How to increase organic reach on instagram

10 Simple Tactics You Can Try Today

Since Instagram started sorting posts on users’ feed with an algorithm, many marketers have noticed a decline in their organic reach and engagement.

But that doesn’t have to be the case for you. In fact, it could be possible for you to reach more of your followers now than without the new Instagram algorithm.

In this post, we’ll share 10 straightforward ways you can use to increase your organic reach on Instagram today.

Buffer for Instagram now comes with direct scheduling! Schedule single-image or video posts or set reminders to post multi-image posts at your best times to grow your Instagram following. Learn more today.

Understanding the Instagram Algorithm

Here’s a quick side-note: Understanding how the Instagram algorithm works can be helpful in figuring out how to increase your organic reach in the algorithmic-feed world.

We’ve dug into the Instagram algorithm and broken down the seven key factors of the Instagram algorithm. If you’d like to learn about the algorithm and how it ranks content on users’ feed, feel free to hit the button below to read the post first.

Learn about the Instagram algorithm

10 ways to boost your Instagram reach today

So how can you increase your organic reach on Instagram? Here are the 10 powerful ways you can do that:

Find your optimal posting times
Experiment with videos
Host contests or ask questions to encourage engagement
Curate user-generated content
Tell Instagram Stories
Go live on Instagram
Use Instagram ads
Post less
Create specifically for Instagram
Be a great Instagram user

Let’s dive in!

1. Find your optimal posting times

Even though Instagram uses an algorithmic timeline now, optimal posting times are still relevant as Sue B. Zimmerman, suggests posting when the majority of your audience is online:

It may take time to get a long-term understanding of your followers’ activity, but it’s important to make sure you’re posting when the majority of your audience is online.

If you are using an Instagram Business Profile, you can check your Instagram Insights to find out when your followers are most active by the day of the week and the time of the day.

Once you’ve identified your ideal posting times, you can also schedule Instagram posts ahead of time to help ensure you consistently post high-quality content.

2. Experiment with videos

Several studies have found that photos tend to get more overall engagement (i.e. likes and comments) than videos on Instagram. On first look, it might seem that photos are better than videos for engagement — and it could well be!

On closer examination, we might draw a different conclusion. News Whip studied the Instagram accounts of 31 news publishers and made an interesting discovery. While photos, on average, get more likes (and overall engagement) than videos, videos generate more comments than photos. In fact, videos, on average, received more than twice the amount of comments than photos!

It is not certain if the Instagram algorithm values likes and comments equally or one more than another. But since commenting requires more effort from a user than liking, it’s possible that the algorithm values comments more than likes and would rank posts with more comments higher than posts with more likes.

Last year, Instagram found that the video watch time on Instagram increased by more than 40 percent over a six-month period. At this growth rate, it could be great to experiment with videos to see if it increases your engagement and organic reach on Instagram.

To make things easier for you, you can now schedule videos to your Instagram business profiles using Buffer.

3. Host contests or ask questions to encourage engagement

Asking questions or calling for an action is one of the fun ways to encourage your followers to interact with your Instagram posts. We found that hosting a giveaway contest is an effective way to engage our followers.

Some of the call-to-actions we have tried are:

Enter to win by sharing your favorite emoji party combo in the comments below ?
To enter, simply tag a friend below who you would “Vote” for as your favorite marketer and you’ll both be entered to win!
To enter tag a friend below who you know is rocking it on social media! ?
What’s on your reading list this week? ? Drop your book suggestions below for a chance to win a free book of your choice from the Buffer team! ❤

While giveaway contests usually generate more comments than usual posts, we try to give it a few months in between each contest to keep things fun and exciting.

Something that we do more often is asking a question in our Instagram posts. Several of our most-commented posts (excluding contest posts) are posts with a question such as this, this, and this.

4. Curate user-generated content

Brian Peters, our digital marketing strategist, grew our Instagram account following by about 500% (4,250 to 21,000) in under six months. His secret? User-generated content.

Curating user-generated content can encourage those users to engage with and share those content. Since the Instagram algorithm considers users’ relationships when ranking content on their feed, building relationships with your users through Instagram might also help your content rank higher on their feeds.

Apart from organic reach, Crowdtap found that user-generated content is 35 percent more memorable and 50 percent more trusted than traditional media and other non-user-generated content. This makes user-generated content a valuable strategy to try.

