be part of your strategy.

In a recent Later study, results showed that posts with 30 Instagram hashtags received the highest engagement rates, on average.

The trick to encouraging the most engagement possible? Make sure your hashtags are tapping into niche communities that resonate with you content.

TIP: Use Later’s Instagram hashtag tool, Hashtag Suggestions, to help find relevant hashtags.

There it is — 11 ways you can creatively increase your Instagram engagement.

Next time you’re planning and strategizing your content, try to incorporate these tips and watch the engagement roll in!

Sign up to Later and start scheduling your Instagram posts today! Your Instagram engagement will grow in no time.

About the Author

Jessica Worb

Jessica is a creative content writer and marketer. She lives and works remotely from Winnipeg, a city smack dab in the middle of Canada. Follow along at @jessicaworb.

Plan, schedule, and automatically publish your social media posts with Later.

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How to Calculate (and Improve) Instagram Engagement

What is Instagram engagement?

How to calculate Instagram engagement

What is a good Instagram engagement rate?

How to increase Instagram engagement: 23 useful tips

If you’re using Instagram for business, you know it’s more than just a platform for sharing your best product pics. With one billion people using Instagram every month, it’s a powerful tool to build your brand and cultivate an audience online.

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 resonates with the people who see it.

And engagement only works when it’s genuine — coming from real people who really care.

You’re not going to find any tips here about getting into an “engagement group” or “engagement pod,” buying likes, or anything like that. That just doesn’t work — and we should know! We tried it!

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

Read on for proven ways to make an impact with your Instagram audience and build strong, lasting engagement organically. We’ve even included a free Instagram engagement calculator!

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 is Instagram engagement?

Instagram engagement measures the interactions that your audience has with your content. It’s more than counting views or followers — engagement is about action.

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.

Actions like these evidence that people aren’t just seeing your content. They’re 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 the content will be boosted in the newsfeed, attracting more eyes and attention.

How to calculate Instagram engagement

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

In other words, it shows the percentage of people who saw your post and engaged with it.

Depending on your social media goals, there are a few different ways to get to that number. You can calculate your Instagram engagement rate by impressions, posts, reach, or followers.

At its core, the engagement rate formula is pretty simple. Divide the total number of likes and comments on a post by your follower count (or post impressions, or reach) and then multiply by 100.

Engagement rate = (Interactions / Audience) x 100

Use Instagram’s Insights tool, Hootsuite analytics, or another Instagram analytics tool to grab the raw data. Once you’ve got your stats, use our free Instagram engagement rate calculator to crunch those numbers.

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.

All you need to use this calculator is Google Sheets. Click the “File” tab and select “Make a copy” to start filling in the fields.

To measure engagement on a single post, input “1” in “No. of Posts.” To calculate the engagement rate of several posts, input the total number of posts in “No. of Posts.”

If you want an even easier way to calculate Instagram engagement, we recommend heading straight to your Hootsuite dashboard.

Not only can you view all of your key metrics (including engagement rate) for Instagram and other social networks at a glance, but you can also:

Improve engagement rate. Hootsuite has integrated tools like Canva, a hashtag generator, and templates that help you beat writer’s block.
Save a ton of time by scheduling feed posts, carousels, Reels, and Stories ahead of time, even if you’re off the clock. Plus, bulk schedule up to 350 posts at once to avoid content gaps.
Reach more people by posting at the right time. Hootsuite will tell you the best time to post based on when your followers are the most active, so you always get the most engagement.
See which posts work best and measure your success with detailed analytics tools.
Simplify your planning with a calendar showing you all scheduled content for Instagram and other networks.

Try Hootsuite free for 30 days

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 is anywhere from around 1% to 5%. 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 October 2022:

All Instagram post types: 0.54%
Instagram photo posts: 0.46%
Video posts: 0.61%
Carousel posts: 0.62%

On average, carousels are the most engaging type of Instagram post — but just barely.

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 October 2022:

Fewer than 10,000 followers: 0.76%
10,000 – 100,000 followers: 0.63%
More than 100,000%: 0.49%

Typically, the more followers you have, the less engagement you get. That’s why “smaller” Instagram influencers with a high engagement rate are often a better bet for influencer marketing partnerships.

Curious about engagement rates on other social networks? Check out Hootsuite’s Digital 2022 report (October update) for more performance benchmarking data.

How to increase Instagram engagement: 23 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 Global (@fashionbrandcompany)

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

Tip 2: Get authentic

Being honest and relatable is better than being perfectly polished on social media. Share content that goes beyond slick marketing campaigns. It’s time to introduce the real people and experiences behind your brand.

That might mean sharing behind-the-scenes footage or writing a cheeky caption. It might also look like taking ownership of any mistakes.

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

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by A Practical Wedding (@apracticalwedding)

Most people appreciate honesty over 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 to help you give your pic a little oomph.

You can edit photos directly in Hootsuite and add text and filters. (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. (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. Globally, carousels have the highest average engagement rate of all types of Instagram posts (0.62%).

The algorithm re-serves these posts to followers who didn’t engage the first time around. That means carousels give you 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 32% more engagement than images.

