Posting when your audience is most engaged is a great tactic for boosting engagement.

At Later, we analyzed over 11M posts, and found that the best time to post on Instagram is 4 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?

With Later’s Best Time to Post feature, the tool automatically calculates your top posting times based on your best performing posts from the recent month:

Your best times will be highlighted in your weekly content calendar, making it easy for you to schedule Instagram posts for when your audience is most likely to engage.

That way, you can capitalize on audience engagement without thinking twice — 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.

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

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 your content.

TIP: If you're struggling to come up with hashtags, use Later’s Instagram hashtag tool, Hashtag Suggestions, to help find relevant hashtags.

And there it is — 11 ways you can creatively increase your Instagram engagement in 2023. 

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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15 Tips for a Better Instagram Engagement Rate [CALCULATOR]

What is Instagram engagement?

How to calculate Instagram engagement

15 ways to increase engagement on Instagram

What is a good engagement rate on Instagram?

Every brand on Instagram needs to understand how to create authentic, organic Instagram engagement. Posting content is great, but if no one likes, comments, or shares it, your account will flounder. You need engagement to tie your Instagram efforts to real business goals.

This post will dive deep into how you can increase engagement through legitimate strategies that reach real people (not bots). We’re not going to talk about buying likes or followers, except to say right here that you should not do that.

There’s real engagement out there waiting for you on Instagram. Here’s how to get it.

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 is a measure of how many people interact with the content you post on Instagram. But it’s much more than just a metric. It’s actually a collection of metrics that together tell you how well your content connects with your audience, and how passionate your online community is about your brand.

Instagram engagement is important because it indicates people are stopping to interact with your content, rather than scrolling on by. It also indicates that something in what you posted connected with them and made them feel something about your post, or even your brand. Those feelings are the heart of brand loyalty.

Engagement is also a key ranking signal for the Instagram algorithm. A little early love for a post, Story, or Reel can help get it in front of more eyeballs, leading to even more engagement.

What exactly do we mean when we talk about Instagram engagement? On Instagram, engagement is measured by a range of metrics, such as:

• Comments
• Shares
• Likes
• Saves
• Mentions
• Use of branded hashtags
• Click-throughs
• DMs
• Accounts engaged

We’ll talk about where to find those metrics and how to analyze them later in this post. For now, let’s dive into some tips for how to increase engagement on Instagram.

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.

Use the calculator

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

15 ways to increase engagement on Instagram

1. Lean into Reels

If you’ve been paying any attention to Instagram at all this year, you know that Reels are the platform’s current favorite child. Reels are the easiest way to get your content in front of an audience that extends well beyond your current follower list.

Look at the jump in the number of accounts reached for my own Instagram account when I posted just one Reel earlier this month. And look especially at the huge jump in the dark blue portion of the bar that represents non-followers.

Source: @ckjnewberry

All those new eyeballs give your content a much greater chance of racking up likes, or even going viral. And if your Reels are compelling enough, they can draw new visitors to your Instagram profile, resulting in potential new followers and even more opportunities for engagement.

We’ll talk about specific Reels features to make your short videos more compelling in the next tip. But if they seem overwhelming, just start small. Reels don’t have to be complicated to make an impact. Here are some ideas for memorable Reels to get you started.

2. Experiment with different Reels features

Posting just about any kind of Reel has the potential to up your Instagram engagement, but for the maximum bump you need to increase watch time. That means you need to hook viewers in the first three seconds of the Reel and keep them interested throughout.

Some key Reels features to experiment with are:

• Transitions: These quick cuts from one scene to the next allow you to create dynamic motion. Use the align tool for smooth cuts.
• Timed text: Call out specific words or phrases or just label individual moments in your Reel.
• Trending audio: Using trending audio in your Reel can hugely increase your exposure.
• Voiceover: This works particularly well if you’re explaining or describing something, like a process or a recipe.
• Templates: Starting with a Reels template makes it super-easy to sync your photo and video clips with an audio track.

Check out this video for our top Reels editing tips:

3. Focus on Instagram SEO

For a long time, getting your content seen was all about understanding the algorithm. We’re not going to tell you to ignore the Instagram algorithm. But we are going to tell you to put some energy into Instagram search optimization (SEO) as well.

Instagram SEO is all about getting your content seen when people search using keywords on Instagram. People who find your content through SEO are an ideal audience to increase engagement since they are specifically searching for what you provide!

To get the best search rankings, you’ll need to understand what kinds of words and phrases people use to look for content like yours. On that note…

4. 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. You can track this information down through Instagram analytics.

