How to increase post 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 adsThis 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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How to Increase Instagram Reach? [2023 Update]
How to increase your reach on Instagram to target and convert new audiences? Building Instagram reach can help you achieve your business goals — increase brand awareness, build an online community, or even sale your product or service.
A few years ago, building an Instagram marketing strategy was relatively easy. Instagram displayed the posts chronologically, so if you had discovered the right time to post, the only thing you had to do was stick to it.
But Instagram has changed since its early days and it has become harder to increase your reach and deliver your content to your target audience.
This post will help you increase your organic reach and boost your Instagram presence. Here’s our itinerary for today:
- The Instagram algorithm
- What is important for the Instagram algorithm?
- Instagram reach vs Instagram impressions
- What does reach mean on Instagram?
- How do your increase Instagram reach?
- Benefits of an increased reach on Instagram
The Instagram algorithm
Because of the rapid growth, Instagram had to introduce an algorithm.
The Instagram algorithm chooses which photos and videos will rank high in users’ feed. The higher your post ranks, the bigger Instagram reach it will generate.
But how exactly does the Instagram algorithm work?
For many users, the introduction of the algorithm meant a decline in organic reach. Far fewer Instagrammers could’ve seen individual photos and videos. As a result, the conversion rates had plummeted.
For a long time, Instagram keep the rules of the algorithm a secret. Recently, the social media platform shed some light on the algorithm and debunked many myths.
If you want to increase your organic Instagram reach you have to know how to use the algorithm to your advantage.
Here’s what Instagram has revealed so far:
- the Instagram algorithm is based on machine learning and it is constantly updating. All the updates are based on users’ engagement.
- Instagram does not favour photos over videos or the other way around. Some users might see more videos because they engage with that type of content more.
- The type of Instagram account (Personal, Business, or Creator) has no influence on the reach of you profile.
- Do not buy Instagram likes!
- Receiving a lot of engagement in the first 30 minutes of posting has no extra effect on the overall performance of the post.
Since you’re familiar with the rules of the algorithm, you can use them to your advantage and build a strong, organic Instagram reach.
Increase your Instagram reach! Start a 14-day free trial, no credit card required.
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How can you use the Instagram algorithms’ rules to your advantage and increase reach?
In this post, I present a few social media tips to boost your Instagram reach, attract new followers, and increase your conversion rates.
What is important for the Instagram algorithm?
We already know a bit about the works of the Instagram algorithm. There are 3 key factors Instagram algorithm takes into account when ranking posts. Try to implement these insights into your social media tactics, and you will see a rise in the Instagram reach.
1. Interest
Social media channels are now all about meaningful interactions between users. That’s why it’s so important to publish content your target audience will find interesting.
Encourage your followers to interact with your Instagram channel by posting carefully curated photos with captivating descriptions and strong calls to action. Try to grab their attention right at the beginning so they will spend more time on your account.
2. Timing
Instagram doesn’t display content chronologically but the timing of your post is still important. Instagram announced in March 2018 an update in the algorithm in order to:
ensure that newer posts are more likely to appear first in feed so your feed will feel more fresh, and you won’t miss the moments you care about.
Figuring out the best time to post and sticking to it, is still an important part of increasing your organic reach on Instagram.
3. Meaningful interactions
After the Cambridge Analytica scandal, social platforms had to change.
Instagram algorithm analyses the depth of the relationship between you and your followers. If someone likes and comments on your Instagram posts more often than on content from other Instagram users, that users will be more likely to see more content from you.
What does it mean in terms of increasing your reach on Instagram? It’s better to have a steady flow of engagement, even if it’s not the highest rate than to have a few spikes of likes and comments under different posts.
Instagram reach vs Instagram impressions
Many marketers claim that in order to be successful on Instagram, you need to follow two metrics — Instagram reach and Instagram impressions.
Those marketers are right.
We’ll define Instagram reach in the next paragraph. Let’s focus on Instagram Impressions for now.
Instagram impression is the total number of views your Instagram post receives.
Let me explain with an example.
If someone scrolls down and see your post, that counts as one impression.
If the same person sees the same post for the second time it’s one more impression. Bear in mind, that you still have reached only one person on Instagram.
That’s the difference between Instagram reach and Instagram Impressions.