Here’s a video from Carly Rae Jepsen, sharing some images from a new photoshoot 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, though. 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 or add music or text. We recommend downloading a free or paid video editing app, like InShot or Magisto. We’ve got plenty of other suggestions 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 long and include 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 stories 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 also earn you a little engagement boost.

Instagram account So You Want to Talk About creates accessible reference material on complex topics. These posts 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, a how-to guide or a recipe video to encourage users to revisit this content 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.

29.5% of all internet users between 16 and 64 watch a livestream each week. Your audience is there — 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 Live Shopping feature.

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 will get a little old after a while. Mix it up with a varied content schedule.

Contests, polls, questions and quizzes break the routine and 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

Sure, treating your Instagram account like a one-way street is tempting. 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 a wild Margarita Monday, share that post 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 tag you in their 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 fans to use on their own Stories over Christmas. Features like this 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, it’s only polite to respond.

When you join the conversation, your followers feel seen, heard, and excited to chat with you again.

Sunscreen brand Supergoop prompts followers to share their favorite products in this post. But they also chime in to share recommendations and offer support for everyone’s choices.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Supergoop! (@supergoop)

To track any indirect mentions happening outside your page, just set up search streams on your Hootsuite dashboard. That way, 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 keep a close eye on metrics to 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. Because 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. You can share it in your Twitter bio, include it in your email signature, and throw it in your company newsletter.

This London account (alas, not the city) uses its Twitter bio to drive attention to its Instagram handle and content.

The more people you point towards the platform, the more chances for engagement.

Tip 16: Start the conversation

You wouldn’t just wait to be spoken to at a dinner party (a fun one, anyways), 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 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.

Taylor Swift’s pandemic albums got everyone talking about cottagecore, and clothing brand Farewell Frances took advantage of the opportunity. Tagging coats with #cottagecoreaesthetic allowed them to align themselves with the conversation.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Farewell Frances (@farewellfrances)

If there’s a trending hashtag involved, you’ve got an instant hook.

Tip 18: Get active on Instagram Stories

Instagram Stories have incredible reach. Half a billion people use Stories every day, and 58% 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 in posts and Stories. That means two different opportunities to capture readers’ attention.

Source: Reductress

Not only will people be watching, but with Stories, you can engage with stickers.

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

Here are some creative Instagram Story ideas to get you started. Plus, we’ve got all the hacks and features every master Instagrammer should know.

Tip 19: Add strong calls to action

Want more engagement on 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)

When done with care, a compelling call to action can prompt activity, likes, responses or shares. 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. You can use them to reach a specific community, join a trending conversation, push a campaign or identify your service offerings.

Illustrator Cecile Dormeau, for example, tags her sweet drawings 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 are 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 a good way to increase the odds you connect with the right audience. You might even 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 to get 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 opportunities to engage audiences and make direct connections. 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 the summer of 2020 as 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)

Meta’s betting big on Reels, which means video posts are getting more love from the algorithm these days. More eyeballs mean 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 all over the Explore page, so embrace this new content form. 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. Check out our social media marketing guide for an even deeper dive into building a successful social strategy.

Increase your Instagram engagement rate using Hootsuite. Schedule and publish posts and Stories, respond to comments, measure your performance over time, and run all your other social media profiles — all from one simple dashboard. Try it free today.

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With files from Shannon Tien.

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What is engagement on Instagram and how to increase it

Engagement on Instagram directly affects the attraction and retention of the audience, increasing its trust and loyalty to the brand, as well as its recognition and, as a result, sales. Therefore, today with our partner, the Radix registry, we will talk about 6 ways that will help you upgrade your business account on Instagram.

The American organization Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has been recognized as an extremist organization in the Russian Federation since March 2022.

Instagram has over 1 billion users worldwide, and 500 million of them use the app every day. Over the years, more and more brands and entrepreneurs start their business here. According to Instagram, the app has over 200 million business accounts, and 71% of shoppers use it to search for products directly.

On Instagram, you can easily find people with common interests who are also connected to your business. And buyers appreciate personal communication, which can be realized just in Instagram. It is important to remember about relevant tools. The days of mass following and mass liking are over. The era of quality has come, not quantity. What happens to those who continue to work in the old way? Rapid loss of audience. And for those who want to move with the times, engaging content comes to the rescue.

What is engagement?

Engagement Rate (Engagement Rate or simply ER) is an indicator of how the audience reacts to content. That is, how actively they like, comment, share or save posts or stories.

You can calculate the ER coefficient manually or using special services.

If we talk about the first method, then the formula looks like this:

The formula for calculating engagement in Instagram

Let's say the account has 1,000 subscribers, and the last post got 50 likes and 10 comments. So fasting ER = (50 + 10) ÷ 1,000 ∗ 100% = 6%.

Also, using online services such as trendHERO, you can get various account statistics, including user engagement information. You just need to specify a link to the profile and run the check.

In short, the more active the audience, the higher the engagement. Then the algorithm starts recommending publications with a high level of engagement to other users. And if you have a commercial account, then this factor also inspires confidence, which then helps to make a purchase decision - active users often become buyers.