If you would like to repost user-generated content on your Instagram profile, we would love for you to try our Buffer for Android or Buffer for iOS mobile apps, which can help speed up the process.

5. Tell Instagram Stories

In our State of Social Media 2016 report, we found that while 63 percent of marketers surveyed use Instagram, only 16 percent have created Instagram Stories. There’s a great opportunity to stand out before it gets too crowded!

Instagram Stories take a prominent position on the Instagram app — above the feed. This allows you to stay on top of your followers’ feed and grab more of their attention. If your followers view your Stories regularly, it could possibly even help your Instagram posts rank higher on their feeds.

It’s worth noting that the Stories are also ranked by an algorithm; possibly one very similar to the feed algorithm. Spend the time to craft great Stories to help them rank better.

6. Go live on Instagram

A similar “trick” is to go live on Instagram. When you use live video, you will appear right at the front of the Stories feed, assuming no one else is live at the same time. The “LIVE” logo also makes your profile photo more prominent in the Instagram app.

Social Media Examiner found that the more they went live on Facebook, the more their non-live content received exposure. Michael Stelzner said that one reason might be their brand is in front of their fans more often so the fans might go to their Page to see their content more — even if the fans don’t watch the live video.

This effect could play out on Instagram, too. Seeing your logo at the top of their feed might encourage your followers to check out your Instagram profile.

From our State of Social Media 2016 report, we concluded that live video has yet to hit mass adoption as only 27 percent of marketers surveyed had created live video content. While the percentage might be higher today, I believe live videos aren’t mainstream yet. So it’s another perfect way to stand out and deliver great content!

7.

Use Instagram ads

This might sound a little counter-intuitive but Instagram ads can be an effective way to grow your organic reach.

If you have an Instagram Business Profile, you can promote your existing posts from within the Instagram app. (

So which post should you promote?

Here’s a quick way to pick a good post to promote:

Go to your Instagram Insights on the mobile app (tap on the profile tab and then the bar chart icon).
Tap “See More” under the “Top Posts” section.
Tap on “Impressions” at the top (a pop-up should apply to let you adjust your stats filters).
For the first filter, you can choose “All”, “Photos”, or “Videos” according to your preference.
For the second filter, select “Engagement”.
For the third filter, select “7 days”.
You will see your top posts by engagement for the last seven days. From there, you can pick a post to promote.

As these posts have received the most engagement from your followers, they would likely also resonate with the people you promote to (assuming you have targeted people like your followers).

8. Post less

When explaining social media algorithms, Michael Stelzner encouraged marketers to re-think your posting strategy.

Rethink is the keyword here. Rethink your posting strategy on social media – Less is actually more!

Sue B. Zimmerman also gave a similar advice for marketers who want to overcome the Instagram algorithm.

If you truly want to connect with your audience, it’s better to share one fabulous photo instead of 20 mediocre images. So next time, before you hit post, take a moment and consider how this content contributes to your brand, and does it effectively encourage engagement from your followers.

I believe this is about the allocation of your resources and time. Instead of publishing 20 posts a week, use the same resources and time for just one or two posts and make them great.

Quality content that is relevant to your followers has a higher chance of eliciting a positive response from your followers. In turn, this can help your posts rank higher on your followers’ feed.

9. Create specifically for Instagram

One way to create quality content is to create content specifically for Instagram. Instagram, being a very visual platform, has a greater focus on the photo or video itself than the text. So a post that would do well on Instagram is probably different from one that would do well on Twitter or Facebook.

For smaller social media teams or solo social media manager, it can be challenging to always create unique content for each platform. Crossposting and repurposing content from other platforms can be great, too. If you are doing that, it’d be best to craft specific caption for each social media platform as your followers likely follow you for a different reason for each of the platforms.

Now with Tailored Posts, you can write customized captions for each social network. We’re hoping that this feature would encourage you to be (even) more creative with your social media posts and would help you drive more engagement.

10. Be a great Instagram user

This last point might be a little vague but it nicely wraps up many of the points above.

Social media algorithms are built to encourage genuine, positive behaviors on the platforms such as sharing, showing appreciation, quick replies, and more. Often, they would also try to discourage abuse or hacks.

My gut feeling here is that being a great Instagram user will help you grow your organic reach over time. That includes:

Posting quality content that is relevant to your followers (be it informative, inspiring, or entertaining)
Answering questions on your posts quickly
Thanking people for commenting on your posts
Exploring other people’s profiles, engaging with their posts, and building a relationship with them

All the best!

