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8 Ideas to Boost Instagram Engagement in 2022
Updated: August 25, 2022
If you’re looking to increase engagement on Instagram, you’re at the right place. From creating memes to hosting AMAs (ask me anything), there are tons of ways to engage and connect with your community.
In this blog, we’ll be sharing 8 surefire ways to increase your Instagram engagement in 2022.
You’ll often hear social media gurus saying that brands need to be active daily to boost their engagement by posting 2-3 posts a day. Unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all rule for posting frequency. Some brands can get away with 1 post per week, while others will post as many as 5 times a day.
The best approach is to first create quality content that drives real value, then stick to a consistent posting schedule to build up your engagement. Remember to post according to what you can realistically manage. Experiment with different ways to reach your audience, and pay attention to your analytics to gather the relevant insights and tweak your frequency based on what rings true for you.
You can learn more about how to evaluate your Instagram Analytics here.
It’s 2022, so naturally, sharing relatable memes are the norm in social media marketing strategies these days. Memes are funny, witty, and relatable.
Posting the right meme will help to bridge the gap between you and your audience, which also encourages them to share your post with their friends too. Of course, the memes that you post should be relevant to your overall brand personality. Jumping on the pop culture bandwagon helps you build content visibility, brand relevance, and keep your brand current.
The best part about creating memes for Instagram, is the creative freedom to express using existing content that’s currently trending. You can create a meme by adding branded text with a trending photo and caption that fits your content pillar strategy. Or source other user-generated content and credit the original creator, much like how Later does theirs:
One of the key elements to driving engagement is by creating content that is save-able–the kind that is valuable to your audience. You’ll see many creators designing content that are both impactful and yet, aesthetically pleasing.
You can start by sharing valuable information in carousel posts. Before Instagram Reels became the crowd’s favorite, Instagram carousels were the go-to for boosting engagement. Some might even call it a gold mine for engagement.
This feature allows users to share up to 10 pictures, videos, or other graphics all within one post. There are so many ways you can be creative with your carousel posts–you can share ‘edutaining’ content, promote a local cause, or offer tips that provide value to your audience. The opportunities are endless especially if you think about each slide as a chance to educate, entertain, and engage your audience.
If you’re looking to boost engagement with your community, then Instagram Stories is a great place to start. In fact, they’re a major part of building a community on Instagram. That’s because they provide the space for creators to let their personality shine through whilst sharing content with their audience.
After all, Instagram Stories are designed to be interactive, whether it’s for chats with your followers, asking questions, or sharing a personal story. They’re informal and easy to create–they’re the perfect recipe for promoting audience engagement.
As a brand, you can use Stories to host Q&As, get to know your audience, or host an employee takeover series. Showing your face every once in a while does have its benefits because it helps to build brand awareness and humanize your brand. Plus, people are more likely to be engaged when they see a face appear in pictures, yet alone in videos. Studies have shown that Instagram pictures with faces are 38% more likely to receive likes than those without.
So don’t be afraid to show up on your Stories! We’ll explore the tools you can use to boost engagement Stories in the next section.
Source: Later
Instagram Stories Stickers are the perfect additions Instagram has added into their platform. They’re fun, interactive, and great at helping you grow followers who feel connected to your brand.
Instagram has rolled out a variety of quick and easy ways to use their stickers, to name a few:
Some of these Instagram Stories Stickers like the question sticker are perfect for opening up direct conversations with your followers. You can use it to prompt them to ask you questions, give feedback, or simply to get to know your audience better.
One popular favorite is using it to host an AMA (ask me anything). This Reddit trend that originated from the early 2000s has made its way onto the Instagram scene. Users like to feel like they’re part of something bigger, so opening up the floor to answering their questions and vice versa is a great avenue for that. The best part about collecting these entries is that you can hop onto your stories to answer them which helps to make them feel seen.
As one of their newer additions to the Instagram Stories Stickers game, the “Add Yours” sticker is a new way to create viral content chains on the app. It allows you to add your own media according to whatever prompt a user shares. This could be anything from asking your followers to show their office views to their favorite weekend activity.
You just need to select it from the lineup of stickers, write a prompt, and share it. When you take part in an “Add Yours” sticker, you’re also encouraging your community to take part. Once you’ve started a chain, you’re able to see which one of your followers have joined via your Stories. That’s one quick way to get a conversation rolling directly with your followers.
If your brand is posting content without a call to action (CTA), then you’re missing out. As a digital marketer or business owner, there are specific actions you want your audience to take. For example, to subscribe to your newsletter or share your post for a giveaway. Either way, having a clear CTA will nudge your audience in the right direction. Think of them as signposts for your audience on what to do next.
Plus, the beauty of Instagram captions is that you can add your creative flair and brand voice to it. Here are a couple ideas to get you started:
Apart from using these in Post or Reel captions, you can include them in your Stories too. With its top of the feed placement, alongside interactive stickers and links, Instagram Stories is a prime channel for brands to drive awareness, traffic, sales, and engagement. Besides, with the updated Instagram Link Sticker, everyone can now add links in their Instagram Stories (regardless whether they’re a verified Instagram account or have a small following).
Since Instagram Stories have a shorter lifespan than Instagram Posts, here are some ways you can include CTAs to prompt them to:
Posting when your audience is most engaged sounds like an obvious tactic but it’s a great one for boosting engagement nonetheless. According to Sprout Social, the best time to post on Instagram is Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10 am to 1pm.
Source: Sprout Social
However, each brand’s best time will vary depending on their audience’s behavior. You can find out by manually keeping track of when you post on Instagram and how well your content performs over time.
It’s undeniable that Instagram Reels are now a major part of the Instagram experience and this love for micro-videos can be attributed to TikTok’s fame during 2020. This other facet of the app has been used by creators, brands, and even individuals like you and me!
There are so many fun and engaging ways to make this type of bite-sized, digestible video content. You can:
Repurpose TikTok videos – if your brand is already established on TikTok, repurposing your videos for Instagram Reels will help you get more out of your content with less of the work.
Hitting a high level of engagement on Instagram is every social media marketer’s dream. With the help of these tips, you’ll be better equipped to maximize your content’s reach to your target audience. Next time you’re planning your content, try to incorporate these tips and watch your engagement grow!
Are you looking to supercharge your Instagram content and strategy? We’re here to help. Get in touch with us at hello@medianetic.me, or drop us a message via our chatbot below! We look forward to partnering with you.
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