Reach refers to individual users and impressions refers to the total number of views. That’s why the count of Instagram Impressions will always be higher than the number of Instagram reach.
What does reach mean on Instagram?
If you want to increase Instagram reach, you first have to define what does reach on Instagram mean.
Reach is the number of unique people who see, and could possibly interact, with your content.
There are two types or reach – organic reach, where you create engaging content, hashtags and other techniques to appear high on your audience feed.
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The second type of reach you can get is paid reach, where you buy Instagram ads to sponsor your content.
Organic reach is much more difficult to achieve, but it is also much more beneficial when it comes to maximizing your conversion rates from Instagram or, in fact, any other social media channel.
Do you want to calculate the reach of your Instagram hashtag? You can do it with a media monitoring tool, for example, Brand24.
Brand24 collects only publicly available mentions and is 100% compliant with Facebook regulations and GDPR.
To collect the data about your Instagram hashtag, create a project.
Enter the hashtag you want to track in the project creation wizard and your job is done. From that moment on, Brand24 starts to collect all publicly available mentions containing your hashtag across social media.
To analyse only the Instagram reach, choose the Instagram icon from the top bar in the Mentions tab.
The tool will also analyse the posts and give you information on:
- the total number of posts containing your predefined hashtag
- the total number of interactions
- reach of your hashtag(s)
- number of positive and negative mentions.
And that’s just the beginning of the perks of media monitoring.
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So, how do you make sure that your Instagram reach increases over time?
How do you increase Instagram reach?
There are several easy Instagram techniques to increase the reach of your posts. This tips and tricks will help you combat the effects of the algorithm for Instagram as well as reach and influence brand new audiences.
Let’s dig in!
1. Time is of the essence
When it comes to Instagram reach, the number of likes and comments received right after posting is extremely important. If the initial round of engagement is high, it is more likely that Instagram will push your post higher in the feed.
Spotting the right time to post on Instagram should be a piece of cake if you have Instagram Business account. Take a look at Instagram Insights and check when your followers are the most active.
Don’t worry if you don’t have Instagram Business account. There are Instagram analytics tools that will help you. Take a look at Iconosquare, Buzzsumo, or Sprout Social. The tools will analyse when your target follower group is the most active and present the data in a neat table.
2. Use the right hashtags
There’s no increasing your reach on Instagram without using the right hashtags. Hashtags are everything on Instagram. They help other users discover your content and help you to analyse the performance of your Instagram marketing campaign.
Hashtags can be divided into:
- trending hashtags
- general hashtags
- industry-specific hashtags
How to find popular hashtags on Instagram? With a social media monitoring tool you’ll not only find the most popular hashtag to boost your Instagram reach but you’ll also be able to track all the publicly available mentions on the Internet containing your predefined keyword.
Using the right hashtags will help you reach a wider audience and, ultimately, increase your organic reach on Instagram.
Moreover, you should take a look at the Instagram analytics metrics that can be helpful for analyzing the impact of your Instagram posts. The most important Instagram metrics you should take into account are:
- estimated Instagram reach – the estimated number of people who could have had contact with the post
- Instagram interactions
- Instagram likes
- Instagram comments
- sentiment of your brand — whether your potential clients are talking positively or negatively about your brand, product, or service
Want to see a list of trending hashtags for your business niche? With a media monitoring tool! Brand24 will analyse the hashtags used within your niche on social media. Based on the results, you will receive a list of 100 trending hashtags you can use to boost your Instagram reach.
Start your free trial here! No credit card required!
3. Explore the social side of Instagram
Instagram is a social network, after all, that’s why it’s vital to interact with other users if you want to increase your organic Instagram reach.
The changes made to social media algorithms after the Cambridge Analytica scandal was set up to encourage genuine, positive behaviours.
What does it mean when it comes to Instagram interactions? You can sum up Instagram best practices to these critical points:
- quickly reply to questions asked by your followers
- thank people for liking and commenting on your post
- explore other people’s post and engage with their content
Thank people for all the positive mention to build brand awareness and associate your brand with positive emotions.
Negative comments can be a blessing in disguise. First of all, negative comments are a goldmine of knowledge when it comes to your followers’ needs. It will give you an idea of the direction you should develop your Instagram presence.
