“This post is not getting enough engagement” – Every Instagram Creator
No matter how attractive your Instagram posts are, you feel disappointed when they don’t get enough engagement.
Be it a highly established brand, a small business or an Influencer, everyone has faced this issue. Instagram engagement rate is the one key metric where all the creators pay attention to.
Well, Instagram as a platform is quite versatile and with a humongous user base, creators certainly need to make the most out of it. But how?
How to get more engagement on Instagram?
You have been struggling to get answers to this question.
Something needs attention if your Instagram posts are not fetching you the desired results even when you are doing everything right.
In this blog, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about increasing Instagram engagement rate for your brand.
Before we go on let’s look at this metric in detail.
What is Instagram Engagement Rate?
Instagram engagement rate is the interactions you receive on your post divided by the total number of followers you have. Interactions include likes, comments, saves, and video views.
The engagement rate tells you how the audience is engaging with your content.
This brings us to why you should consistently track Instagram engagement rate.
Importance of Measuring Instagram Engagement Rate
While every metric has a purpose to serve, significance of engagement rate is often not rightly understood by brand managers. Engagement rate is more than just the number of likes, comments, and shares!
Instagram engagement can help you gauge the audience sentiment towards your content
When the audience likes, comments or shares your content it means they found something relevant.
If your account has thousands of followers but still struggles for likes and comments and hardly gets any shares then you need to rework on your content strategy!
Additionally, having posts that have a high engagement rate can tell you what works for your audience. Analyse the posts on a regular basis to see what kind of content is being shared the most by your audience, what are they commenting on, and what are they liking.
Instagram statistics need to be measured in totality, make sure you don’t ignore the other metrics like reach and impressions.
(YES! We know it is tedious to look at all the metrics for every post! But make sure to check the engagement rate without fail)
So you may now wonder what exactly comprises the engagement rate on Instagram.
Factors That Decide Your Instagram Engagement Rate
Be it an Instagram engagement rate tool or an engagement rate calculator, this metric is measured by taking into account five important factors.
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Likes
Calculating the number of likes on a post is a very common exercise and it also forms a part of measuring engagement rate. The number of likes cannot alone determine the effectiveness of your posts but it can surely tell you whether your Instagram users are even liking them.
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Comments
Another way to check the engagement level of your Instagram users is to see the number of comments on your posts. Well, apart from the number of comments, this particular element can also give you an insight into what the user actually thinks about your content.
Analyse what the users have commented on your posts and you shall get an idea as to what they feel about the content you post. Instagram users also express through emojis which can tell about audience sentiment.
Some Instagram analytics tools can also help you check audience sentiment through emojis!
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Shares
Shares or reposts are also calculated to measure Instagram engagement rate. While numbers for likes and comments are easy to achieve, curating content that’s shareable and as per the audiences’ liking is difficult. This is often because the platform is full of content and the lack of user attention span.
Brands need to focus on this factor because when your content gets shared it automatically helps in spreading the word about your brand. (Trust us it can save you a lot of time and effort)
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Followers
All the above-mentioned factors are averaged out based on the number of followers you have in your account. Moreover, it also shows whether you are attracting the intended audience for your content. It should be noted that a high number of followers means nothing if there is no interaction with content.
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Saves
The number of saves on your posts tell you that the content is being liked by the audience and they would want to go back to it at a later time. When more Instagram users save your posts it tells the platform that the post is high on quality and deserves more visibility. Though brand managers often do not take this factor into account, it is necessary to do so in the current scenario.
The five factors mentioned above are taken into account to measure Instagram engagement.
All of this boils down to how to boost Instagram engagement rate.
How to Calculate Instagram Engagement Rate?
Instagram engagement rate is calculated on account level or post level, where
the former is your entire Instagram account and the latter is the respective post on your
Instagram account.