Therefore, if you have decided to start your business on Instagram, but are not yet ready for paid advertising, read our 6 tips on how to increase the number of likes, comments, saves and reposts. And boosting your account will definitely affect sales.

1. Use a business account

If you don't use a business account yet, be sure to create one or convert an existing personal account into a business account. This will give you access to many features that will increase the engagement of your account. You can:

Entering a phone number and email address for the "Contact" button is super convenient for keeping in touch with the audience
Share paid and promoted content to reach a large audience.
Enjoy the Instagram Insights feature, which shows you how good your posts are, as well as suggestions for promotion based on engagement.
Mark products in your messages and provide links to pages on your site, which makes the buying process much easier for users.
Increase traffic to a website, online store or blog by adding links to them in Instagram stories and redirecting visitors there.
Set up quick replies to answer frequently asked questions with just one word. The function will not only save time, but also allow you to communicate more with the audience.

2. Optimize your profile

Make your Instagram profile special and recognizable and useful. It's important to make sure you're making the right impression. Pay attention to the following:

Main profile picture

This should always be your logo so that your branding on your storefront, office, emails, products, and other social media pages is consistent. Don't mislead people by using a random image. There can be several accounts on Instagram with similar names, and you need to convince visitors that they are in the right place.

Profile Name

Like your main photo, your name should match how you are known on other platforms. Be sure to use your actual business name here. If you have a new business or your name does not quite accurately indicate what you are doing, you can add one or two keywords, for example, "5 o'clock" - a cozy city tea shop, "Mandarin" - a showroom of bright clothes - so it will be easier for new users to find you.

Profile header

Instagram profile header can only be 150 characters long, so try to keep it clear and uncluttered. In a nutshell, tell us what makes you stand out (do you specialize in bachelor party cakes or are you an ikebana expert?). You can also add your branded domain name as a call to action. For example, "details at www.name.online or www.name.space". And if you don’t have a domain yet, then it’s time to choose to find a beautiful and suitable address! 😉

3.

Use the best visual content

Stylish design is the first thing that attracts the attention of a potential client in any social network. And especially Instagram, which was originally created with an emphasis on visuals. To succeed, you need to consider:

Post quality images, come up with and stick to your own concept, especially if you are in fashion, travel, food, interior design or are related to the art world.

Show people behind the scenes of your business. People like it. Post pictures or videos of your workplace. This will give the audience an idea of how your product is created, show your human face, and possibly make them love you even more.
Engage your followers and use their content. In addition to the fact that content will be generated by itself, this will contribute to rapprochement with the target audience. Don't forget to include the follower's nickname if you use their content or use special repost apps like Regrann or Repost for Instagram.

4. Write engaging posts

Of course, Instagram is all about visuals, but don't underestimate the power of words. To “stir up” subscribers is the task of every blogger, author, SMM specialist today. It is with the help of text that you can not only tell about yourself, but also “induce” the audience to action. Here are our recommendations:

Show your personality

Boring, dry and "overtly commercial" captions can turn people away from you. Emphasize your personality with the right word - be witty, funny, sympathetic, romantic, sometimes even weird. Or play with words, joke. In a word - create and be yourself!

Use emoji

To make text more fun, use emoji. They will help to evoke the necessary emotions and add colors to the text, “defuse the situation”. The main thing here is not to overdo it.

Don't hold back

Instagram captions don't always have to be short. Some big brands use long posts to tell their story and share something with their audience. For example, National Geographic and photographer Chris Burkard use large captions to tell the story behind their stunning photographs. If any of your posts require a more detailed explanation or story - feel free to write!

Add a call to action

After you've shared your story - don't leave people hanging - call them to action. This could be asking you to leave a comment, answer a question, follow a link in your bio, tag you in your posts, or use your hashtag. This will make your post even more engaging.

Use hashtags

Hashtags help you sort your posts into search categories and drive better traffic to them. Treat them like search keywords and use hashtags related to your business and content to make it easier for people to find you. By the way, you can use up to 30 hashtags in one post - why don't you get free promotion 😉 .

5. Post interesting stories

Stories appear at the very top of the Instagram feed, making them hard to miss. They also disappear after 24 hours, which encourages people to view them more often.

Stories for business is a great way to tell about your company's events, such as new sales, seminars, contests, hot discounts, and so on. By publishing stories:

Make them interesting

Stories are about creativity! Add gifs, music, emoji, filters, illustrations, text, AR masks (great if you have your own). Such elements will really help you present yourself to the audience from a new side.

Use tags

Instagram has implemented many features that help businesses refine their niche and reach more relevant audiences. For example, you can add location tags to promote your small business locally, geographically. There is also a "Support Small Business" tag for those who support newcomers, or an "Order Food" tag for restaurants and home kitchens. The main thing is to find your tag.

More interactive!

Stories format allows for a large number of interactive activities:

polls where you can use short answer options or post emojis;
multiple-choice tests that can be used for quizzes;
feedback form that allows you to ask questions and then publish answers to them in Stories format;
Reaction evaluation, which will help you understand the attitude of the audience towards products, events and many other formats.

All of this is a fun and easy way to engage your audience in the process of communicating with you and increase your reach.