Secondly, they give you a chance to prevent escalation of a social media crisis. Try to address the queries promptly, so you show your followers that you care about them.
4. Curate user-generated content
That’s a great way to boost Instagram engagement rates. It will encourage users to interact with your photos or videos and share it further. And Instagram is making content sharing even easier, especially when it comes to Instagram Stories, which I’ll discuss in more detail later on.
User-generated content is 35% more memorable and 50% more trusted than traditional media and other non-user-generated content.
Posting user-generated content will help you build relationships with your followers. And fruitful relationships with your followers can have a positive impact on the Instagram’s algorithm.
5. Explore Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories are important for two reasons.
Stories give you a chance to show the human face of your company. Record some behind-the-scenes footage of your company, run a competition or create a separate content. It’s a great way to have some additional exposure for your brand.
Instagram Stories are also great for brand’s exposure because they are above the news feed.
Your company logo will be the first image people see when they log into Instagram. That’s an opportunity not to be missed!
The same applies to Instagram live streams. According to Social Media Examiner the more you go live, the more exposure your non-live content will receive.
The Stories are also based on an algorithm, so it’s vital to post regularly and deliver informative and inspiring content.
6. Use geolocation
Apart from Instagram hashtags, the geolocation is another great way to increase your Instagram reach. Some Instagram users search not for a hashtag, but for a specific location.
You can also discover images that feature your brand but you aren’t tagged in. That’s a proactive way to find new followers and expand your Instagram reach.
7. Take a look at Instagram Ads
I know that Instagram Ads and organic Instagram reach sounds like ice and fire or day and night. However, having a great Instagram Ad strategy in place can help you develop a sound organic following.
How does this sorcery work, you might ask? Let me explain!
Choose an already existing post and promote it with Instagram Ads among the carefully chosen audience. The engagement rate for this post will rise and it will organically rank better on your followers’ feed.
The question remains – which posts to choose from? Take a look at your Instagram analytics and identify a post that generated the highest engagement rate.
8. Collaborate with Instagram influencers
Instagram influencers are your secret weapon. They will help you with:
- finding new audience
- producing new content
- authenticating your product or service in the eyes of others
- generating leads
- raising brand awareness.
Most social media marketers think about collaborating with top influencers who have tens of thousands of followers. But take a look at micro-influencers as well.
Micro influencers usually have up to 100 000 followers and are considered much more trustworthy than Internet celebrities.
Your followers will relate more to micro influencers. Their posts also generate much higher engagement rates.
9. Engage with your audience
Instagram gives you a possibility to ask questions, runs polls and tag other users in your posts and Instagram Stories. Running a giveaway will certainly generate a lot of online buzz that will help boost your Instagram organic reach.
Apart from engaging your audience, you get a chance to show the funny face of your business. Just remember to post questions and polls every few months, so you will keep the effect fresh and interesting.
10. Explore IGTV
IGTV, or the Instagram television, is another way for brands to increase their Instagram reach.
Brands can publish longer video content on IGTV which is another way to engage with your followers. IGTV gives you another way to reach brand new audiences and increase your brand awareness.
Benefits of an increased reach on Instagram
To increase your Instagram organic reach you have to comply with the Instagram algorithm.
And the top concern for the algorithm is high user engagement.
Think about your account as a whole. If you have lots of views on Instagram Stories but not many likes and comments under your photos, that’s perfectly fine. It means your target audience is more interested in video content and you should focus on creating engaging short clips.
Get to know your audience and try to fulfil their expectations. Building an organic reach on Instagram is not something you can do overnight but with the right attitude, you will succeed.
Use the Brand24 tool to grow your Instagram profile!
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If you find the topics related to social listening, brand monitoring, and brand reputation management interesting, don’t hesitate to browse our blog.
HANDPICKED RELATED READS:
How to build an effective Instagram marketing strategy
How to write good Instagram captions to engage your audience on Instagram?
Hashtag Marketing Guide: 12 Tactics that will Boost Your Business
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.
algorithm 2022 + TOP-22 methods
I’ll say right away: we have already described the whole theory about Instagram reach in the article below, so for what it is and an explanation of all the concepts of averages, algorithms, and so on, you are here. nine0003
Related:
Instagram reach: from A to Z + 12 methods to increaseHere I will talk about ways to increase your reach on Instagram, what you need to do and what tools to use.