1) Instagram Engagement Rate (Account Level)
a. Engagement Rate by Followers
= (Total no. of Likes + Comments + Saves + Video Views) / Total Followers
b. Engagement Rate by Reach
= (Total no. of Likes + Comments + Saves + Video Views) / Total Reach
2) Instagram Engagement Rate (Post Level)
= (Post Likes + Comments + Saves + Video Views*) / Total Followers
*If it’s a video post
Please Note: Different brands have different ways of calculating engagement rate. They may not necessarily account every metric which we have mentioned above. Some brands like to calculate engagement rate by impressions instead of reach.
Useful Tips to Increase Your Brand’s Instagram Engagement Rate
Look at the top players in your niche and see what encourages the audience to engage with their content on Instagram. Apart from the already established brands there are several brands who owe their success to social media especially Instagram.
Let’s look at how you can improve your brand’s Instagram engagement.
1. Generate Instagram engagement by curating content in a variety of formats
Instagram stats are the result of what you post on the platform. Started as a simple photo-sharing platform, Instagram now allows you to post a variety of content. Be it Instagram stories, videos, or going live with IGTV the platform has endless possibilities for content curation.
Instagram users are always on the lookout for something new and trying new content formats can help you retain their interest.
To increase your Instagram engagement rate, it is essential to break the monotony and experiment with content formats.
Apple creates a balance with its content on Instagram by including both images and videos.
(TIP- VIDEO CONTENT WORKS WONDERS!)
2. Draw a line between posting too often and not posting at all
Keeping the audience engaged is one thing but bombarding them with back to back content and crowding their feed can do the opposite. Regular posting will build a sense of trust in your audience so don’t vanish out of the blue for weeks!
The best way to keep a track of your posting schedule is to create a content calendar. Treat your Instagram users with quality content instead of multiple posts.
Before posting content make sure to check the best time to post. See when your audience is the most active on the platform and accordingly post.
For video centric posts, make the most out of IGTV. Look at how Mac Cosmetics India keeps the user’s curiosity alive.
3. Use the right hashtags to increase Instagram engagement rate
Hashtags are an important part of Instagram. It helps other Instagram users discover your content on the platform. This can also impact the engagement rate. Make sure you use hashtags wisely and don’t overdo. Keep in mind the relevance of the hashtags. (THEY SHOULD BE IN SYNC WITH THE CONTENT)
Do a thorough hashtag research and choose the ones which relate to your niche.
Brands can also create their unique hashtags to set themselves apart from the other hashtags.
GoPro is quite dedicated to its unique hashtags!
4. Be active on the Instagram stories feature to improve Instagram engagement
Not everything needs to be posted on your Instagram feed, some things generate more impact in a story format. Instagram stories also allow you to be more creative on the platform. Being active on Instagram stories will help keep your audience hooked.
Additionally, stories also allow you to be more interactive with the Instagram users.
Having polls on your stories can help you generate quick responses and can help you gauge who is responding to your brand content.
Look at how Paio has created a poll to know the consumers’ preferences.
5. Interact with accounts belonging to your niche to increase Instagram engagement
Brands are often not very keen to interact with other accounts in their niche. However, this practice can help you become more noticeable in your niche. If not your rival brands at least interact with the influencers in your industry. Even a simple comment or a mention can do wonders.
When you interact with other accounts or your followers you are telling them that you value them!
6. Your captions need to be MIND BLOWING!
Generating Instagram engagement rate requires the involvement of a lot of factors and that also includes captions. Captions help give perspective to your post and also aid in increasing user attention.
Posts supported with a caption have received more attention on the platform and that can impact the engagement rate.
Brands can also write captions that generate a response from the user. Ask questions in your captions or give them tips)
Check out the post by Forever New.
7. Bank on the Instagram users’ want for authentic content
Nothing works better than content that is authentic. Make sure your posts are in sync with your brand values and convey the same. The storytelling approach works the best on Instagram. Apart from highly polished posts you can also go behind the scenes posts, posts on your workforce, etc.