Repost other stories

If someone talks about your business or you find a post that you think your followers will like, feel free to add it to your stories. Social sharing pushes more people to promote your profile on their pages, creating that same “word of mouth”.

6. Make the most of video content

Video content wins over text. According to statistics, it collects more likes and comments. And by the way, it’s not just users who approve of video content – social networks, including Instagram, favor videos to attract more users and compete with apps like TikTok.

To increase engagement, shoot bright, dynamic, funny videos or try to tell something important to you in a video format. Here are a few Instagram tools to help you:

Boomerangs

These “live pictures” take less than a minute to shoot and are great for showcasing your company, people, culture and products in a cool, creative way.

Live

Live = live communication with the audience. A huge plus is that no special equipment is required to start the broadcast - just a phone with a good camera, a stand or a tripod.

Also, the live broadcast is displayed in the first place in the list of current "Stories" at the top of the news feed. Consider this your chance to forget about algorithms and be in the top! 😉

Use them to showcase your product, share your experience, or just chat with your followers to get closer. Another kind of live broadcast is a conference, where you can even answer questions from followers.

⌘⌘⌘

Engagement affects the reach and impressions in the feed, the trust of new users and potential buyers. Based on it, you will determine the interest and loyalty of the audience, how often they see your publications and interact with them.

Experiment with different formats, work on visuals, write "engaging" texts, use other tricks from our article, and everyone will know about your Instagram! 😉 .

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Engaging post on Instagram 2021: best examples

Now I will list the obvious profits that a brand or blogger receives through such publications. And below are cool ideas for engaging posts.

Firstly, an engaging post cheats the Instagram algorithms: the more reaction to it, the higher it will appear in the feed. Secondly, such publications arouse interest in the blog and increase the trust of readers. Thirdly, engaging content increases brand awareness and attracts new audiences. And, fourthly, based on the response to such publications, you can analyze and draw up a portrait of your target audience.

COMPONENTS OF AN ENGAGING POST

Now for some theory and some useful information on what Instagram engagement posts should look like.

1. Post structure

I suggest you use the classic AIDA win-win formula: Attention (attention), Interest (interest), Desire (desire), Action (action).

Deciphering: first of all, we attract the attention of the audience - we write a bright headline, then we arouse interest, for example, we write news or a fact on the topic, then we develop the topic in more detail and, in fact, then we move on to the main part: we invite the audience to take an action, for example, answer question. Done, you are amazing!

2. Target audience analysis

Before writing an engaging post, be sure to analyze your target audience: in order to get the maximum response, the publication must meet the interests and needs of subscribers. The content, of course, should be within the scope of the blog, even if it is suggested to "just chat" in the comments, the visual and eyeliner in the post should not stand out from the general context.

3. Relevance of content

Of course, you don't need to post all the freshest memes in a row, but outdated ones won't give a response either. The simplest and most common option is seasonal publications: for example, dedicated to the New Year holidays.

4. Stylistics

Light writing style: text should be simple and easy to read. It is better to break long phrases into several short sentences, the text as a whole into paragraphs. Add emoji to grab attention, but don't overdo it.

5. Visual

I will not repeat that pictures (photos, illustrations, etc.) must be original and of high quality, I will only point out a couple of nuances: firstly, they must be bright and eye-catching, and secondly, they must reflect the content of the post, especially if a mini-game, quiz, or riddle is offered. By the way, posts with a carousel, as a rule, hold the reader's attention for the time it takes to view all the pictures.

By the way, if writing texts is difficult, read our article about ready-made posts for Instagram.

TOP Engaging Content Ideas

I have collected obvious (and not so obvious) post ideas for you. For convenience, I divided them into several categories, but they are rather conditional - in most cases, you can combine several ideas in one post. For example, posting a funny "life" picture and asking subscribers a question in the text of the post - in general, you will see everything for yourself in the examples of engaging posts below.

1. Questions for readers

Probably the most classic and obvious way to invite readers to a dialogue is to ask them a question or encourage discussion on a given topic.

1.1. Open question

Does your brand have a birthday? Reach out to your followers to share their memories or experiences with him. In the example below, they are asked to share congratulations in order to involve not only the part of the audience that used the services of the company, but also other users.

Life hack. Make the tone of the text friendly and conducive to conversation. Just imagine that you are talking with good friends in a relaxed atmosphere, but without too much familiarity - write like that.

1.2. Blogger as a listener

Everything is extremely simple here: invite your subscribers to share their dreams, ideas, opinions with you. It is desirable, of course, that it was about pleasant things.

Lifehack . Before calling readers to tell a story, write about your own experience or feelings about it. Firstly, readers will have before their eyes an example of what they are asked for, which will additionally motivate them.

And secondly, here you can cleverly enter unobtrusive advertising of your product. A post consisting only of a beautiful picture and a question without eyeliner will work much worse.

1.3. How are you today?

A great way to entertain and engage readers is to choose a "choose yourself" or "what are you today" polls. As a rule, people are happy to participate in them.

Lifehack 1 . Answer options, collected not in one picture, but in a carousel, they will force the reader to pause the scrolling of the feed, hold his attention, and the likelihood of commenting will become higher.