How Instagram algorithms work
When you go to Instagram, the social network will not show you the new posts of absolutely all the bloggers you follow. All this simply does not fit into the tape. Therefore, Instagram will choose what to show you. It works like this:
- You have subscribed to some account you like, in which publications appear;
- Other subscribers of this profile are active on certain posts - they like, comment, read to the end, etc.
; - Instagram sees this, measures and generates posts in your feed from those that were most interesting to other subscribers of the account you are following.
That is why in the statistics you can see a much smaller number of people reached than the number of your subscribers. Accordingly, what is needed for posts to constantly appear in the feed? That's right, interaction with your content - likes, comments, reposts, saves. High activity and engagement of the audience in your account is the key to increasing your reach on Instagram. nine0003
When you read the entire feed of the users you follow, Instagram will give you recommended posts. We have a separate article about them. And two more for general development, in order to understand where to look for coverage and what to do with it.
Related:
Instagram statistics: how to view + 52 metricsInstagram account analysis: TOP-7 services + what to check Reach is the total number of people who viewed your post.
Impressions is the number of times a post has been viewed. That is, if one person views the publication 4 times, there will be 4 views, and you have covered one user. nine0003 The main metric for Instagram reach is retention and user engagement with your content. I didn’t just look - I liked it, but I spent some time getting acquainted with the content.
The question arises, what indicator should we strive for? On average, normal reach is 10-15% if we are talking about accounts with 10,000+ subscribers. If there are less of them, then the norm is 20-25%. If your account has more than 10k subscribers, reach of 30-40% is a really awesome result and you can sell a course on how to increase reach :)
I will not list here some obvious things about the content plan for Instagram, material for publications, text for posts in IG, since we have already written more than one article about this. Click on the articles below and enjoy.
Related:
Instagram post-acquaintance: 35 examples The best engaging post on Instagram: 50 ideas how to makeI'll tell you the tricks that will help stop a follower from posting and increase the reach of posts on Instagram.
1. Cleaning up from bots
We are talking about mass followers too. No matter what anyone says, it is also worth cleaning up the account from such accounts. It's not just about the aesthetic component. Due to the large number of such half-dead accounts, IG may stop showing your content to really active subscribers. But, here you need to be careful, because you can mistakenly delete normal, live subscribers.
If you use promotion, it will negatively affect the content ranking. The same applies to all kinds of giveaways, after them, as a rule, there is a large outflow of the audience, and the social network can throw the account into a shadowban. And no matter what gun you create in it, everything will be in vain.
And if you delete them, then there is a great risk of mistakenly deleting normal subscribers, since it is often difficult to distinguish them from any "leftist". nine0003
And yet, initially clean your account from dead audience and bots. To learn how to check which of the subscribers does not show signs of life, and who was completely cheated, read the article. Well, if you already know everything, think about this - manually clearing your account is a chore, albeit for free, so use the InstaHero service.
2. Daily activity
You should not disappear from the story feed, constantly showing various activities, so you need to shoot them throughout the day, and not en masse. It is clear that you do not need to do 100 of them a day, it will be enough, for example, to notify subscribers every 2-3 hours what is happening with you. Calculate your periods of greatest activity. nine0003
And, of course, you don't have to post everything.
To do this, there is a content plan, which should be clearly spelled out: what, how and what time to post in the feed or publish in stories. Thanks to this, it is possible to build a logical chain of "touches" with subscribers in order to form trusting and long-term relationships with them.
3. Original and high quality content
Instagram blog is part of your image. If you fill it out in a blunder, then the IG algorithms will not display your profile in the recommendation of your target audience. If you want to publish interesting and catchy material, then first you need to find your niche, because being an expert in all areas is simply unrealistic. Of course, if you are not a superhuman :)
Most likely, you are unlikely to be able to reinvent the wheel, because the Instagram market is oversaturated with all kinds of content. But you can fly into the recommendations without racking your brains. Most importantly, remember a few basic rules:
- Be able to interest the audience.
