How to increase engagement on Instagram

Do you want to find out how to increase engagement on Instagram in 2021? You are not the only one.

2020 was what it was, and Instagram has had numerous shakes as well. The algorithm has changed a lot since the beginning of 2020 and the goal of this social network is the same as that of Facebook: monetization.

Consequently, visibility continues to drop, so we need to know how to exploit the weapons at our disposal.

Until recently, Likes on Instagram were the most important interaction: believe me, this is no longer the case. ‘Likes’ are too simple a type of interaction, so Instagram has given more weight to another element, much more difficult to earn.

Which? Continue reading the article to find out.

So the algorithm changes evolve, and consequently, the ways of increasing engagement also change.

How to increase engagement on Instagram in 2021? What are the new ways to get more interactions?

Let’s begin!

How to increase engagement on Instagram: 10 useful tips

So let’s see how to increase engagement on Instagram based on the new algorithm and the new features added by Instagram in 2020.

1. Create saveable content

Things have changed since Instagram removed the ability to see the number of ‘Likes’ on posts.

The ‘likes’ used to have a very important weight and often it was the type of interaction that ended a post in Explore. Precisely for this reason, the DM groups on Telegram or on Instagram itself were very important.

Comments and shares have always been important interactions to improve the visibility of your posts and gain new followers. For this reason, users often plan to buy followers from India and other countries.

But the most important interaction of all is the ‘Save‘ button.

Many users save a post because they find it extremely useful and want to always keep it handy. Others do it because maybe they don’t have time at that moment and want to watch it later.

Whatever the reason, this type of interaction is extremely important and is what gets a post into Explore more easily.

But what are the “savable” posts? There are mainly two types of posts that get more saves, and they are:

• Carousels
• Video

This type of content gets more saves and more interactions.

2. Create shareable content

Well yes, I took a cue from the point above.

But this is also very important.

Create content that you know your followers will want to post in their stories or DMs with their friends. This, in addition to improving engagement, is also a way to gain new followers.

What are the shareable contents? Here are some ideas:

• Meme
• Curiosity

These types of content get more shares.

A negative note for us content creators is that Instagram has hidden the metrics inherent to shares (visible to those with a business profile) for privacy reasons and therefore we can no longer know how many shares a post has had.

3. Write long captions

If a user sees your post on the feed and starts reading the caption, Instagram notices it. This type of interaction is hidden, in the sense that there is no visible data, but Instagram “sees” this type of interaction.

The more time a user spends on your content, the more Instagram will find it interesting and show it to other users.

Writing long captions is a way to increase engagement on Instagram.

4. Add a Call to Action

Always include a call to action, an invitation to take action, in the caption of your posts. Do you want your followers to click a link to read your latest article? Enter the call to action. Do you want them to download a PDF file or do you want them to register for your webinar? Enter the call to action. Always make sure your users interact.

5. Share videos

Instagram has introduced various news regarding videos, and this makes it clear what its goal is.

IGTV got off to a bad start but seems to be recovering more and more, probably also thanks to the announcement of the possibility of monetizing videos.

Some innovations such as the ability to see videos also horizontally (which initially was not there), the creation of series (a sort of YouTube playlist) and the increase in the duration of a video (initially blocked at 10 minutes) has brought more interest to IGTV.

The introduction of the Reels, then, upset the platform a little.

With the Reels, Instagram wanted to copy TikTok, and it is precisely for this reason that the Reels have enormous potential.

Their visibility is in fact very high and they have the potential to go viral.

6. Interact

Interacting with accounts and hashtags in your niche is a way to get new followers and, consequently, increase engagement.

Follow some of the most followed or important profiles and hashtags in your niche and interact with their content every day by leaving sensible and valuable comments.

Reply to follower comments on your posts by creating conversations and thanking them.

7. Consistency

How to increase engagement on Instagram if there is no consistency? Frequently post content on your profile that your followers like this are one of the most important “ingredients”.

Also try to post at the best times, where your followers are most active to receive as many interactions as possible.

8. Collaborate with other accounts

You might also consider partnering with other accounts in your niche. You can do live shows or create guest posts, like a carousel for another profile: the account in question will earn you a valuable post for free, while you advertise.

9. Use hashtags intelligently

Using random and always the same hashtags will only penalize your profile.

You also lose the chance to reach all those potential people who are really interested in your content.

Do a thorough search and choose the hashtags related to your niche, varying them for each post.

Don’t know how to do it? I have dedicated an article to this topic.

10. Use stories intelligently

Stories on Instagram are very important for getting interactions.

In addition to sharing those content and quick updates within it, you should also use what Instagram makes available to you such as question box, quiz, countdown, and other available options.

You can also make it funnier by using GIFs or by inserting your own custom emoji with Bitmoji.

These interactions are very important in terms of statistics and, above all, to create a community and, frankly, I think it is more important.

Conclusions

Well, we have seen how to increase engagement on Instagram by following some new methods to increase interactions.

I also recommend that you monitor your profile with Ninjalitics, a tool that shows you the percentage of engagement and other very interesting data of your profile.

This way you can also make a comparison and see if the strategies you use work.