Life hack 2. A joke poll will get more response: after all, this is entertainment content.

1.4. Or/or

Another easy way to entertain an audience is to ask a question where you have to choose one of two opposite options. Accordingly, you yourself set the form of the answer - subscribers will not have to waste time on unnecessary thinking, so there will be more comments than in posts where a detailed answer is required.

Life hack 1. For variety, offer answers both in text form and in the form of emoji.

Life hack 2. Such polls will work great not only in the feed, but also in stories - in an interactive yes / no form.

Life hack 3. To increase the likelihood of an answer, make the question simple, relating to everyday life.

1.5. Roll call

Ask subscribers to write, for example, what city they are from or another question that does not require a very meaningful answer.

Lifehack . Roll call as an additional incentive to communicate will fit perfectly into publications where subscribers are invited to get to know each other in the comments.

2. Subscriber Shared Content

Subscriber Shared Content is the perfect way to engage brands or creative accounts.

2.1. Customer photos

Buyers often tag brand accounts on publications. ASOS, for example, has been posting photos of followers on their Instagram wearing clothes bought from their website for a long time.

You don't even need to negotiate with bloggers: you get completely free advertising for both the product and the brand. In addition, the brand is "humanized": that is, instead of standard photos from the catalog, subscribers see ordinary people and give a lively response.

By the way, this works not only with big brands: for example, a stylist or hairdresser can post selfies of clients.

Lifehack . Check your profile marks regularly so you don't miss anything.

2.2. Minute of fame

Trick: encourage followers to create content based on your brand and post the best on your profile. Be sure to compliment the subscriber in the text of the post and ask the audience to share their impressions in the comments.

Life hack 1. This method can be separated into a separate section (I will discuss the sections below) and provide such publications with a special hashtag. The more channels of engagement you can tap into, the better.

Life hack 2. Surely you have noticed that this way of involvement combines the features of a contest or SFS. What does it mean? Free PR!

3. Contests and sweepstakes

Another win-win option for engaging subscribers and increasing activity in the profile, which does not need comments.

Life hack 1. Usually the contest organizers ask you to like the publication and leave a comment. But do not forget to specify in the rules to repost the post and save it as bookmarks: this is what Instagram algorithms pay more attention to. The higher the post in the feed, the more people see it, respectively, the greater the involvement. Profit!

Life hack 2. Make the number of comments from one user under the post unlimited, and let the contestants tag their friends.

Life hack 3. Invite contestants to put in their stories not only a post about a contest or a giveaway, but also, say, their favorite post from your feed.

As advertising

4. Games, riddles, quizzes

Instagram gamification as a way to engage the audience is becoming more and more popular. I will tell you about the most interesting ways - simple and not very.

4.1. Digital board game

A very non-standard way, but you can play with your friends.

Lifehack . Before launching the game, analyze your target audience. Some methods, no matter how interesting they may be, will not resonate with everyone.

4.2. Guess the number

Can everyone tell fortunes from books? Here is the same principle: a number is guessed and the corresponding prediction, wish, action, etc. is obtained. Extremely simple, but audiences tend to like it.

4.3. Horoscope

Everyone reads horoscopes, even those who do not believe in them and reduce everything to a joke. It can be funny, motivating or inspiring, in general, there is full scope for your imagination.

Life hack 1. I have already mentioned that a carousel is better than one picture, but there is one more nuance. Feel free to write text directly on the pictures. Firstly, it is beautiful, secondly, it will take more time to scroll through and read, and thirdly, it is easier to read and perceive.

Life hack 2. Let the horoscope match the theme of your blog, as in the example above - the horoscope is compiled by an art materials store and, accordingly, motivates you to be creative and make purchases in this store.

4.4. Riddles

The main thing here is that the riddle be intriguing: that is, it is not even the correct answer that is more important, but the imagination of the guessers. The more options they leave in the comments, the higher your post will rise in the feed.

Life hack 1. Play on the feeling of excitement. May the one who guesses first wins. By the way, the answer does not have to be exact. Sometimes the closest thing to the correct one is enough.

Life hack 2. Brand recognition will be well affected by riddles relating, for example, to the history of the company.

Life hack 3. Collections of facts about the blogger get a good response, where subscribers must guess which of them are true and which are false.

4.5. Complete the phrase

Have your followers share their thoughts, ideas, or just witty answers with you.

Life hack. The request can be inspiring or humorous, as long as it is relevant to your blog. Choose a topic that is simple and understandable to everyone, but it should include a variety of answer options: let readers dream up.

4.6. Tell a story using emoji

Encourage subscribers to translate the title of a movie, book, or some information about themselves using emoji. Firstly, it's fun, and secondly, the rest of the subscribers, of course, will immediately start guessing.

Life hack. Organize the reverse situation: You offer a set of emoji, and subscribers decode it.

4.7. Tests

Everyone loves simple tests on various topics in which you can somehow identify yourself.

Lifehack . Encourage subscribers to share their test results in the comments.

5. Flash mobs and challenges

This method of engagement works perfectly for creative accounts, but in general it can be adjusted to any specific activity or brand.

