Wondering how to grow your Instagram audience in 2021? It’s not just you.
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Today, brands must look further into their performance metrics and track comments, shares, saves, Insta Stories views, and even DMs to comprehend how they’re actually performing.
But it’s not as complicated as you may think. So far, Instagram remains the sweetheart of the social media environment for marketers and brands alike. And we can’t ignore that since 13 percent of everyone on Earth is on it, and 80 percent of them follow brands.
According to experts, engagement- measured by shares, likes, and comments from users- is thriving, boasting a rate of 4.21 percent.
But letting such impressive topline figures apart, challenges are emerging that threaten Instagram’s marketing potential because of the reduced engagement rates and competition from new socials like TikTok.
Despite this setback, proactive brands and marketers are seeking ways to nourish Instagram engagement. For the same reason, we’re sharing the way you can level up your Insta know-know and increase engagement in 2021:
What is Your Best Time to Post?
Perhaps you knew it. You knew that your Instagram engagement could be limited by posting at the wrong time. Maybe you thought that there wouldn’t be any problems in your Insta engagement if you’re not posting regularly enough. Wrong!
While there are many ways to increase your Instagram engagement, posting when your followers are the most active is a quick win.
The thing is that Instagram’s algorithm prefers posts that generate a great deal of engagement in the shortest time possible and will often move that post in the followers’ uppermost feeds.
To “get all the attention,” spend some time tracking and monitoring your page analytics to learn when your audiences’ preferred scroll time is.
Remember that every Instagram account constitutes a unique follower base in different time zones, thus it’s a smart move to discover your best time to post.
Captivate Through Stories – Don’t Preach!
Today’s Instagram is boasting of mediocre brand messaging that forgets the platform is meant to be a “visual inspiration platform.”
You should entice your followers through video, pictures, and text, not just preaching marketing missives at them.
Become a storyteller instead. Share to your audience “micro-stories” through captions, Insta stories, videos, and profiles.
We naturally crave connection, and storytelling is a great way to create such an experience. If your audience feels an emotional connection to your content, they are much more likely to buy into it and share it with their peers.
One way to introduce elements of storytelling into your Insta strategy is to focus on telling stories with your captions.
As you may know, longer, authentic captions with storytelling elements are compelling as they enable you to appear more human and create a deeper connection with your target audience. When done with the follower in mind, wordy captions also attract scrollers’ attention and increase the time they spend looking at your post.
Christina Galbato, a renowned Instagram influencer, says that “micro-blogging captions are great as they’re very engaging” help brands in the algorithm and endorse saves and shares.
Use an Instagram Growth Service
It’s no news. Instagram is an ideal tool for growing your brand, but it takes a lot of work to master. A novice Instagram user and a business owner will 10\10 relate with that. The first stage in building brand reputation and generating credibility takes some time. To speed things up (and relieve some stress), it’s easier to hand some of the responsibility to an Instagram growth service.
That’s right, today, small business owners can connect with agencies and use tools to boost Instagram followers! These services can support brands in developing the kinds of the Instagram reputation their business needs. Be wary though, some shady “growth” companies may attempt to sell you followers that are just bots – unable to engage with your content.
You probably know it – quality matters such as much as quantity when collecting followers and growing your Insta. So, make sure you look for companies that genuinely target followers with interest in your content. This way, you begin to generate a natural follower base that you can preserve over time.
A reliable growth service will provide the exact head-start your business needs. Once you’ve gained momentum, you can use other strategies and focus on more important aspects of your business.
Yes – Visually Driven Feeds Matter
Because Instagram is a visual platform, all the content you post will showcase the personality of your brand. To put it simply, you’re not just sharing a new image, video, or story – you’re placing a new piece in a much larger puzzle.
Your posts express a visual personality for your brand – and you will want to come up with one that expresses a certain vibe and puts your followers in a certain mood.
“Heart” it or not, today’s Insta users gravitate towards diverse perspectives and authentic expression.
Visually, perfectly looking avocado toasts and high-saturation filters have been replaced with sincere shots, modest editing style, and muted earthy tones.
A dominating trend this spring is high brightness and reduced highlights in photos, without touching the colors too much, which gives a more natural look.
While “no-edit” or “no-filter” may still dominate many of the notorious Instagram feeds, having a visually consistent feed is the key.
Reports show that 60 percent of the best-performing brands on Insta have an appealing look every time they post. Which reminds you that every time you post something, you should match your look with your brand identity and appeal to the followers you’re trying to attract.
Instagram is an amazing social platform for businesses of all kinds – it’s not just a pace for photogenic vegan toasts, cute pets, or fashion. If you’re out and about to reach and engage through Instagram, make sure you develop an actual Insta visual strategy, unlock your creative flow and build a channel that gets people genuinely excited.