Instagram is an online platform built around entertainment and engagement; creators can harness it to grow their brand. Engagement is vital to viral popularity and monetizing your account; mastering the art of engagement can propel your content into the spotlight, carving out a niche for you and your brand.
Do you want to increase engagement on Instagram? Learn how to grow on Instagram through eight impactful strategies that can take your popularity to the next level.
Every Instagram post, reel, and story competes for views. The quality of your content and the way you share it make a significant impact on engagement. Here’s how to get more followers on Instagram with key strategies aimed at elevating your presence on the platform.
Many aspects work together to cultivate a successful and popular Instagram account. For every piece of content you produce, you need to focus on the what and the why.
Prioritize Quality
Quantity isn’t always good—especially if you’re just flooding your feed instead of producing valuable content. To create posts that connect with your audience, focus on substance with interesting stories, captivating and original images, and insightful tips.
Produce Creative Content
All content on Instagram involves a visual centerpiece. Compelling images and videos are your most powerful tools. Focus on creating original content that stops scrolling in its tracks. You aim to post items people will remember, even when they close the app.
Write Interesting Captions
A caption can make or break your post. Create captions that make people think and start a conversation in the comments. Ask questions, tell entertaining stories, and always include a call to action so fans can take the next step that furthers their engagement.
You can post any time of day, but strategic timing can increase the chance of your target audience seeing your content. Optimal timing depends on these factors:
Consistency: Regular posts ensure your content consistently appears on the top of your followers’ feeds. Staying in your niche also creates a sense of stability for followers who know what to expect from your account.
Audience Behavior: It’s best to post when your audience is active. Use insight tools to find peak activity time and then experiment with posting at different times to discover when your posts accrue the most likes and comments.
Stories and reels diversify your content and provide new ways to get noticed and gain followers, so make sure you take advantage of them.
Stories Gain Real-Time Engagement
Stories only last for 24 hours and are viewed for a handful of seconds before disappearing. People respond to questions, polls, and quizzes in real time during this brief window. Use stories to share exclusive announcements and behind-the-scenes content or respond to current events.
Highlights Save Stories
Most stories disappear after a day, but you can use the highlights feature on your account page to save past stories into highlighted categories. When followers visit your page, they can see these carefully curated story collections. This gives you another opportunity to capture your audience with engaging content.
Reels Capture Large Audiences
An exciting, funny, or sensational reel is the secret to going viral on Instagram. Reels let you participate in trends and share your brand with a wider audience. The better your reel is, the more likely it can land on the Explore page and win new followers.
Interacting with followers is the foundation of building a successful and loyal online community. To increase your engagement on Instagram:
Respond to Comments and DMs: When you respond to followers' and commenters' comments and messages, you show that you are approachable and friendly. A few gracious words can encourage even more people to join the conversation and click that follow button.
Reply Quickly: Social media encourages short attention spans. If you answer comments and DMs quickly, you show your followers that their input matters. It might also send the algorithm the message that your brand is willing to engage with and grow your community.
Lead Conversations: Encourage the audience to respond to your content with their thoughts, opinions, and recommendations. If they feel you care about their thoughts, they are more likely to become active contributors.
You may struggle to attract new followers on your own, but collaborating with another influencer or brand gives you access to all of their followers. Find someone with a similar target audience so their followers are likely to start following you when you share posts.
While too many hashtags ruin a post, a strategically selected group or a popular geotag can catapult your content into the spotlight.
Hashtags
Carefully curated hashtags can lead Instagram users to your account, boosting your popularity and reach.
Use popular hashtags that relate to trending topics or video formats.
Create a few unique brand hashtags to establish a distinct online presence.
Avoid using the same group of hashtags on every post.
Geotags
Geotagging shows the specific place or business you’re posting from. This opens the door for localized engagement and the bonus of promoting local businesses.
Giveaways gain attention rapidly, making them an easy way to receive thousands of likes and comments in record time. Announce in your content that you are giving away an exciting prize (products, trips, or gift cards). Have them complete the following actions to enter:
A simple giveaway could gain you hundreds or even thousands of new followers overnight and may break your record for comments.
As the world changes and technology advances, you need to change along with it. A strategy that works this week might be less successful when new trends arrive next month. Here’s how to keep up with Instagram and give your content a leg up.
Use Analytics and Insights
Instagram has built-in tools that gauge performance and engagement on each post. Use the insights tool to:
Explore metrics including comments, likes, shares, and badges to understand which content works best.
Understand your audience demographics (their age, location, and behavior).
Find patterns in activity to identify the best times to post content.
Keep Up With Trends
It’s impossible to stay an Instagram expert without continuously learning and adapting to trends and changes. Be open to learning by:
Keeping up with what’s popular and what’s going on in the world
Creating content that follows the pattern of viral trends
Listening to comments and recommendations from peers and followers
Replicate Your Most Successful Posts
Instagram is proof that lightning can strike twice. You can achieve the same success of past posts without creating an exact copy of that content. Try to emulate common themes, visuals, style, or messaging while still including subtle new ideas and details.
The conversation doesn’t end with a post—it begins there. Superviral knows how to upgrade your account to the next level by gathering thousands of new likes and comments for your content. When you want to catapult your Instagram account into the popular arena, we’ve got your back.
Explore our packages to kickstart your Instagram account today.