Distinctive features - spontaneity and mass nature of what is happening, as well as involvement works not only vertically (that is, relative to your blog), but also horizontally: participants get to know each other, put likes, subscribe to each other, repost, etc.

Life hack 1. Usually such events are held on an ideological basis, but incentive mechanisms will also work well, for example, repost participants in stories or even choose winners.

Life hack 2. If the promotion has winners, invite subscribers to choose it by voting. For example, assign numbers to participants, and have voters leave the appropriate number in the comments.

Life hack. Optimize your customer interactions on Instagram with MyBotan. The chatbot will automatically respond to messages, save data about the client and his requests. And you can not only choose a ready-made answer template, but also create your own. Agree this will facilitate the work in the social network? Click and test 3 days for free -> MyBotan

6. Product story

Another way to engage your audience is to share your company's inner "kitchen" with them.

6.1. Ideas for using the product

Non-standard and even humorous ideas work especially well. How to fit an object into the interior? How and with what to combine a piece of clothing? In what dishes to use the product? And so on.

Lifehack 1. Share how you use the product and invite followers to share other ideas and experiences.

Life hack 2. Share subscribers' content on using the product. Alternatively, create a separate hashtag for this.

Life hack 3. Go even further and arrange a contest among subscribers for the most original use of the product. Or the most aesthetic. Well, you understand.

6.2. Tell us about your team

Or about the authors of a particular product. People love stories like this, and it's another way to bring the company closer to the reader.

Life hack. Direct speech of company employees or product authors, photos and videos from the backstage - all this will make the publication even more attractive.

6.3. The history of the creation of the product

And also the details about it. In the example below, the brand also emphasizes its ethical attitude to work, which also causes positive emotions in readers.

Life hack 1. Write about the product in a living language. No one is interested in reading a dry description of a product from a catalog. By the way, here you can also mention an attractive way of using it.

Life hack 2. Post product reviews. The audience trusts real people and real experience more.

7. Checklists, tips and life hacks

Useful content of various kinds is always well received by the audience. This includes not only tips, checklists, lists and life hacks, but also, for example, news.

7.1. Lifehacks

Everyone (hopefully) strives to simplify their lives, so useful information is never superfluous.

Life hack 1. Ask the audience to share their own life hacks to complete your list.

Life hack 2. If your blog theme allows, then make a step-by-step tutorial with illustrations of each step in the carousel.

7.2. Checklists

How to equip an elderly person's apartment? What to take with you on vacation? And other useful lists that you can bookmark and keep at hand. Of course, they should correspond to the theme of your blog.

7.3. Recipes

It is clear that publishing recipes is a daily routine for food bloggers, but others are not forbidden to share them either. For example, non-banal offers for the New Year work well.

7.4. Recommendations to subscribers

Important point: You must be an expert or authority in the field in which you give recommendations and advice. Or at least cite authoritative sources.

Life hack 1. A visual visualization of the “how to/how not to” or “right/wrong” variety will work great.

Life hack 2. Do not ignore commentators who disagree with your recommendations. The hotter the discussion, the more engagement on Instagram. Of course, everything should be within the bounds of decency, without scandals and personalities.

7.5. Lists and Collections

Thematic collections are also a great option for engagement. You can make lists of recommendations on behalf of the company with your products or from employees, invited experts.

Life hack. Make a selection in the form of a rating - this way the information is perceived easier (and, of course, you can put the product that you want to sell at the top of the rating).

8. Recommendations and tips from readers

Feedback is, in fact, the cornerstone of engagement. All you need to do is set your subscribers in the right direction.

8.1. Post for communication in the comments

A loyal community is the dream of any blogger. A post where subscribers are invited to get to know each other will unite subscribers.

Life hack 1. You can make an abstract post, but it's better to set a specific topic, from which commentators can push off. For example, ask what cities they are from.

Life hack 2. Do not stay away and communicate with subscribers in the comments. Better yet, if this is a personal blog, start with a story about yourself in the text of the publication.

Life hack 3. Post for flood - here you can not even ask a topic or question and just invite subscribers to chat in the comments.

Life hack 4. Quite a popular way to get involved is to ask commentators to ask blogger questions in the comments. You can answer in the same place, or you can conduct, for example, a live broadcast or a stream with answers.

Life hack 5. If you are shadowbanned, don't hesitate to directly ask your followers to be active.

8.2. Share profiles

Another variation of the dating post, only commenters are invited to share, for example, profiles of inspiring people. People tagged in the comments are also likely to view your post and at least like it.

Life hack 1. Disguise such a post with a request for help. For example, ask followers to share profiles of good hairdressers.

Life hack 2. Focus on your own profile and target audience and form a request so that your direct competitors are not mentioned in the comments.

8.3. Ask subscribers for recommendations

One of the simplest and most effective engagement options in my opinion. You can ask for recommendations about anything from your favorite books to the best cafes in their city.

Life hack 1. It is very convenient to combine this method of engagement with your own collections: there will be more feedback.

Life hack 2. Make your subscribers feel important: ask, for example, what other products they would like to see in your company.

Life hack 3. Ask your followers to tell you what content they like best on your blog and, for example, let them suggest topics for new posts.