Do not do it trite, because it is more likely to be scrolled through. People are used to being shown a beautiful life. You have to live up to those standards, but still deliver the message in your own way to stand out; nine0094 - Short videos are your trump card. The first thing people look at in IG is stories. Publish them on an ongoing basis so that subscribers get used to you;
- Focus your attention. You will need the ability to draw the subscriber's attention to something specific. And one of these tools is numbers. This may be the cost of something, benefits, the timing of the competition, etc.;
4. Interaction with the audience
To significantly increase coverage, you need to ask questions more often, be interested in the opinion of subscribers in a particular topic. This is a fairly common way to engage the audience in a dialogue. The main thing is to be not just useful, but to have.
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If they ask questions, answer them interestingly and in detail. Then people will see your interest in their problem and then the "crowd effect" will work. Other subscribers, seeing your openness, will be more willing to contact you with exciting questions.
What should those who do not have so many subscribers do? How can they increase their reach? Here "gray" methods can come to the rescue: these can be all kinds of chat rooms for exchanging likes and comments, closed groups and even services. However, it is important to remember that everything has the opposite effect. Comments like "Cool!", "Super" and so on - Instagram algorithms have already learned to recognize spam, template phrases and do not take them into account. nine0003
5. Collaborations with other bloggers
Collaborations are another way to promote and win over an audience. This is a great chance to enlist the support of other authors. This method of promotion is quite effective, because some part of the audience from your partner - a blogger can migrate to you.
Its only disadvantage is the time spent searching for bloggers ready for the exchange and negotiations. You will need to choose a format and script, agree on terms, conditions and details. nine0003 A collaboration of photographers, make-up artists and a bridal salon
6. Reposts in stories
A lot of people underestimate simple reposts on Instagram. By and large, a repost is when other users share your story on their profile or stories. This is a great way to increase reach, because if people post your content on their own, then the number of users who viewed the publication increases several times. Thus, it can attract potential followers to your profile. nine0003 Repost video - photo studio post in stories
7. Targeted advertising
One of the easiest ways to increase coverage. Of course, it won't be organic growth right away. But with the help of a properly built ad, an audience that is really interested in your content is attracted.
Users attracted through advertising will continue to be active and coverage will increase naturally. Therefore, even if targeting is the main way to attract an audience, the content must still be of high quality in order to keep it. nine0003
8. Cross-posting
Do you want your brand to be present on several sites at once, but there is not enough time to create original content? Crossposting will come to the rescue. Roughly speaking, cross-posting is the automatic or semi-automatic placement of one message, post, etc. on different email addresses, forums, blogs.
Social networks, like children, also require constant attention. It’s worth some social network to sink and the coverage will collapse. And if there is no coverage, then you will not see promotion and sales. So who is crossposting for? nine0003
Firstly, cross-posting will be relevant for owners of several accounts of the same subject. Secondly, this feature will also be useful for brands that are just starting the path of promotion on several sites.
Related:
Instagram secrets and tricks: 61 favoritesHow else can you increase your reach
There are many more ways to increase your reach on Instagram than I have listed. Below I have selected for you more affordable ways that will be just as important for increasing coverage. nine0003
- For posts
Your Instagram posts are your face. Therefore, special attention should be focused on them. Below are relevant and effective ways by which you can and should increase the reach of your publications.
1. Hashtags and geotags
They will help you get good coverage, get featured and attract new followers to your Instagram account. But this will only work if the hashtags are relevant to the topic of your post. And do not abuse high-frequency tags: firstly, your post will be lost in the general stream, and secondly, there is a risk of being shadowbanned.
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As for geotags, an important tip is to put them on all your publications. On the map, this will look like a place of interest that can be visited for several reasons. For example, you sell your services there. Geotags can also be placed by your clients (not necessarily bloggers) who maintain their Instagram pages for friends and acquaintances. The person will see the mark on the map, read the post, look at your profile and, if he likes it, subscribe.
Another small life hack - alternate geotags so that people from different parts of the city stumble upon your publications :)
2. Headings
It often decides whether to read at all. The headline should at the same time catch, interest and explain what the text is about. But it's downright art. Usually we see either the creation of intrigue or the theme of the publication. Read more about how to write catchy headlines here.
Tip 1. Write the title of the publication
Write the title on the publication itself. This is very convenient when you are looking for a specific post in the feed. Especially if the publication concerns exactly all your subscribers and clients, such as “how to prepare”, “what to take with you”, “contraindications”, etc. nine0003
Tip 2. Ask a question in the title
Ask a question in the title - a specific user request - how to do it, how to get it, how to find it, etc.