The main objective of Instagram (and most social media platforms) is to make users happy and let them enjoy the experience. As brands on Instagram (and social media), I think we can do a lot to create great experiences for our followers — which will, in turn, benefit ourselves.

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12 Ways to Improve Your Instagram Organic Reach — Amy Shamblen Creative

I don't think it comes much of a surprise that Instagram is my favorite social media. Being a designer, photographer, and someone who learns by visuals, Instagram just makes sense to me. Besides how visual it is, it's also a great place for inspiration and sharing your brand's story. The majority of the community on Instagram are a young, well-educated, and engaged audience. In fact, 80% of users follow at least one business on Instagram. But with some many users now on the platform, improving your Instagram organic reach can seem pretty difficult.When I started my business, I wanted to post my work to Instagram as an active, living portfolio that I could use to also interact with people who may stumble upon it. I had no idea how well it would work to promote my business and find me new clients.Despite the changes in the algorithm, constant updates, and abundance of users, I still find it an awesome place to promote your brand. There is, however, a special way to do it! It's not just about running contests or giveaways, but interacting with your following. Growing organically is the best way to create a strong, highly-engaged following. It's not about the quantity, but the quality of followers you have. Whether you're an artist or product-based business, Instagram is a perfect platform to expand your brand's exposure.

Read on for my best tips for improving your Instagram organic reach to market your business!

1. Use your posts to tell your brand's story

The number one thing you should be doing with your Instagram is telling the story of your brand. For example, my brand is very colorful, positive, authentic, and fun—so it only makes sense that I post content that motivates, inspires, and brightens the day of those following along. Avoid hard-selling on Instagram. That is an instant turn-off and, quite frankly, feels icky. Taking the time to craft a lovely image with a thoughtful caption does not go unnoticed by the Instagram community. In fact, it's quite appreciated and rewarded!It also helps to view all your posts as a whole in your feed. Is it reflecting the message you want someone to take away, in 10 seconds? If not, rethink how those images could better suit your brand and audience.

2. Be exclusive

Instagram finally revealed earlier this year what's behind their algorithm. With so many people on the platform, it can be difficult to get new followers or reach new people. Therefore, we must treasure those that follow us.Offering exclusive incentives as rewards is a great way to do this. Maybe you offer exclusive products or free content to your Instagram followers only. Or perhaps you run a flash sale in your stories. Show your audience some love and ask your for their opinions and listen to their suggestions so you can give them what they're looking for. By creating a great experience for your audience, they are more likely to spread the word about your brand and even do some of the marketing work for you!

3. Engage, engage, engage!

If someone comments on your post, be sure to engage with them. After all, Instagram is a social media that is meant to spark conversations. Not only is it a great way to connect with your audience on a more personal level, but it can even further drive more engagement! That engagement is key to improve your Instagram organic reach. A brand that responds to comments shows that they care about their audience's time and thoughts.Millennials prefer brands that tell inspiring stories and promote ethical values. With Millennials being the majority of the Instagram population, it's more important now than ever to engage with them to express your brand is exactly that.

4. Interact with Stories

Show behind-the-scenes or a peek into your everyday life with Instagram Stories. People like to connect with someone real and create authentic relationships. With so many great features now available in stories, you can take polls, ask questions, go live and interact with your audience in all kinds of ways.What's also great about stories is the discoverability. Tag a location or drop in some hashtags and your story can be viewed by people who don't even follow you!Since stories are available for 24 hours, that means you have active content working for you even while you take a break. This keeps your brand at the top of your followers mind and widens your chance to be seen.

5. Use a scheduler

Using a scheduler is great way to save time, get an overview of the content you're putting out, and it also ensures you're posting consistently! Does the thought of trying to think and keep up with new content make you cringe a little? Save yourself time by culling, creating, and scheduling all your posts at once for a week or two in advance.My personal favorite is Later because you get access to lots of great features, even with a free account. By blocking off an hour a week and scheduling everything in advance, you can focus more on actually running your business.Do you want to be able to post something on the fly? No worries! Later allows you to preview all your posts in a grid as they would appear on Instagram, which is perfect for keeping your brand's visuals aligned. So snap away and rearrange to your little heart's desire to find that perfect, thumb-stopping grid.