Having such posts on your brand account can help you connect with the audience which can be beneficial for increasing the Instagram engagement rate.
Look how KFC thanks its workforce in the post below!
8. Keep up with the trends to increase Instagram engagement
The creative minds often come up with trends that go viral on Instagram. Though no rule book says you need to follow the trends but it sure gets you the attention you want from your users. Following the trends can get you the engagement rate you need.
Make sure to caption such posts well with the trending hashtags to get maximum visibility and engagement.
Here’s a post by CEAT for the Pride Month.
9. Post for your audience to gain high Instagram engagement rate
Blindly promoting your brand in all the posts can put your audience off. Make sure you create content that resonates with your target audience. It is best to rely on an Instagram engagement rate tool to analyse your audience base.
When you create content keeping in mind your audience it will surely fetch you the desired engagement rate.
Check out Fastrack’s youth-oriented content on Instagram.
10. Infographics can help you reach your Instagram engagement goal
Infographics work really well on Instagram because the audience here is looking for infotainment. Infographics can do wonders if you present them well with the right fonts and colour schemes. Make sure to keep them simple and easy to read for higher Instagram engagement.
Here’s an example of an infographic that talks about Influencer Marketing.
Having the right content strategy is surely the first step to gain Instagram engagement. However, in order to track the engagement rate it is best to rely on an engagement rate calculator or an Instagram engagement rate tool.
How Unbox Social Helps in Tracking Instagram Engagement Rate for your Brand
Unbox Social has social media analytics as one of its solutions.
Let’s face it nobody has the time to measure and analyse each and every Instagram post! No matter how dedicated you are, an Instagram engagement rate tool gives you better and timely insights into how your content is performing.
Here’s how Unbox Social can help you improve and measure your Instagram engagement rate.
1. Measure Instagram engagement rate by followers and reach (Account Level)
Once you land on the Unbox Social tool, the social media analytics solution for Instagram gives you an overview of your brand account. Here you can check your Instagram account’s engagement rate by followers and reach.
a. Instagram account engagement rate by followers is calculated based on the total number of followers interacting with your posts. The interaction here takes into account likes, comments, saves, and video views.
b. Instagram account engagement rate by reach tells you the percentage of followers to whom this post has reached. This metric also takes into account the followers who have interacted with the posts.
2. Measure Instagram engagement rate by followers (Post Level)
The Unbox Social tool is extremely convenient for measuring post-wise performance. You can get engagement rate at the post level along with other important metrics.
3. Track follower growth for your brand
Tracking the follower growth on a daily basis is hassle-free with a reliable Instagram engagement rate tool. Unbox Social lets you track the growth of your Instagram followers on a daily basis. This analysis can help you understand whether your content is able to attract more audience on Instagram.
4. Check the best time to post your content and achieve the desired Instagram engagement
Merely posting content on the platform is not enough. The timing of posting the content also makes a big difference to the Instagram stats. Unbox Social also tells you the best time to post content on the platform. This is calculated by taking into account the interactions and engagement rate of the previous posts.
5. Get to know your audience and curate relevant content to improve Instagram engagement
Catering to the right Instagram users is the basis of getting a high engagement rate. For this, it is necessary to know who your target audience is. The Unbox Social tool gives you detailed insights on who your target audience is. Learn about your audience age, language, location, interest, gender, and sentiment.
6. Check the performance of your stories to gauge your Instagram engagement
Instagram stories also have a huge role to play when it comes to engagement rate. The tool also allows you to check the Instagram statistics for your stories to give you an in-depth understanding of how your stories are performing.
The glimpse of the tool below shows the Instagram stats for stories.
Brands must focus on curating content that keeps the audience engaged. See to it that you keep a watch on what your competitors are doing with their content, and collaborate with influencers from your niche to increase brand awareness. These activities can be beneficial for increasing Instagram engagement rate.
Here are a few articles to help you with Instagram marketing.
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