Every business owner knows that they should be on Instagram.
But the best tactics to increase engagement and customers on Instagram can be a mystery with the algorithm changing so constantly.
So today, we’re going to give you the 7 best Instagram marketing hacks to improve your strategy.
Let’s jump RIGHT into it.
7 Best Instagram Engagement Hacks To Increase Engagement
Hack #1: Optimize Your Profile For Instagram Search
So, here’s the truth…
Instagram is a search engine.
Your customers are searching on Instagram with keywords related to your business.
If you don’t show up, your competitors will.
But we wouldn’t want that to happen to you so here’s how to take advantage of the increasing search capability on Instagram.
Two fields within your Instagram profile show up in search:
- The first field that can display on Instagram search is your handle.
- The second field that can display on Instagram search is your name.
So add 1-2 relevant keywords within your profile handle and name to improve your chances of appearing on Instagram’s search results.
Origi Sunglasses uses this Instagram marketing strategy exceptionally well. Notice how they use the word sunglasses in both their handle and username.
If someone searches for sunglasses, there’s a good chance that they will show up.
If you’d like to get free and relevant traffic to your IG page, then this is the Instagram engagement hack for you!
Hack #2: Re-Engage Your Community
The Instagram algorithm prioritizes engagement – especially engagement within the first hour of posting.
And it is actually one of the Instagram metrics that is often overlooked although it is the easiest to influence.
Can you guess which metric we’re referring to?
We’re talking about comments.
Yes, comments are just as important as likes, shares, and saves.
And the quicker you can get comments, the better your post will perform.
So how do you get as many comments as you can, and as quickly as you can?
You reply back to EVERYONE who comments on your post as QUICKLY as possible.
This instantly doubles your engagement.
But, instead of a generic reply like “Thanks”…
We want you to reply with a question or statement that gets them to engage back – yes, to have an actual conversation.
By doing so, you quickly increase the amount of engagement you have on your post.
And it trains the Instagram algorithm on your relationship making it more likely to show up in their feed.
Now, here’s a pro-tip to increase your chances of getting comments: Ask your audience a question in the comments and pin it as the first comment.
Hack #3: Post at Optimal Times
Over 500 million people use Instagram every day.
But that statistic is meaningless to you.
The more important statistic is when does your audience use Instagram?
Because knowing that information unlocks the best time to post to get maximum engagement.
So, here’s a relatively unknown way for you to check your own stats to see when most of your followers are on Instagram:
1. Head over to your Instagram Insights.
2. Click Insights and then Your Audience.
3. Then scroll to the bottom until you see “Most Active Times” and cycle through both day and hour.
Voila! Now you know the best times to post because you know exactly when your audience is on Instagram.
Alternatively, if you use a tool like Hootsuite or Zoho Social to schedule your posts in advance, they should have the best time to post feature built-in.
When you use hashtags properly, you unlock massive reach potential for your posts – at no cost.
That’s because Instagram posts that use hashtags increase engagement by 12.6% compared to posts without them.
And posts that use at least 9 hashtags per post get 2.5x more engagement than posts with only one hashtag.
So, you need to use more hashtags.
However, not all hashtags are not created equal.
Some hashtags are too competitive for your posts to cut through the noise.
Other hashtags are not active enough to have any benefit.
This means having the right mix of Instagram hashtags is extremely important.
So here are 2 tips to help you maximize the benefit of using hashtags:
1. Make sure the hashtags you use are relevant to your business. Do your hashtag research.
2. Use at least 9 hashtags on every post.
- 2-3 hashtags with over 200k posts
- 2-3 hashtags with between 80k to 200k posts
- 2-3 niche hashtags specific to your industry or location
- 1-2 branded hashtags
Note that when using hashtags, feel free to place them in your caption or your comments.
No data is available that shows a massive benefit of using one style over the other, but here’s a pro tip for you:
Add one hashtag within your story posts.
Yes, that’s right. Hashtags work within stories too.
Hack #5: Post More Frequently
Your worst performing piece of content is the one you don’t post.
With that being said, if you want to boost your marketing with Instagram and grow on this platform, post at least once a day at a bare minimum.
But if possible, post even more.
When you increase your number of posts, you increase your chance of engagement.
You also train the algorithm to deepen the relationship between those that engage with your posts often.
This is actually one of the most effective Instagram engagement hacks we have here.
Think about some of the fastest-growing brands on Instagram. They all post multiple items per day with no drop in engagement.
Gary Vaynerchuck: 3x per day
Dave Ramsey: 2 – 3x per day
Fashionnova: 10x per day
So don’t be afraid to post more frequently.
The key is to maintain quality while increasing frequently.
Hack #6: Post What is Already Working
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
A saying we all know and one we can apply to create engaging Instagram content.
Believe it or not, your audience has already told you the exact content they want to see from you.
The answer to what to post on Instagram is hidden within your Instagram Insights.
Let us show you what we mean…
While on your Instagram profile:
1. Tap Insights
2. Go to Posts
3. Select “Engagement”
Next, analyze your top 5-10 posts in terms of engagement and note the similarities.
- Did you use an image, video, or carousel?
- What colors did you use?
- What type of caption did you use?
Of all the Instagram engagement hacks we have here, this single hack alone is likely the most useful.
It helps you understand the exact type of content you should create to increase engagement and saves you from reinventing the wheel.
Hack #7: Clean Up Your Feed
When using Instagram for business, there are posts on your page that are quietly actually hurting your performance.
Here’s how: Time on page is important to the Instagram algorithm.
The more time someone spends on your Instagram profile, the more it deepens your relationship with that person – which trains the Instagram algorithm.
But, not all posts contribute to helping your time on-page.
Examples might be:
- Content with old promotions
- Content with lower than average engagement
- Content with retired branding
Instead of completely deleting them from your feed, archive them so they are publicly removed from your feed.
But you can still check comments and analytics on those posts.
Conclusion
There you have it – 7 Instagram engagement hacks you can use for your business or brand.
As you probably know, Instagram is one of the best social media platforms that brands can utilize to achieve massive exposure to their audience.
If you’re one of those marketers who want to take advantage of this social network, then check out our Instagram marketing services.
Contact us today!