6. Use those hashtags

Despite the rumor that "hashtags are dead" on Instagram, I still find them a great way to reach new people. I like to create sets in Later. For example, I have lots of color hashtags. To ensure that I don't repeat them, I made a Color 1, Color 2, and Color 3 set. I also have a Dessert set, a Photography set, and so on. When it comes time to schedule them, I just mix-and-match and drop in a Color set, along with whatever applicable set goes with the photo.Make sure you're only using hashtags that pertain to the image itself. Irrelevant hashtags won't grab someone's attention and thus will prevent your image from gaining traction in that hashtag.Research your hashtags thoroughly beforehand as well. Since my account is relatively small, I like to avoid hashtags that have over 2 million posts. Mix it up with a few low-traffic hashtags, some medium-traffic hashtags, and maybe one or two large ones. That way, you're more likely to pop up in them. Don't be afraid to use the maximum 30 hashtags, too!Experiment with your own branded hashtags as well. Once it gains enough traction, those user-generated photos can be a great source of imagery that you can use (with permission!) for your account.

7. Drive website traffic & email signups

Instagram is wonderful, but you don't own your audience. If Instagram were to shut down tomorrow, how would your marketing plan hold up? Relying solely on Instagram for leads is a risky business, but it is a fabulous tool to get your tribe to a platform that you do own!Really utilize that link in your bio that leads to your website or a landing page where someone can sign up for your email list. No worries if you haven't started one yet, I'll go into ALL the detail in a later post!If you have a blog that you update regularly, then that's a perfect link to continually change out. This shows your audience that you always have juicy content that they can come back to. Make your content so good that your current followers share it with their audience and further improve your Instagram organic reach. While on your site, there should be multiple places where they can sign up for your email list.If you want something more permanent or are wanting to drive people to your email list directly, offer a freebie right in your bio! Some things that make a great freebie are things like checklists, free photos, or designed templates. Once someone clicks your link, it should drive them to a landing page (MailChimp has great tools for this) where they can input their email to receive the freebie. This is one of my favorite and most effective ways to build my email list. With so many people on Instagram, this is a fantastic way to organically bring that audience into a place where you can keep in touch with them directly.

8. Start a conversation

Your content on Instagram shouldn't just be posts for the sake of posts. Educate your audience in some way, whether that's about your product or why they should use your product or service. Blume does a great job of doing this.By educating their audience about the importance of self-care, they're also driving their audience to their amazing, all natural products.Inspire your audience, too. Maybe you post some motivational quotes that inspire your audience to take action (psst...here's a great source for those!).Ask them questions, get to know them. Would you rather buy something from a complete stranger or your friend? By sharing fun facts about you and getting to know them, you're becoming more a friend than another stranger on Instagram.Entertain your audience as well! Have some more light-hearted and humorous posts that brighten someone's day. Whatever content you post, it's always good to have a mix of educational, inspirational, and entertaining content. By providing that value, you can guarantee to keep your audience engaged and coming back for more!

9. Be unique

Think of some of your favorite accounts. Why do they appeal to you? It's likely because they have a aesthetic that is unique to them. Whether they're Lauren Hom's gorgeous typography or Bando's endless summer fun, they each have a quality that makes them unique.Treat Instagram as a living, visual journal that reflects your brand's voice and exclusive beauty. Finding that quality that makes your business stand out will help reinforce your brand's identity and awareness. Think color schemes, photo styles, and creative direction. All these elements put together is what defines your brand. Keep refining your style and own it so you can create images that people love. Remember, the more someone "likes" your posts, the more likely they are to appear in their feed!

10. Collaborate

You've probably heard all the rage of working with influencers. It is a great way to spread your brand's message, but there's also other great ways to collaborate with creatives that feels even more organic. Work with an artist to create a one-of-a-kind rendition that shows your product in a new, or unique way. You form a deeper connection by involving your followers that way and it also provides quality content that you can post to your account. Below is an example of a collab I did with Paul's Boutique that also drove great engagement on their account.

