Instagram is an exclusively new social media platform as compared to old standbys such as LinkedIn and Facebook. It has an active user base of more than 600 million. Moreover, it is constantly growing at a remarkable rate.
But as big as this platform is, it is difficult to keep your followers coming back. Despite many ways to increase followers on blogs, channels, and vlogs, it has become a real struggle for want-to-be-Instagram-famous personalities and brands to reach and target new audiences.
Thanks to Instagram’s latest algorithm, it is really hard for you to score followers without being shady.
Despite beating Instagram’s algorithm, you could invest your time in cultivating the Instagram community that you had cultivated.
If your goal is to have your content be seen by more eyeballs on Instagram, here are some 8 engaging ways to hook your audience:
Include Them in The Conversation
One of the best ways to engage people on your page or personal blog is to engage them in healthy and interactive conversations rather than thinking of them as content consumers all the time. On Instagram, it is all about cultivating a community, not the following count.
To boost engagement on your posts, all you have to do is ask questions at the end of the post, put up polls on your stories, and even encourage them to come up with their own experiences.
People are willing to engage more and more when they feel included in a community. By building a community instead of an audience, you can get more comments, likes, and reposts for sure.
Host an Instagram Live
All the Instagram-famous personalities love to go live. You can start a weekly series of live videos and even invite a guest or two every week to entertain your followers. It is an unfiltered way to engage your followers because the communication bridge is transparent.
It is not only a great opportunity to engage your followers but to also have a real-time conversation with them.
Reply to Direct Messages Using Videos
The Instagram audience loves to get replies. It is time-consuming to type replies for every one of your followers. Instead, you can video replies. Not only is it convenient but it also makes the followers happy and hooked.
It is always easier to talk and explain than to sit down and text. Even though it is kind of a one-sided relationship with the followers but its more engaging and increases the engagement on your posts as well as story polls and questionnaires.
Curate Service-Oriented Content
For your followers to get engaged, you need to give them something valuable. Whether it is a daily inspiration or a new idea, you need to curate unique content every day to score followers and boost engagement on your profile.
Sure, a picture of a latte with a macaroon is lovely and might just increase engagement but it would be far better with a descriptive caption about life and little good things in life. Small captions, such as ‘blessed Friday’ is not going to get you meaningful engagement.
Think about helping or serving your followers using your content. Service-oriented content does not only raise your following count but also gives you meaningful comments under everything your post.
Be Relatable
It is easier to be relatable than to be aspirational or inspirational. However, it does not mean your content is not going to be inspirational for good.
Sometimes, showcasing your true self to your followers can be very helpful to your profile as most people regard perfect life to be detrimental. It creates walls between you and your audience.
If you succeed to relate to your followers on a personal level, not only will they love your content but will also regard your opinions as genuine. They will be sharing user-generated content and engaging under your posts more than ever.
Reply to Comments on Posts
Many Instagram-famous content creators do not reply to comments and it affects their following count. How are you supposed to build a community if you cannot even reply to them? It might be difficult for you but taking out half an hour to reply to the comments can make a huge difference.
Start by Impressing Your Followers
People never follow an Instagram profile if it does not have a high following count. It is in human nature to follow what everyone is following. That is why it is important to jumpstart your Instagram profile by having a prominent number of followers.
But, how can you get such as high following count, especially when you are about to begin your journey? The answer is simple. By getting organic followers. There are many online platforms, offering organic followers.
Unlike fake followers, they do not mess with Instagram’s algorithm. Instead, they increase your engagement rate steadily.
Many online platforms are serving for this very reason. You can either buy 100 IG followers or 1000. It depends on how big of a leap you want to take. But it is always good to start with big.
Post-User-Generated Content on Your Profile
The best way to have your followers engaged is to encourage them to curate content for your blog or brand. You can feature beautiful videos and images created by your followers. The more you post user-generated content, the more engagement you are likely to get.
Conclusion
There’s no one-size-fits-for-all formula for curating content that elicits or boosts engagement on your feed but trying out above tactics could get you started or help you find your ‘sweet spot’, especially if you want engagement from the audience.