9. Trends and content on the topic of the day

It can be difficult for business accounts to keep up with trends in social networks. But if you succeed, then the result is not long in coming. Most effective is humorous content, but do not go too far.

In the second place are informative publications, for example, what to do at home during quarantine. And, of course, pre-holiday publications have long become classics.

Life hack. Be careful with provocative content, no matter how witty the idea may seem to you. In no case do not touch on issues that can discriminate against people: that is, no sexism, racism, homophobia and xenophobia of any kind. Respect your audience if you want it to be loyal to you.

10. Workflow and brand information

As I said above, people love to share their working "kitchen" with them and show them how the company works from the inside.

10.1. Share the brand story

I also mentioned this above: followers like to feel closer to the blogger, and who doesn't love stories?

Life hack 1. Tell us what makes your brand, product or blog concept as a whole unique - how you differ from competitors (of course, without asserting yourself at their expense).

Life hack 2. Tell us why you love what you do: inspirational content tends to get a lot of feedback.

10.2. Workflow

As they say, you can endlessly look at fire, water and how someone works. But seriously, it's really inspiring and mesmerizing.

Life hack. Use different formats: videos, carousels of step-by-step photos and just a photo of the process. You can make small tutorials and talk about the process in the texts.

10.3. Concept and principles of the brand

Get to know your subscribers better: tell us what inspires you, what values your company supports or you personally if you are running a personal blog.

Life hack 1. Focus on your target audience, write about what it will appreciate and support.

Life hack 2. Do not follow trends and write honestly and sincerely. And the fact that views can change over time is also normal.

11. Nostalgic content

Another option is to share memories with subscribers. This works well with both commercial accounts and bloggers: everyone loves to be nostalgic. In addition, subscribers are always interested, for example, in developing the skills of a blogger.

11.1. Show your old work

Posts like this get a lot of response, especially on creative accounts.

Life hack. Show the old work next to the new one, it looks spectacular. You can make a carousel or a table where you can see how your skill, style or even product has developed from year to year.

11.2. Photo from the archive

The audience especially approves of bloggers' childhood photos, but in general, you can show anything - from memorable photos from events to, for example, portraits of parents in their youth. A stream of approval and compliments in the comments is provided to you.

Lifehack . Commercial accounts and publics can also engage the audience in this way: for example, you can post a photo of a vintage product packaging or share interesting facts about discontinued products.

12. Inspirational posts

Invite readers to dream together or share your own dreams.

Life hack 1. Motivational content can also be included in this section, especially using your own example. How did you get to where you are now? What difficulties did you encounter and how did you overcome them? What famous people and whose success stories have become your role model? Moreover, you can always ask these questions to subscribers.

Life hack 2. Inspirational content is largely based on aesthetics: pay special attention to the visual content of the post.

13. Memes, jokes and jokes

Everyone was looking forward to this section? Now I'll tell you everything.

13.1. "Life" content

Jokes about everyday things, relationships, etc., in which everyone recognizes themselves, always go with a bang, especially about awkward situations. People are relieved when they realize they are the only ones experiencing this.

13.2. Topical jokes and memes

Do you have any information? Excellent! Everyone likes memes on a topical topic, the main thing is that they are funny. Well, in the absence of suitable significant events, you can always publish a seasonal joke.

Life hack 1. Do not use outdated memes, follow the trends and catch viral templates quickly.

Life hack 2. Of course, the theme of the joke must match the specifics of your profile, otherwise it will only cause bewilderment in the audience.

13.3. Cute Animals

This category, I think, needs no comment. Who doesn't love pictures of kittens?

14.

Enlightenment, ecology and charity

Educational content within the scope of the blog also has a beneficial effect on audience engagement. Even if you do not ask questions to readers in the publication, there will still be those who will express their opinion. Actually, this is what we need.

14.1. Good deeds

Organization of charity events under the auspices of your brand will not only make it more recognizable, but also increase the trust of the audience.

Life hack. If you undertake to talk about the action organized by you, do it without boasting. It is enough just to tell about the action and about the reasons that prompted you to organize. And, of course, encourage subscribers to participate.

14.2. Conscious consumption

Ethical production can also be included in this section. We can say that this is soft propaganda on its own example. In the modern agenda, such content will be perceived favorably and will cause respect for the brand.

Life hack. Inform, don't blame. It is unlikely that the entire audience is aware of your views or supports them, and the policy of "who is not with us is against us" will not cause respect, but discontent and an outflow of the audience.

Interesting. Don't forget to add game elements to your profile promotion. For example, give points for activity, and then give gifts. And you feel good, and subscribers are happy. In addition, all this is implemented very simply through the service SUB.BY

14.3. Educational content

You can post both general information and highlight current issues. Again, it all depends on your area of expertise.

Life hack 1. If you have a commercial blog, tell us, for example, about the history of your product or related things and technologies.

Life hack 2. Everyone loves interesting facts: you can make a series of publications with collections of facts or select a section with a separate hashtag and post them one by one.

14.4. Charity

Products created in collaboration with charitable foundations are very popular. This will have a great effect on the image of the company, so be sure to talk about it in publications.