11. Share images

Sharing images is a great way to show your product or service being used and strengthens the relationship with your audience. Before you start sharing images, make sure you ask first! If given permission, always credit by tagging them in the photo AND in the first line of your caption—not in the comments or at the waaaaay bottom of the caption. This ensures that you're giving the creator of the photo the proper credit. If you don't want to credit them, then you'll need to pay them for their work.Check to see if they have a photo store or simply send them a message asking to purchase a photo from them. Without doing this, or properly crediting them, you're stealing someone's work for your own profit. Not only does that look bad on your brand, but you're also putting your brand at risk for being reported. Ew.Sharing images is great way to show your audience that you appreciate them, further driving that brand loyalty. And who doesn't love being featured by a brand? You may even get some stories shout-outs as a thank you, what better way to drive some Instagram organic reach? ;)

12. Have great photos

Having a feed that is consistent and filled with great photography is key to making that good first impression. Remember, your feed should reflect the personality of your brand. Stick to your brand-specific color scheme throughout your feed. Organize your photos so they flow well in your feed, too. If you need some starter pack of images for your brand, there's a bunch of free images here and more images here, too! Unsplash is also a fantastic source for great images.Don't be afraid to invest in photography for your brand. By having high quality photos, you're proving to your audience that you care about what you do. Have you ever visited someone's Instagram that put you in awe? Or maybe even the opposite: one that you visited for a few seconds and quickly left? The reason that happens is because we're drawn to images that look good. Proper lighting, composition, and atmosphere is what makes a great photo. Spoiler: that's not easy to do. A picture is worth a thousand words, and with most of us on social media nowadays, it's imperative that we're continually putting out amazing content so our brands stand out.No longer is Instagram the place to be worry about your follower count. Focus on engaging and interacting with your tribe with great, unique, and exclusive content. Drive your audience back to your site and to your email list where you can further connect with them. Collaborate and interact with your followers to show that your brand is authentic and caring. And most importantly, make that first impression an unforgettable one with thumb-stopping imagery. Be that inspiring brand that makes a difference to drive that Instagram organic reach you're looking for, and don't forget to have fun ;)

In what ways do you use Instagram for your business? I'd love to know in the comments below!

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How to significantly increase the reach and engagement on Instagram

The introduction of the algorithmic feed has seriously hit the reach and engagement of many users on Instagram. Even big bloggers are complaining that posts are getting far fewer likes and comments than they used to.

Instagram has complex feed generation algorithms, and Facebook does not share how they work. Still, marketers figure out algorithms from their own experience or from a few tips from Facebook. nine0003

Post content regularly

If you start posting much less often, the coverage may drop: this is how the social network algorithm works. To increase your reach on Instagram, post new content regularly and don't go missing for a few days.

Communicate actively

At a minimum, courtesy will work: if you regularly comment on your friends' posts, they will respond to you in the same way. Ask questions, leave compliments, reply to Stories and send funny photos to your friends in direct. nine0003

Tell stories

Yes, first of all, everyone is interested in the image. However, you can keep the interest of the audience with the help of stories, the original style of presentation of materials and humor.

Posts with long texts show good results. The audience responds to such records. Concentrate not on describing the problem, but on solving it, then you will receive positive comments. This is a simple and working way to increase engagement on Instagram. nine0003

Use Call to action

Remember how you yourself behave in a social network: sometimes you would be happy to answer something under a friend's photo, but there is simply no reason to do so.

Ask questions to the audience, try to bring up interesting but easy-to-discuss topics: childhood memories, favorite food, plans for the summer.

Post Stories

The exact ranking factors for content on Instagram are unknown, but according to some assumptions based on the speeches of the developers, regular posting of Stories has a positive effect on your account. nine0003

...and use them to promote content

Unlike posts in your account, subscribers will probably see your Story. Bloggers are already using this: they announce a new post with an intriguing caption and an offer to go to the account.

Drop the gallery format

Users have noticed that posts consisting of several photos fail in the feed and collect 30-50% fewer reactions. nine0003

Determine the correct time to post

Instagram algorithms keep track of how many reactions a post received immediately after publication, and based on this determine whether to consider it interesting and whether to show it higher in the feed.

If you post a photo late at night, it will probably fail in the feed. To get the most out of it, focus not on your own impressions, but on statistics. This will help increase engagement on Instagram.

nine0002 You can track activity by time of day using the service's internal statistics. And if you need to get data for a long time period or for a competitor's account, use Popsters. So you can analyze any account on Instagram.

What should be the engagement on Instagram?

A couple of years ago, an account was considered conditionally successful, where the number of likes was 10% of the number of subscribers. Now the situation has changed: small accounts have an average higher ER than large ones (more about ER calculation). nine0003

You also have the ability to analyze any account and view detailed Instagram analytics data with Popsters.