3. Texts of posts
In order for your Instagram posts (large, not 4 lines) to be read to the end (and this is very important), you must write simply divinely. Not in terms of beautiful adjectives, huge turns, etc. On the contrary, forget about it. Texts should be really useful for the audience. nine0003
What does this mean? They should not be the same as everyone else - theme, manner, approach, style, etc.
And most importantly - they should carry the necessary information and something really new and fresh. For example, if you go to the page for a massage therapist, massage parlors, etc., you can immediately notice that for the most part everything is the same, even the pictures from Pinterest are the same. And this is a mistake of many profiles of different spheres.
Do not try to do like everyone else, approach the issues discussed from a different angle, for example, take topics from real conversations with a client, his objections and disclose them in a blog. Read more about how to write posts on Instagram, while we move on. nine0003
- Thorough check
Before going to post. Carefully check the text for typos, grammatical and stylistic errors. If you notice a jamb after the release of the publication, edit it and republish it, smmers assume that instead of raising instagram coverage, Instagram will reduce them.
This is not 100% information, and indeed, there is no source that will tell you everything about the formation of coverage in the social network. Just in case, don't do it. nine0003
- Topics of posts
They should be varied and affect people not only in your area, but also others. It’s just that if you write on some topic that is not related to the main topic of the profile, tie them together somehow, otherwise monotonous publications just get bored, the user sees the title and scrolls through the entry.
In the example below, a well-known athlete in her blog not only talks about the routine and training, but also writes articles about psychology, raising a child, etc. nine0003
- Text construction
So that now, in a frantic scrolling of the tape, your posts on Instagram (large, not 4 lines) are read to the end (and this is very important), you must write simply divinely.
Not in terms of beautiful adjectives, huge turns, etc. On the contrary, forget about it. Texts should be really useful for the audience.
What does this mean? They don't have to be the same as everyone else - theme, manner, approach, style, etc. And most importantly - they carry the right information and something really new and fresh. For example, if you go to the page for massage therapists, massage parlors, etc., you can immediately note that everything is the same, even the pictures from Pinterest are the same. And this is a mistake of many profiles of different spheres. nine0003
Don't try to be like everyone else, approach the issues discussed from a different angle, for example, take topics from real conversations with a client, his objections and disclose them in a blog. Read more about how to write posts on Instagram, while we move on.
4. Content
What bloggers use to become popular and then monetize their popularity.
Today, users go out of their way to get their content noticed and tagged
- Stickies
Yes, yes, they are made to make a person stuck at posts. These are all sorts of videos that are pleasing to the eye (+ hearing), for example, where something is mixed, crumbled, broken, etc. In general, content that makes a person linger on publication and get high for a while.
If you don't know how to do this with your product, for example, get inspired by ideas from competitors, or simply google similar videos and transfer them to your product.
Tip 1. Sticky ideas
If you have nothing to interfere with, break and crumble in the sphere, this does not mean that you cannot make a sticky. It is also pleasant to watch the process of activity, videos from the beauty sphere are now popular on Instagram, where someone is painted, nails are treated, hair is styled, etc.
Interesting. Do not have time to post a post or story? Or don't know what to post in your account? These problems can be solved in a couple of minutes using SmmBox. The service will draw up a content plan and automatically publish material of any format. And he will also find popular content on the specified topic. Agree such services are few? Click and use for free -> SmmBox
Tip 2: Don't forget about quality
When chasing a video like this, don't forget about quality and ease of viewing. Especially if you want to show some result - do not shoot too small or too close.
- Reality content
No matter how hard everyone tries to deny this fact, but when bloggers talk about their every step on Instagram - stories - it is popular, whatever one may say. As they say, the closer to the people - the better. However, the concept of "relaybl" is applicable if you publish content that will resonate with a large number of people, or in other words, "life".
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It can be anything, let's try improvising: "My bed is 90% my cat's space and 10% mine." Surely, this story will be familiar to everyone who has a cat. Accordingly, people will repost your content to themselves or send it to the same "cat lovers", promoting you, thereby increasing coverage.
- Check - sheets and tips.