Life hack 1. If you can't create your own product, launch a campaign where, for example, a certain percentage of the cost of a certain product or service will be transferred to a charitable foundation. And sell the product, and get a lot of comments.

Life hack 2. Once again: don't brag about how great you are, but highlight the problem and invite subscribers to join the initiative.

14.5. Concern for the environment

Ecology, waste reduction, recycling of materials and separate waste collection are now on everyone's lips, why not take the opportunity and invite subscribers to the discussion?

Life hack. Anything is now sold under the eco sign: tell us about how you or your brand cares about the environment or ask your followers for advice.

15. Involving opinion leaders

Collaboration with experts, bloggers and public figures never hurt anyone. Yes, perhaps many will come to your blog solely for the sake of an opinion leader, but this will also increase activity.

Life hack 1. If you intend to invite an expert to your blog for publication or broadcast, announce it in advance and invite subscribers to ask questions in the comments.

Life hack 2. Do not invite anyone. Familiarize yourself with the reputation and authority of the person you want to invite. If in doubt, it is better to refuse cooperation, because you risk losing the trust of the audience.

16. Headings

A series of publications dedicated to the same topic can be combined with one hashtag and regularly posted on a certain day of the week or month.

Content can be absolutely anything: informative, informative, entertaining, post for flooding or, for example, take place in the "question-answer" format.

Life hack 1. Develop a common visual concept for posts from the same category so that they are immediately recognizable in the feed.

Life hack 2. If the rubric is united by a common hashtag, invite the audience to subscribe to it so as not to miss publications.

Tips for ATTRACTING SUBSCRIBERS

Now I'll tell you about proven ways to attract subscribers. Or to have someone, in fact, to involve and, in general, launch the account promotion mechanism.

— Quality content

If there is no content, there will be no audience. Let me remind you by what criteria the attractiveness of a blog for subscribers (and for advertisers) is evaluated:

Shaped profile. A memorable avatar, filled in information about yourself, if necessary - contacts;
Visual. Original photographs or illustrations; sustained style - at least the same presets for all photos, as well as, of course, icons for pinned stories;
Texts. Competent, intelligible, written in simple understandable language. Of course, they must be unique;
Variety of content. Photos, photo carousels, video content, stories, etc. A pre-compiled content plan will help with the organization;
Regular posting. To always be in front of subscribers. Experiment with the posting time and choose the optimal one;
A seasoned blog theme. Do not interfere with work moments with personal ones: for personal it is better to start a separate blog.

— Cheat

You heard right. Yes, you can use the cheat of subscribers and likes, but very carefully and only at the beginning of promoting your profile.

I do not recommend winding up some huge numbers: firstly, it looks implausible, and secondly, it will have a bad effect on the engagement rate on your blog.

Comments on Instagram: from real people + how to wind up

By the way, do not forget to periodically clean up subscribers from bots - even if a small, but lively and active audience will bring much more than hundreds of "dead souls".

— Mutual PR

A classic and free way to attract a new audience to your blog. VP is a mutually beneficial collaboration of bloggers of equal reach and engagement with a similar target audience.

Mutual PR with direct competitors makes sense if the partners are located in different geographic locations. Well, or if we are talking about non-commercial or creative accounts. In general, the VP has many formats and nuances, they wrote about everything in the article.

Mutual PR on Instagram 2021: what is it + how to spend it Also check out his blog stats and check for cheats. Decide on the format: it can be both a post and a story with a live story about you.

Form a clear TOR of what exactly you would like to see in the advertisement. But leave the blogger enough freedom, so the recommendation will turn out as natural as possible. Do not forget that native blog advertising works much more efficiently than direct advertising.

- Targeted ads

Or ads targeted at the blog's target audience. On Instagram, the target can be launched both in the feed and in stories. Just switch your profile to a business account first.

The target can be launched both directly from the application and via Facebook - the latter, of course, provides more settings.

Instagram offers auto-targeting, but I would still recommend that you analyze your target audience, its pains and needs, and set up ads based on these data. And, of course, you can always contact a targetologist to ensure that your ad hits the target.

Helper services to increase engagement

I have compiled a small selection of useful services that will help you promote your account and, accordingly, increase your engagement rate.

The cost is per month, but if you buy a subscription for a longer period, the services provide discounts. In addition, be aware that some sites automatically connect a paid subscription after the trial period. So if you decide that the service does not suit you, cancel your subscription.

Service	Cost (per month)	Free access	Tasks
Instahero	From 99 ₽ ("INSCALE" discount 30%)	No	- Cleaning subscriptions from bots, inactive users and commercial accounts; - Removing spam; - Profile protection.
Zengram	1190 ₽ (“INSCALEPROMO” 20% discount)	Test for 1 rub	- Parsing; - Promotion; - Activity boost.
livedune	from 400 ₽ (“INSCALE” discount 30% + 7 days free)	Yes	- Account Analytics; - Monitoring comments; - Autoposting.
Bosslike	Free	Yes	Cheat likes, subscribers
SMMplanner	450 ₽	Yes	- Autoposting; - Image editor; - Account Protection

in brief

I hope that the above engagement post ideas will inspire you to promote your account.