The ratio of engagement on Instagram and the number of followers was studied by the influence. co service team. Profiles with less than 2000 followers on average have an ER of 10.7%, 2000-5000 have an ER of 6%. See chart for details:

Useful articles continued:

What you can learn from Russian brands on Instagram;
Ways to view statistics on Instagram;
How to make a beautiful and effective photo caption on Instagram;
What is Social Media Outreach - The Complete Guide.

How to increase reach on Instagram and increase profile activity

In promoting a page on the social network Instagram, reach plays an important role. This figure reflects how interested the audience is in profile updates. The app promotes posts with high reach higher in the feed. But achieving high performance is not so easy, for this you need to know how to increase your reach on Instagram. nine0003

What are coverages?

Reach - the number of users who viewed the publication. The system counts the number of users, not views. If one person views the post several times, then the reach will increase by only 1 point. This is different from a show that counts every view by the same person.

Figure 1. Reach and Views

Thus, reach is a more accurate measure of the audience. The indicator determines the users interested in the account and is used to determine the Engagement Rate Reach (subscriber engagement). nine0003

Figure 2. Publication statistics

For a post, the optimal reach is 15-30% of the number of subscribers. The total coverage of the account, normally, reaches 30-60%.

How to view statistics:

Figure 3. How to view statistics on Instagram?

Switch from personal account to business profile.
Go to the "Statistics" section in the side menu.
In the Covered accounts tab, view the total number of covered accounts. nine0094
In the "Interactions with content" tab, see separately the coverage of publications. This shows the total percentage for each post or story.

If you are interested in the statistics of a single post, then you do not need to go to the general menu. Just open the post and find the item "View statistics" under the photo.

Reasons for falling Instagram reach

The main reasons why users experience a drop in reach:

Social network algorithms.

They decide which posts will show up higher in the feed and get more reach. Instagram chooses more recent publications, evaluates the interest of the audience and how active the subscribers are. If any of these points is not observed, then coverage is reduced.
Giveaways and contests.

Their problem is that instead of the target audience there are lovers of free gifts who do not comment, do not like and do not write in private messages. nine0003
Social network updates.

During the perestroika period, coverage falls for everyone - this is a normal process.
High competition.

The amount of information on Instagram far exceeds the number of people who are ready to consume it. More coverage is received by those accounts that are the first to occupy a niche.
The desire of the platform to monetize large accounts.

This information has not been confirmed. But since Facebook bought out Instagram, big bloggers have been dropping monthly accounts. Many believe that Facebook is just trying to force them to buy targeted ads, thus making their profit from the promoted pages. nine0003

In addition, Instagram does not like cheats and a massive increase in activities. Therefore, mass liking, mass following and cheating bots have not been used for promotion for a long time.

Increasing reach with content

Reach is one of the most dynamic indicators of audience activity. Therefore, even the slightest changes in the account affect it. Ways to increase your reach on Instagram work best in combination and include: nine0003

Let's take a closer look at how to use this.

Drawing up a content plan

This is a table where all the details of the publication are detailed:

Regular posting gives more chances to stay in the feed of subscribers. A ready-made schedule makes work easier, since the template for posts is already ready, all that remains is to choose the content.

Figure 4. Content plan

Choose the right time to post. Posts published during the period of the highest activity of the audience will receive the most response. This information is contained in the "Statistics" block in your profile. Get ready that during this period the highest competition for the attention of users, so your publications should be interesting and of high quality. nine0003

Posting quality content

Since Instagram is a visual social network, users pay special attention to pictures and notice if the quality is poor. Tips for creating good posts:

Figure 5. Examples of quality content

The style of the texts is simple and interesting. You need to write in a language that is accessible to the audience, the way you communicate with friends and family.

Psychological techniques in posts

People need to be encouraged to follow the account. The following “tricks” will work for this:

Leave a call to action at the end of posts.

Sometimes people just forget to like it, and they are embarrassed to leave comments. To avoid this, write what the reader needs to do. If he takes the time to write a comment, then the account will become more valuable to him.
Make posts with continuation.

For example, write an interesting story and promise to publish a sequel after a while. It keeps the intrigue.
Provoke the audience.

Use topics in your posts that are likely to get a reaction from readers, if it's appropriate for your page. This method is more suitable for lifestyle bloggers.
Make before/after, expectation/reality, and the like.

They evoke emotions in subscribers and gain a lot of coverage, besides, they encourage people to write comments. nine0003
Reply to all detailed comments, but no later than one hour.