For example, AllBirds knows their audience is particularly interested in the brand’s sustainability initiatives. Sustainability is their USP. So, while they do post pretty pictures of their shoes and clothing, they also dedicate a lot of space in their grid to talking up their environmental focus.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Allbirds (@allbirds)

Another great way to learn what your audience wants from your Instagram content is to ask them. The polls and question stickers in Stories allow you to get real-time feedback (and bonus engagement!) from your loyal fans.

For more info on identifying your audience, check out our guide to finding your target market.

5. Post consistently and at strategic times

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

As we just mentioned, posting at the right times is key, too. If you post when your audience is asleep, you’re not going to see much early engagement.

Fortunately, Hootsuite Analytics provides a heat map that shows when your followers are most likely to be online.

You can also get custom recommendations for the best time to post specifically to increase reach, brand awareness, or engagement.

Try for free

Best time to publish recommendations also appear on the go as you build your posts in the Hootsuite Composer.

6. Be authentic and interactive

Being honest and relatable is better than being perfectly polished on Instagram, especially on Stories and Reels. Introduce your audience to the real people and experiences behind your brand.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Faculty Brewing (@facultybrewing)

Stories in particular provide an excellent opportunity to connect directly with your audience through interactive features like questions, polls, and countdowns. This chance for followers to talk directly to you creates genuine two-way communication – aka engagement.

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!

Source: @BrewhallaFestivals

No wonder 58% of users say they’ve become more interested in a brand or product after seeing it in Stories.

Asking a question in feed posts can also inspire interactivity and engagement. You’ll be surprised how keen your followers are to engage when you simply ask.

7. Make your images stand out

You might have noticed that Instagram is a visual medium. And while you don’t need to be (or have) a professional photographer to thrive on the platform, creating images that stand out is important.

To get engagement on main feed images, you need something that stops thumbs in their tracks and encourages followers to stick around long enough to like, comment, or share.

There are plenty of tools you can use to give your feed posts a little oomph. They also help you make your Instagram look consistent, so followers recognize your content and pause to see what you have to say.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Team Coco Podcasts (@teamcocopodcasts)

There’s a photo editor complete with stickers and frames built into Hootsuite. Or, take your Instagram design to the next level with the Canva integration in Hootsuite Composer.

Source: Hootsuite App Directory

You might also want to experiment with adding music to feed posts. It’s unclear yet how this new feature will affect engagement overall, but some simple testing should help you see how your own audience responds.

8. Post carousels

Once you’ve gotten the hang of creating eye-catching images, try posting a few with carousels.

Carousels are Instagram posts with multiple images – and they are a great way to build engagement.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rocky Mountain Soap Company (@rockymountainsoapco)

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%).

We have some beautiful Instagram Carousel templates to get you started.

9. Write strong captions

Instagram captions can be up to 2,200 characters long. While short and sweet can sometimes be the best choice, don’t be afraid to take up space when you’ve got a good story to tell. No matter the length, good captions add context and showcase your brand’s personality.

For examples of exceptional longer-form storytelling with Instagram captions, you can always count on National Geographic.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by National Geographic (@natgeo)

10. Create informative content that inspires saves

Fact-based content like infographics and resource material can be useful for followers to save in their Collections. This is a powerful form of engagement because it means users will return to your content again and again, and may share it with their own followers too.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CllyKCFpiLZ/

Add a “Save this post” call-to-action to a carousel post with tips, a how-to guide or a recipe video to encourage saves.

11. Go live

Instagram 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.

Source: Instagram

Check out our Instagram Live how-to guide to get your broadcast going.

12. Share user-generated content

Social media is a conversation, not a broadcast. One way to engage with fans 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.

Source: @jasperskytram reshare of @neilmac85

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

If you want to share user-generated content in your main feed, make sure you get permission from the original creator, and be sure to give them credit. Using a branded hashtag is a useful way to collect UGC, but the hashtag alone does not imply permission to repost.

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

13. Answer comments and DMs

When the comments start flying in, it’s only polite to respond. Joining the conversation makes your followers feel seen, heard, and excited to chat with you again. Ignore them and they’re likely to ignore you right back in the future.

Make it easy on yourself and your team by using a tool like Hootsuite Inbox to share the load among team members, respond to public and private messages all in one place, and set up saved replies to simplify the work of replying to common questions.

Reach beyond your own account to engage with others in your niche as well. Comment on relevant posts within your industry, like posts from your top fans, and just otherwise look for ways to be a good Instagram citizen. When you share the engagement love, it comes back to you in spades.

14. Get experimental

The only way to find out what works best for sparking engagement with your brand is to 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 your engagement metrics to see the impact of your grand ideas. Dig into our guide to social media A/B testing.

