Tammy Vasbinder
Instagram is one of the fastest-growing social media platforms, and it has some significant advantages for brands. With over 800 million monthly active users on Instagram, you can ensure that your content reaches a wide range of people. The key to getting engagement with Instagram is knowing how to post the correct type of content at the right time. Here are some ways to optimize Instagram posts for engagement so you can reach more users and boost brand awareness.
Know Your Audience
One of the most important aspects of Instagram (and social media in general) is knowing who you're speaking to and why. Your content may be perfect for one audience but might not resonate with another group at all. Start with the right Instagram strategy and develop your ideal customer group first. Then, direct your content to those people.
Also, always keep in mind, the people who are scrolling their feed are different than the people who are watching stories. Find out who is looking at what to help with your overall strategy.
Understand Your Goals
Once you have an understanding of your audience, it's essential to set goals. What are the goals for this post as well as your entire account? Are you looking to grow your following, increase brand awareness, or create improved engagement on your posts? Knowing exactly what you want can help you develop appropriate content for those goals.
Categorize Your Content
There are many different types of content that can be posted on Instagram, but some work better than others. It's important to think about what you're posting and how it will help your company or brand goals. There isn't a one-size-fits-all approach because different people want to see different things. Additionally,
Break your content goals into categories or "buckets" based on your brand identity to help your content planning processes. Determine how much of each type of content you would like to be posting on a weekly or quarterly basis so that you can develop and schedule appropriately.
Get Involved
Engagement with other accounts is huge! Instead of just liking things, leave comments on other people's posts. This gives your brand an opportunity to show-up in other feeds. Search hashtags in your local area and hashtags that might create strategic partners or colleagues. For example, if you are an interior designer, try to find contractors and tradespeople in your area. Look for interior designers who are outside of your working locations. Search #interiordesign and comment on DIYers projects. All of this can help to create a community on your own page as people will generally check out someone who commented on their stuff.
Try Something New
Try out new types of posts or formats to keep things fresh and recapture the attention of followers who may have strayed over time. Instagram is constantly releasing new features within the app and incentivizing the use of these tools. To reach new audiences, don’t be afraid to use more video content, specifically within Instagram Reels. You never know what results you may find when you switch things up.
Track Analytics
Instagram Insights is a great way to track your engagement on Instagram. With this tool, you can see how often people are liking and commenting on your posts as well as what time of day they're doing it most frequently. You'll also be able to learn more about who's viewing your content so that you may better target which types of users will most benefit the future growth of the brand. Use these insights to plan your posting times, frequency, and content categories based on what has performed well in the past.
Interested in exploring what social media marketing can do for your business? Get in touch with us!