How to Increase Engagement on Instagram

With over one billion monthly active users, Instagram has become one of the top five social media sites. What’s striking is that its user base is so diverse. From high school and college students and celebrities to dog lovers and people who love seeing American Idol finalists’ rehearsals.

This also means that competition is absolutely fierce, and you have to bring your A-Game if you want to get engaging followers. In this guide, we’re going to explore how to increase engagement on Instagram and help you grow your page and business exponentially.

Reply to Your Instagram Comments

One of the best strategies for increasing engagement on Instagram is replying to every single person who comments on your posts. This shows that you’re listening and makes people feel more connected to you.

If someone takes the time out of their day to leave a comment, they deserve a response. And if you don’t have time to actually post a photo right at that moment, write out a response to comments in your drafts.

Don’t Post for Likes or Followers

Another great way to stay ahead of Instagram competition is by not posting for likes or followers. As soon as you do that, the quality of your content will go down. Instead, post things that genuinely interest you and elevate your personal brand.

Also ask yourself, “Would other people find this interesting?” If you start asking these questions about your posts more often, eventually you’ll create better content because it will be fun and authentic.

Avoid Posting Too Often

This somewhat contradicts some of the previous points, but posting less can actually make your content more engaging. If you flood Instagram with 10-20 photos every day, not everyone is going to see each post.

A good rule of thumb is to post between one and three times a day, which is just enough to keep your followers interested without overwhelming them. This is one of the best ways to increase Instagram engagement.

Don’t Over Hashtag

Hashtags are great on Instagram as they let people find photos on specific themes. But if you hashtag every word in your photo description, no one will click the tags. Instead of hashtagging entire sentences or lengthy phrases, use one or two descriptive hashtags per picture.

Be Consistent

If you need to understand how to increase engagement on Instagram, then consistency is one of the best ways to do it. Some days people are more active on social media than others, but your followers will look forward to more content.

If they constantly find that you haven’t posted, they’ll have no reason to come back. If you want to increase engagement on Instagram, be consistent with your posting schedule.

Allow Replies From Everyone

Most social media sites allow people to turn off comments or notifications from strangers, but Instagram does not. While this might make sense for celebrities who want to be secretive about their lives, it’s unnecessary for regular users.

If you don’t want to hear from strangers, turn off notifications if a comment is vulgar or has nothing to do with your content. Besides, engaging strangers and interacting with them is one of the best ways to increase engagement on Instagram.

Avoid Hashtagging in the Caption

Hashtags are supposed to make it easier for people who don’t know what you’re talking about. However, if you include one in your caption, it defeats the purpose.

Even worse, hashtagging in the caption means Instagram will only show your photo to people who follow all of the hashtags you use. Increasing engagement on Instagram involves using hashtags properly to attract the right audiences.