Especially important for new accounts that are just gaining followers.

When working with comments, you need to encourage the audience to respond not with one word, but at least with a sentence. Short phrases and emoticons will be of little use. In order for Instagram algorithms to understand that a comment was written by a real person, you can:

All answers must be responded to. If you don't ignore people, Instagram will increase your reach and your audience will become more loyal. nine0003

Working with user generated content

User generated content (UGC) is what your subscribers post about you. It has been proven that such information is better remembered by people and inspires confidence in the brand. Related to this:

For example, on the page of the GoPro action camera manufacturer, such content is the main part of the publications.

Figure 6. Examples of user-generated content

Increasing reach with Instagram tools

Instagram provides a ton of tools to expand your audience and diversify your content. There are some very useful features to increase your reach:

Photo galleries.

If a person does not like your post, Instagram will show it again, but the main slide will be different from the selection. Reach increases if people scroll through the gallery to the end. Therefore, they need to be interested, for example, in comics, tutorials.
Additional reality (masks).

Creating your own filters and masks increases the reach of your account.
Save the post to bookmarks.

Significantly increases the chances of a publication being recommended to those who have not yet subscribed to you. Make content that people want to keep. For example, useful tips or selections.
Geotags

Attract new subscribers and are especially suitable for owners of retail outlets, cafes or other offline businesses with specific localization. nine0003
Live broadcasts.

Even short broadcasts will do to get people interested and communicate directly with them. Their plus: they are displayed first in the user's story feed.
Video format of publications.

Statistically, videos get more comments than other types of content. There is an opinion that they are more important than likes, because they require a lot of time.

Let's take a closer look at the benefits of Stories and another important tool - hashtags. nine0003

Posting stories

Short videos that disappear in a day are a separate method of account promotion. First, it has its own unique functionality. Secondly, they are more dynamic and "vital". Now stories are becoming more interesting to the audience than posts. Their advantages:

Figure 7. Differences between publishing and stories

The more interactive you offer, the better. How to increase coverage in Instagram stories:

In your posts, regularly motivate people to go to stories and be sure to pay attention to their design. nine0003

Hashtags

This function is needed so that a person can quickly switch to a topic of interest. It will help you get into the recommendations if you follow the important rules:

Write them not in the post, but in the first comment. This improves the appearance of the publication and does not distract the attention of users.

Running ads

Targeted advertising is an easy way to increase your reach. Of course, this will not be organic growth. But with the help of a properly configured ad, an audience that is really interested in your account is attracted. nine0003

In the future, people attracted through advertising become active, and coverage begins to increase naturally. Therefore, even if targeting is the main way to attract an audience, the content must remain of high quality in order to retain it.

Figure 8. Advertising on Instagram

Non-obvious methods to increase reach

The first is to encourage people to write in Direct. Not only to place an order, but also to share experience, express an opinion, ask a question. The fact that a person spends time and writes a message shows his interest, so the dialogue indirectly affects the increase in coverage. nine0003

Second, clean up your account. First, delete unsuccessful, irrelevant posts, old publications with negative, low quality. It's very easy to clean up with the "Archive" function. Then eliminate inactive users and bots. They spoil the statistics by reducing the percentage of coverage. If you have fewer followers, but they are active, then the percentage will increase.

The third is to test different formats and their ratio. Images often get more likes, videos get more comments. But these are general data, and in specific niches the result is different. Bet on content with an average reaction and 1-2 times a week publish what brings the highest reach. nine0003

Additional ways

These "tricks" allow users to quickly increase their coverage:

These activities are carried out carefully. It is necessary to maintain a balance between the number of followers and likes so that the Instagram algorithms do not suspect you of cheating.

Account holders should keep an eye on innovations and try to use new functionality as early as possible. This increases the interest of users and distinguishes it from competitors. nine0003

Popular but dangerous methods to increase reach

A common problem is the presence of untargeted subscribers. These include:

If you clean them up, the percentage of engagement will increase, and Instagram will promote posts higher in the feed, as they consider them useful and important to the audience.

Another mistake is misused hashtags. High-frequency hashtags bring low coverage, so from time to time you need to update the list of used words. Otherwise, the post will be displayed lower in the feed, where users do not even scroll. nine0003

The big risks are the cheating of subscribers and giveaways. In both cases, there is a large influx of non-target subscribers.