Also a publication option that will force the user to slow down, and in addition, save the publication. nine0003
The main thing is to design the picture well - use images, write briefly and clearly (write in more detail in the post itself) and indicate specifically what kind of checklist it is for: 30 good habits for every day, how to lose 5 kg in 2 weeks and etc. That is, a person must understand what he will receive as a result, using your material.
By the way, such things can be created not only in the format of a static picture. You can make a carousel of small clips for life hacks, for example, and this way you will kill three birds with one stone.
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5. Variety of topics/formats
So that your subscribers do not get bored, dilute your feed with different post formats. You will see that the activity on your publications will increase, because it will be like a breath of fresh air for your Instagram and followers.
Carousel
Why is it necessary to do it now? Yes, just so that the user lingers longer on the page and shows Instagram, they say, look at what good content I have, how long they spend on it. nine0003
The Instagram carousel allows you to break the boundaries of the social network image format and, as it were, expand the boundaries of the screen. Thus, you can upload horizontal photos and they will not look cropped.
Tip 1. Text in the carousel
Place the continuation of the text of the post not in the comments, but on the images and create a carousel out of them.
While a person is scrolling, while reading, and more, and more - and this is the time, and the social network will take it into account.
Advice 2. Screen swipe
Be sure to write down, preferably at the beginning of the post “SWIP” or “SPYPEY”, so that a person will surely notice the carousel.
Tip 3. Seamless carousel
A fresh trend is seamless carousels on Instagram. Thus, you can break the image format of the social network and, as it were, expand the boundaries of the screen - that is, you can upload horizontal photos, and they will not look cropped. In addition, a visible piece of the picture will force you to scroll through the carousel to the end. nine0003
There are two implementation options - photoshop or application. The first is more confusing, but naturally creative and personalized, in services it will be templates.
- Video
And in general the approach to video content. Agree, you noticed yourself when you stumbled upon a video even in an unfamiliar account, and froze. Why? Because it's beautiful, cool, cool transitions, bright shots, etc. So if you really care about how to increase your reach on Instagram, and it is an important channel for promoting your business, invest in this business: hire a specialist and spare no expense. Or read about how to edit video on Instagram
7. Thorough check
Before going to post. Carefully check the text for typos, grammatical and stylistic errors. If you notice a jamb after the release of the publication, edit it and republish it, smmers assume that instead of raising instagram coverage, Instagram will reduce them. This is not 100% information, and indeed, there is no source that will tell you everything about the formation of coverage in the social network. Just in case, don't do it.
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- How to increase the coverage of stories
In Instagram stories, it takes into account the viewing time, how quickly they swipe, close, whether they return, whether they give a reaction. Accordingly, the more such interaction, the higher the coverage.
But! You need to understand that if you really want to increase the coverage in Instagram stories, it takes a lot of time. This is the same content plan, installation, etc. Only in this case the channel will give a result.
1. Daily activity
For some reason, some users believe that if they upload 500 stories a day, they will certainly collect a lot of coverage and generally be able to call themselves full-fledged bloggers. But, the situation is a little different. nine0003
Of course, daily activity is necessary and important if you want to become popular on this or that platform. However, users can get very bored with the automatic queue from your stories during the day, and they will simply scroll through your content, which will negatively affect the statistics in the future.
It is believed that the largest number of full views of posts is 5 - 7 fragments of photo or video publications. The first story is fully viewed by the largest number of users, then there is a sharp decline. The second and third stories are viewed by about 80% of subscribers. The fourth fragment accounts for the second decline, after which there is a complete decrease in total views. nine0003
Seven stories is not a hard requirement, but just a recommendation. In any case, you need to experiment with the length of the stories themselves, because. this may affect their effectiveness.
2. Variety of formats
Do not post more than 2-3 stories with a talking head, otherwise your other stories (in which you finally changed the record) will simply be skipped. Change the type of content, plans, environments, etc.
Important. Do you want to sell on Instagram to 5 new customers daily? Then we recommend that you use mass subscriptions and likes, which are considered the most profitable way to attract subscribers and buyers.
The main assistant for mass actions is Instaplus.pro. Click and test the service -> Instaplus.pro ("INSCALE" 20% discount). nine0003
- Text on stories
It is not always possible (and even desirable) to listen to you in stories. Therefore, duplicate what you say in it with text. Not literally, of course, everything, but the main idea. So a person will delay the story to read what is written, and this has a positive effect on reach.
