Over one billion people use Instagram.
This represents a reasonably incredible feat for a platform that, just over ten years ago, was nothing over an idea; a figment of imagination, a sheer prospect that could’ve amounted to nada, maybe.
Or maybe not, inevitably transforming into a universally beloved platform that’d feature as a traditional part of day-to-day lives everywhere.
Much like Instagram’s amicable rise in popularity over the past decade, its evolution from the realm of the relatively unknown to something rather more has been dotted with change.
In 2016 we bid farewell to its beloved photographic camera logo, and also waved goodbye to its reverse-chronological feed. now not were newsfeeds displaying content so as of recent to old. The Instagram engagement wasn’t too difficult to master, meaning the likes, comments, and tags would are available a healthy flow. Organic reach, which represents the number of individuals who see your content without that content being boosted or acquired, wasn’t difficult.
After Instagram abandoned the reverse-chronological feed, its organic reach began to depend more on its unique algorithms.
Much like Facebook, this algorithm dictates what content people see once they open up their feed.
People spend approximately 25-minutes per day on Instagram, so playing to ‘what the algorithm wants’ is vital to snaring people’s attention now. Do this, and you’ll likely increase your organic reach on Instagram.
The unfortunate (and somewhat tricky) aspect of all of this is often that this algorithm is continually changing.
But hey, with challenges come opportunities. With the correct smarts and a few savvy social media smarts in situ, you’ll be doing all of your chances of maximizing your organic reach many favors.
Want to extend your organic reach and Instagram engagement?
Here are 9 quick tips that we recommend implementing into your Instagram strategy:
Follow Instagram’s Creators page
This is a GOLD MINE for all things Instagram; all the hints, tips, tricks, advice, and lovely graphics, betrothed and neatly packaged into one beautiful (and devastatingly appealing) Instagram page.
The official page for Instagram’s ‘Creators’ represents the simplest and also the most OFFICIAL spot to urge all the insights into Instagram’s algorithm, and the way to ‘please’ it to possess your content shown to more people.
Remember, while people could be ‘following’ your page, they mightn’t be seeing your content in their newsfeeds. we'd like to try to do what we will to please Instagram’s algorithm to alter that.
Establish Strong relationships on Instagram.
Instagram will put the next emphasis on posts people engage with (comments, likes, views on videos). Increasing your organic reach means going BEYOND simply posting content; it’s super important to interact in conversation and comment, like, tag, view other brands/users’ content.
Get VERIFIED.
Wondering ‘How does one verify your Facebook account?’ Instagram’s help center has you covered: https://help.instagram.com/398038890351915
What times are you posting?
It’s key to post when the general public is online (it’s more likely they’ll see your content).
You could search high and low through the web to find exactly when people are going to be online; different websites will tell you various things.
Across the board, the foremost popular times for accessing social media are evening, the very first thing within the morning, and through lunchtime/midday.
Try and schedule your posts around these times, so as to extend your reach.
Have a regular schedule that you simply follow.
Instagram will give your page traction if you consistently post to a schedule.
At BridgeWeb, we use a scheduling platform that appears in an exceedingly calendar-like format, to confirm we post on an everyday, consistent basis.
Let’s say that on one particular occasion, you posted twice a very day, with two stories. Would you be ready to keep it up? Consistency works for the algorithm; Irregular posting doesn’t.
Keep things consistent, and bam, your Instagram engagement rate might just increase.
what's your current audience already engaging with?
Use the content that's already hitting the mark for your audience as a guide to the way to proceed, moving forward.
Take a glance at your Insights to determine what’s working, what’s not, who is engaging along with your content (you’ll see insights around gender, age range, and location), so forth. It’s important to regularly check your Insights, to confirm you’re giving yourself the simplest possible chance of accelerating your Instagram engagement rate.
Not sure the way to view Instagram insights? so as to try and do this, you would like to confirm your profile may be a business account (otherwise, you won’t be ready to view insights). to look at your insights, visit your profile, and tap the three lines on the highest right of your screen. From here, you’ll see an ‘Insights’ button. You’ll now have the flexibility to look at specific insights on certain posts, stories, or promotions.
Don’t spam your post with hashtags.
While hashtags can increase the organic reach of a post, we recommend performing some hashtag research so posting approximately 2 – 5 hashtags per post.
Increase engagement in your posts.
Asking your audience questions can entice more comments. you'll also get creative and encourage your followers to tag others within the comments. Responding to comments immediately, liking people's comments, and interesting in other brands (see point 2 above) can help increase your Instagram engagement rate.
Do a double-take on the content you’re posting.
Instagram is heavily fuelled by visually-pleasing, ‘easy on the eyes’ visual content that's simple, clear, satisfying to seem at, and in fact, creative, engaging, and fun.
BridgeWeb Top Tip: Avoid posts with too many words within the image itself. Keep things simple. If you wish to be word-heavy, use your captions for this. If you're visiting include words within the image you post, keep it to but three words.
Want to be told more about increasing your Instagram engagement rate? Get involved with us today!
