4 Proven Ways to Increase Your Instagram Engagement

If there’s one blog goal you should have in 2017 it’s to increase your engagement. Authentic engagement is SUPER hard to come by. But once you have it, it’ll be pretty easy to maintain.

So what’s the big deal? Why is engagement so important?

Engagement is important because it shows you can hold your followers’ attention. And getting attention is something brands struggle with. So once you have the attention of your followers, you’ll get the attention of brands and once you get brands’ attention, the sky is the limit. Brands know advertising is a thing of the past so they’re now relying more on bloggers (aka influenced marketing) to get them the publicity they need.

So when you have true engagement even if your followers aren’t as strong as some other blogger’s, it puts you in a position of power. You always want to keep building that community and keep engaging with those who are engaging with you. Trust me. With that said, here are some tips to get you there…

engage with other bloggers to increase your instagram engagement

When bloggers unite, magic happens. Bloggers are the most supportive group of people I’ve ever met. They will go above and beyond for their fellow blogger babes.

So, like I mentioned above, engaging with bloggers who engage with you is a smart move and engaging with bloggers who don’t engage with you is smart, too. The bloggers whose pictures you comment on will usually return the favor by commenting on your picture, thus giving you more comments. That’s the obvious benefit to engaging with other bloggers. The less obvious benefit is when a blogger comments on your picture, that blogger’s followers see it so it ultimately brings more awareness to your Instagram page.

If nothing else, commenting on another blogger’s picture gives that blogger the opportunity to comment back, which again brings attention to your Instagram. So if you want that recognition, comment something great and hopefully, you’ll get a great response back.

use humor to increase your instagram engagement

When I’ve written a humorous caption on Instagram, or commented something funny on someone else’s Instagram, it ALWAYS gets higher engagement than when I don’t. People like funny, they like to have a good giggle during their day, who doesn’t?

Plus, incorporating humor into your content shows you have a personality. It gives your followers something to relate to. For example, I captioned one picture on Instagram by saying “Guess why my hand is covering my face? A. I have a pimple, B. I’m deep in thought, C. I just picked an ingrown hair”. I had a ton of bloggers commenting laughing emojis and engaging with my picture. It was a total hit.

I’ve also used the caption “Another awkward hand pose…” which got a great response from other bloggers relating to the struggle of getting the perfect shot. THAT is authentic engagement and that’s exactly what you want.

ask for input from your readers to increase your instagram engagement

Another one of my biggest engagement boosts is by asking for input. Your followers/readers feel more connected to you when they’re part of the process. In fact, your readers should be your only focus. Obviously, you start a blog for you but that blog should quickly mold to the needs of your readers because they’re the ones reading it!

You can ask them what they want to see more of, what their biggest challenge is, what their favorite blog posts were, etc. You can also ask them for recommendations, which is a great opportunity to connect with your “fans”.

In fact, I just did this the other day on Instagram for bathing suits. I asked my followers what their favorite bathing suit brands were and almost every single comment was in response to my question. That shows that people A. cared enough to read the caption and B. are engaged with my content; both of which are things you want.

(I’m still seriously on the hunt for great quality bathing suits so if you know any brands please comment below and tell me!)

utilize instastories/instagram live to increase your engagement

A lot of bloggers left Snapchat and now use Instastories exclusively because it’s easier. Well, I don’t agree with that at all BUT I do agree that you should use Instastories and Instagram Live.

Like I’ve said time and time again, video is king and it’s as close to real life as you can get so if you’re not incorporating it into your blogging, you’re missing a huge opportunity. Video really allows viewers to see your personality, which makes them feel like they’re friends with you. And what do friends do? They engage with each other.

Instagram live is still a feature Instagram is trying to push so right now your followers are notified anytime you go live, which is great news for you. They can tune in and chime in. You can ask questions, they can answer, they can ask questions, you can answer. I love Instagram live, it’s the best.

Whatever you do, make sure you’re adding value in ALL your videos. It could be something as simple as documenting your daily hustle or getting your hair done (and the steps in doing so), etc. Just add value! Don’t go live when you’re partying with your friends, no one wants to see that. Don’t go live when you’re eating, no one wants to see that either. Go live when it’s meaningful and you’ll be glad you did.

 

Do you struggle to get Instagram engagement? What’s your biggest issue with it? Let’s chat in the comments!

xx

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