3. Interactive elements
These are all kinds of polls, questions, tests, etc., that is, tools that make you stop, click and go further through the story. Make interactive topics on the page, for example, tests for knowledge of something. Users will definitely be interested and want to know their result, which means that not a single test story will be mercilessly swiped to the left. nine0003
Just don't make these games like “find the letters in my stories”.
It has long been an outdated method, and no one will definitely do this, and you will spend a decent amount of time creating it.
4. Live broadcasts
What are the advantages of live broadcasts? For avid bloggers and businesses, the live format is a great chance to get closer to the audience and build a dialogue. The fact is that Instagram is actively developing the live format. Every time you go live, IG starts to encourage you and show you to the maximum number of users. To actively grow, it is desirable to go live 1-2 times a week. nine0003
Another advantage of live is that today the competition in stories is crazy, but people are afraid to go live. Therefore, it will be easier to attract the attention of the audience with such a tool.
5. Storytelling, seriality
Create a plot in stories so that one story continues another, even for more than one day. People are interested in something long-lasting, changing, that's why TV shows are so popular now.
You can turn your life into one of them by using storytelling wisely. nine0003
But of course it doesn't have to be “I got up. I ate. I went to work. I came back from work". Think about what you can make a series from in your life, for example, some process is running at work or a new stage has begun in your life - training, take interesting moments from there every day and build it into a plot.
6. Tag other accounts
Another cool way to increase your reach in stories is to tag other users. What are we talking about? For example, you met with your friend and spent time together. You can post some story, whether it's your joint photo or just a funny video and tag a friend. Accordingly, a friend will repost your story and his audience will be able to go to your account and see this story already with you. Then a sharp jump in coverage will follow, because the number of viewers will be greater due to the audience from two accounts. nine0003
7.
Shooting quality Take care of a good camera on the device and lighting when recording stories. Consider the sound so that there is no rustling, wind, etc. Also make sure that the background is appropriate, otherwise it will be strange if, for example, you blog about design, in order to increase the coverage in your story, you talk about some kind of interior solution, and in the background you will have a grandmother's carpet on the wall.
8. Music
Because of it, stories can be viewed more than once - turn on again, stop, etc. By the way, catch a life hack about how easy it is to insert the desired track into the video. For example, you mount it in Inshot. Before that, go to Tik Tok, turn on the desired song and make a screen recording. And when you insert music into the video, select “Extract from video” - that screen recording from tik tok
- How to increase Reels reach
Today, the Reels video section is becoming more and more popular, especially due to the fact that Instagram is more user-friendly than Tik-Tok and getting into the "rivers" is much easier than on the sensational TT site.
1. Trends, challenges, etc.
One of the simple yet effective ways to increase your reach. Their advantage is that in order to get into the recommendations, you don’t have to puzzle over what content will “fly” and what won’t. The main thing is to shoot a trending video, in general, what is at the peak of popularity and the likelihood that more users will see you will increase several times. nine0003 Trend in the Reels section
2. Popular music
The same applies to music trending. If you want to get into the recommendations - shoot videos to the sound that is at the peak of popularity. However, sometimes just choosing a popular track and adding it to your clip will not be enough. Sometimes more suitable, authentic music is needed, and, perhaps, with the addition of your voice acting.
3. Hashtags
Another of the free and effective methods of promoting and increasing coverage. Hashtags are used to divide content by content, search for posts by content, add headings to your account, and promote your personal brand.
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In general, many underestimate the power of hashtags. To get the most out of them, you need to know how to use them wisely. Not only do you mindlessly copy them from time to time - you need to work with them, just like with any other SMM tool. The moment that is important to consider when choosing hashtags is their frequency (how often this or that hashtag was used).
Another point that you also need to pay attention to is relevance. She suggests that the hashtags below the video should be an accurate description of what is happening in the video. Don't aim for a combination of only the most popular tags - rather take the time to ensure that the tags clearly describe the topic of your video. nine0003 Thematic hashtags in the Reels video
4. Remix (aka Duet)
Today, Instagram officially launched a new "Remix" feature, which is very similar to the existing "Duets" on Tik-Tok. It also allows you to interact with another person's content while creating your own.
