PATCHOGUE, N.Y., Feb. 1, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — 80% of users on Instagram follow a business, making it a great idea to utilize the platform and increase brand awareness. Perhaps you’ve made an account, but despite the millions of users on Instagram, your engagement rate hasn’t increased.
Internet marketing agency, fishbat, has put together several tips to help you build your brand’s Instagram engagement, so you like many others’ can take advantage of the powerful platform’s massive user base.
How is Instagram Engagement Calculated?
The basic calculation for Instagram’s engagement rate is “Engagement = Engagement/Followers.” This means any time a user likes, comments, shares, or reposts your content you get a boost in engagement. The higher your engagement rate, the better the placement of your post on your follower’s feeds. Having high engagement also increases the chance that Instagram will feature your post on their Explore page.
An account with fewer followers will have less engagement than one with more so pay attention to the quality of the interactions per-follower as opposed to just the total quantity of likes and comments. Although engagements work together to boost your rate and visibility, a comment goes a step further by forming discussions on your content.
Below are four tips to increase your brand’s Instagram engagement.
Leverage Hashtags
Posts with at least one hashtag have a 12.6% boost in engagement. Instagram allows you to choose 30 hashtags to reach a wider audience but posts with an excessive amount of visible hashtags, especially if they aren’t carefully curated, can look unprofessional. We’ll cover how to handle this later.
Choosing the Correct Hashtags
The key to choosing the correct hashtags is by understanding your target audience. Researching and cultivating a better understanding of their likes, dislikes, and what inspires them to engage will help you make an informed decision. Be sure to keep your brands’ voice and mission in mind to create a unified tone across the platform.
Trending hashtags are often underutilized. Stay up-to-date and utilize up-and-coming hashtags when possible, allowing you to take advantage of popular topics and increase your chances of being an integral part of current conversations.
Long-tail hashtags and branded hashtags help your brand stand out from the competition. Long-tail hashtags are targeted and have fewer posts associated with them, increasing visibility. The same is true for branded hashtags. Branded hashtags can be your brand name or a digital movement you create. For example, you may create a unique hashtag to advertise a specific product line.
Always share user-generated content that results from your product related hashtags. User-generated content increases conversion rates by at least 4.5%.
When You Add Hashtags Matters
The best way to balance out hashtag use and visual appeal is to carefully choose when and where to post which hashtags to use. When using popular and trending hashtags include them in your initial post. Competition is tough and the feeds for those hashtags move quickly. Niche, long-tail and branded hashtags are more flexible and can be placed in your caption or in a comment directly after your post.
Utilize CTA’s in Your Captions
Adding a call-to-action to your captions encourages users to interact with your post. You can ask questions, atop method of encouraging comments. You can also request followers to comment or tag a friend, and even ask followers to check out new products or share their opinions. CTA’s are a great way to build a conversation and can bring users back to your post to respond to others.
Interact Often
When a follower comments on your posts, reply to them as soon as you can. Be sure to tag the user so they get a notification of your response. The simple act of responding to your followers will make them feel important and gives them a reason to continue communicating with your brand.
Don’t Just Interact with Your Own Followers
Engage with followers that interact with content that is similar to yours. Starting conversations with users on other accounts can pique their interest. If they already find a competitor’s content interesting, they will most likely find yours appealing as well. There are several methods you can use to find accounts that share your target audience. One option is searching keywords and hashtags that are related to your brand. Another option is reviewing Instagram’s recommendations.
Important Note: Engage with users before and after you create a new post to lure them to your profile. When your content has a high engagement rate within the first 15 minutes of posting, the likelihood of it appearing on the Explore page, often seen as an essential part of expanding visibility, increases.
Use Geotags
Instagram’s 2014 Q3 report shows that geotags increase engagement by almost 80%. Geotags can be utilized as both an engagement boost and as an attraction of users nearby that may show potential interest. Having local followers can increase the potential of in-store sales.
About fishbat
Online marketing firm fishbat is a full-service digital marketing agency that takes a holistic business approach to their clients’ digital marketing programs. The fishbat team understands the importance of business principles just as well as the nuances of the latest digital technologies. fishbat offers every digital marketing service available from digital marketing research and planning to brand development to website and asset creation through social media management and search engine optimization programs – all custom calibrated for both B2B and B2C businesses.
Press Contact: Scott Darrohn, fishbat Media, 855-347-4228, press@fishbat.com
SOURCE fishbat