15. Create topical content

If there’s already a buzz around a current event or holiday, look for opportunities to join the conversation with topical content of your own.

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

You don’t want all your content to be of-the-moment – evergreen content is also important for filling out your grid. But if you’ve got a hot take on a current meme or trend, put it together and get it out there fast while the subject is still getting attention.

Looking for inspiration? Instagram posts a trending Reels report every week on their @creators account.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Instagram’s @Creators (@creators)

What is a good engagement rate on Instagram?

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

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

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

Engagement rate = (Interactions / Audience) x 100

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%

Source: Hootsuite’s Global State of Digital 2022 (October Update)

Follower count can also affect your engagement rate. Instagram average engagement rates per number of followers for business accounts as of October 2022 are:

• 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.

Source: Hootsuite’s Global State of Digital 2022 (October Update)

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.

Get Started

Grow on Instagram

Easily create, analyze, and schedule Instagram posts, Stories, and Reels with Hootsuite. Save time and get results.

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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, it 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. nine0003

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 it can be fixed:

1. Reply to comments

Don't ignore subscribers' comments - always reply to 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 motivate the reader for dialogue and discussion in the comments. The more subscribers answer your question, the higher the coverage of the account. nine0003

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

Involve subscribers in interesting games, guess thematic 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 conditions of the contest

On Instagram, this may not be just a call to participate in 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. nine0003

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 the 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:

As advertising

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. nine0003

2. Create intrigue by splitting up

Divide the text into several parts and publish the continuation after the entry reaches 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. nine0003

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:

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 mass liking

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. nine0003

7. Use hashtags

Hashtags are a good navigation and search tool, so be sure to use 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:

8.

Geolocation helps people find profiles that suit them geographically, so don't forget to set the exact geo when publishing posts - and not only cities, but also, for example, establishments.

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 don't need to be a member anywhere to participate 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. nine0003

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. nine0003

- 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:

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:

- How to get views of stories

Stories are perhaps the most commonly used posting 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. nine0003

Related:

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. nine0003

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 surveys

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:

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. nine0003

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. nine0003

8. Announce profile events

Tell 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 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. nine0003

Tools to increase reach

When using all the features 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:

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. nine0003

Related:

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:

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 your broadcasts

The live broadcast feature on Instagram 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. nine0003

Related:

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. nine0003

Frequently Asked Questions

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

1. How to calculate ER?

Instagram engagement index for each post and 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; nine0306
• 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. nine0003

According to statistics, normal and competitive instagram engagement is 10-12% - and anything below indicates insufficient 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 involvement?

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. nine0003

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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. Using it, you will determine the interest and loyalty of the audience, how often it sees your publications and interacts with them. nine0003

I can say one thing: if you are working on a profile - testing post formats, compiling a content plan, working on a visual, etc., and if you use our advice, then there will be no problems with ER. The audience will definitely appreciate it. And finally - a couple more useful materials for working with your Instagram account.

Life hack. It is easiest to promote an account on Instagram with the Zengram service. He will do all the actions (likes, views of stories, subscription to users) that will promote the account and increase sales. Independently and without your participation. Click and test -> Zengram (Promo code "INSCALEPROMO" -20% for everything)

Instagram * (Instagram) belongs to the Meta company, which is recognized as an extremist organization and banned in the Russian Federation.

Related:

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). nine0003

This is the percentage of users who are interested in and interact with your content. 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. nine0003

- 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. nine0003

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. nine0003

4. Arrange interactive activities

Involve 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. nine0003

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. nine0003

- How to get likes

The set of likes depends both on the use of specific features in a post and on maintaining the 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:

As an advertisement

1.

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. nine0003

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. nine0003

Related:

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 put them in the description of the post. 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. nine0003

Related:

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 don't need to be a member anywhere to participate 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. nine0003

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. nine0003

- 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:

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:

- How to get views of stories

Stories are perhaps the most commonly used posting 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. nine0003

Related:

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. nine0003

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 surveys

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:

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. nine0003

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. nine0003

8. Announce profile events

Tell 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 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. nine0003

Tools to increase reach

When using all the features 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:

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. nine0003

Related:

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:

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 your broadcasts

The live broadcast feature on Instagram 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. nine0003

Related:

6.

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. nine0003

Frequently Asked Questions

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

1. How to calculate ER?

Instagram engagement index for each post and 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; nine0306
• 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.

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. nine0003

According to statistics, normal and competitive instagram engagement is 10-12% - and anything below indicates insufficient 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 involvement?

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. nine0003

GET INTO SOCIAL NETWORKS ALREADY 40 000+ WITH US

Catherine

Sergey

Ivan

Helena

Catherine

Subscribe

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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