Is your Instagram engagement rate keeping you up at night?
*Sheepishly raises hand*
It stresses everyone out at some point, whether you’re a newbie growing your account or a full-blown influencer with thousands of followers.
After all, engagement isn’t just a vanity metric – it’s money. The more people who see and interact with your content, the more likely you can monetize your online presence.
But how do you fix it once your numbers drop?
Sure, you can add relevant hashtags and a call to action to your Instagram posts, but that’s not enough anymore.
Start implementing these six tips and strategies if you want to work with the Instagram algorithm and whip your engagement rate back into shape.
How to Increase Instagram Engagement
1. Create Shareable and Saveable Content
You need to give your followers a REASON to engage with your content.
Remember, it’s not about you but what you can add to their lives, whether it’s entertainment, news, or knowledge.
When you’re crafting a post in Plann, ask yourself:
“What is the value? What do my followers get out of this?”
This line of thinking will help you create meaningful content. It will automatically attract likes, shares, and saves because your followers will feel inspiration or aspiration.
Let’s workshop through an example.
Say you’re a travel blogger and you’re visiting Paris. You have two options:
1. Post a picture of the Eiffel Tower with the caption “Je t’aimes Paris!”
2. Share a carousel post and write a caption that details where to find the best photo spots of the Eiffel Tower
In the first post, your followers have no reason to engage. Maybe your best friends will chime in with a “yas queen so jelly!” but there isn’t a strong enough reason for someone to want to share your post.
The second post, on the other hand, is valuable. You’re sharing information someone can use to plan their trip to Paris. It’s worth saving to reference in the future, and that’s how you can increase your Instagram engagement.
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2. Level Up Your Carousel Posts
Photo dumps are a massive trend on Instagram right now.
It’s a way for users to share unedited clips from their week or recap the month’s highlights.
But are you missing out on the power of carousel posts for your brand?
With the ability to upload 10 photos or videos, it’s the perfect format for you to hook your followers in, tell a story, and drive engagement.
Dr Nicole LePera, aka @the.holistic.psychologist, uses her platform to educate her audience on various mental health topics and relationship dynamics.
Her post method of choice? Carousel posts.
Dr LePera uses each slide to deepen your knowledge of a topic. Keeping the information short and to the point encourages users to scroll through all 10 slides, increasing dwell time which signals to the algorithm your content is engaging.
By educating her audience, she is simultaneously creating shareable and saveable content. It’s a double-whammy. The 2-for-1 special that’ll knock your Instagram engagement out of the park.
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3. Design Custom Quotes Graphics
There’s something about quotes that have a strong hold on the Internet.
In the golden era of Tumblr and MySpace, quotes dominated users’ feeds. When Pinterest came around, the trend reached a fever pitch. Since then, its popularity has spilt over to other social media platforms, and there are no signs of it slowing down.
On Instagram, the quote trend has morphed into repurposing tweets into feed posts.
The best part?
You don’t even need to have Twitter.
Simply log onto Canva and use one of the pre-made templates.
There are three ways you can use quotes to drive engagement:
1. Share an inspirational quote from someone else.
2. Share a relatable quote from you or another person.
3. Share a piece of advice that’s relevant to your audience.
The key here is to make sure whatever you choose will inspire your followers to save or share it.
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4. Use The Collab Feature for Feed Posts and Instagram Reels
The Instagram Collab feature takes tagging an account on a post and turns it up to a level 10.
When you invite other accounts to collaborate on feed posts and Reels, that post shows up on both your profiles
And you know what that means?
Double the engagement on Instagram!
You share views, likes, comments, saves, and shares which bolsters the post’s popularity and increases the chances of more people seeing it.
How can you use the Collab feature?
• Co-author your brand deals.
• Co-host your giveaway post.
• Promote your business collaboration.
• Collab with your business and personal account.
• Shout out a friend, family member or someone in your industry that’s inspired or helped you in some way.
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5. Try The “Add Yours” Sticker on Instagram Stories
Instagram posts and Reels aren’t the only places where you can increase Instagram engagement.
Head to your Instagram Stories and try the new “Add Yours” sticker. It’s a great way to create a challenge with your audience and maybe go viral.
Need some ideas?
• Plant shop: Ask your followers to share their favourite indoor plant.
• Travel influencer: Encourage your followers to send pictures of their favourite country.
• Fashion brand: Invite your fans to style a look with one of your items.
That’s not all.
While creating Instagram Stories, use the other Stickers to increase your engagement rates. Create a poll, ask a question, or quiz your audience.
These are all easy ways to drive higher engagement and turn those lurkers into true fans.
6. Post When Your Audience Is Online
Looking for the easiest, low-effort way to increase engagement on Instagram?
Post when your audience is online and most engaged. Some studies say the best time to post on Instagram is 7 am. However, that time won’t work for everyone.
You need to figure out your own personal best time based on your audience.
How do you do that? With Plann, of course!
When you schedule your post, you’ll have the option to select “when your audience is most online”. The feature automatically calculates your best posting times based on your top-performing posts.
Increase Your Instagram Engagement Rate With Plann
Ready to get over your Instagram slump and whip your account into shape?
Sign up for a 7-day trial Plann Pro today and start planning your Instagram content with these tips in mind.
Before you know it, your feed posts, Instagram stories, and Reels will start performing better, and you can use those extra eyeballs to drive traffic to your business.
