Increase engagement on Instagram With 3 Quick Tips

Instagram was the fastest growing social network of 2015. While its stats don’t compare to the behemoth of Facebook, Instagram’s 400 million active users tops Twitter by almost 100 million.

Instagram started as a platform for images, and images still have slightly higher engagement than video. But video is growing, and the company has shown a commitment to video, recently introducing view counts, which they’ve promised will be “the first of many ways you’ll see video on Instagram get better this year.”

The network’s rapid growth, popularity among snake people (90% of users are under 35), and commitment to video moving forward means everyone should consider Instagram as part of their social video strategy. Whether you’re using Instagram now or looking to get started, try out these tips for increasing engagement on the platform.

Engage with your followers’ content

Instagram works best when you do more than simply broadcast. Users want to communicate and connect, so you should be actively doing this as well.

A comment or a like on a followers photo is a signal that you’re interested in what they’re sharing, not just the message you’re sending out. That engagement with their content will draw them back to your own, and make them more invested in your brand.

Regramming (sharing another’s post, which must be done through third-party apps) can go a long way in developing that investment, too. It’s exciting for a user to see themselves credited and their content shared by a brand they like. And it’s an action that signals to all your followers that you’re an active part of the community, not just a broadcaster.

Encourage a conversation

Whether as a part of your video or in the accompanying caption, try prompting a conversation among your audience.

If you’re posting about a current event, you might ask for their opinion or for questions in the comments. If you’re sharing a funny clip, you could ask your followers to tag a friend who the clip reminds them of.

As with the above tip, don’t just start a conversation, be a part of it. Respond to questions that are raised and engage with thoughts that are shared. It’s social/i> media, after all.

Boost engagement on Instagram with a contest

Many people like to be recognized and or get stuff for free, and will engage with your posts for the possibility of reward. Ask followers to like a series of posts to be entered, or to tag a number of friends in the comments. This is great for engagement on Instagram and also brings new potential audience members directly to your feed.

Not everyone has swag to give away, but not every competition has to result in free, physical goodies. Try a submission contest, where users create their own Instagram video for you. Ask them to tag your page and use any associated hashtags. You can regram entries onto your feed, and let your audience pick a winner with likes.

This gets your name onto a lot of individual pages and also creates a personal investment for your followers. If they want to win, they’ll be encouraging friends to go to your feed and vote with their “like.” It’s all a win for you.

The one thing that’s extremely important for engagement on Instagram is being social with your followers and active in the community of the network. Treat your audience like friends and try to have a little fun – they will too.

Is your content best suited for Instagram? Maybe it’ll perform better on Facebook, Twitter or even YouTube?

Check out our post Facebook vs YouTube: Where should you post video content to find out which one of the major players is the best destination for your content.

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