How to increase your Instagram engagement rate
Did you know that Instagram has not long had a birthday? Yep, the big 10. Instagram was launched in October 2010, where its App Store debut racked up 25,000 downloads in a day. It didn’t take long for Facebook to cotton on - buying the app for $1 billion just two years later.
But you didn’t come here for the history of Instagram, you came here to talk engagement, right?
Well, of course, we’re going to get to that. But it’s worth noting along the way just how popular the app has become. With Instagram now having around 1 billion users - that’s a hell of a lot of engagement.
Since Instagram has become more than just photo sharing, the app is very much a tool for content creators and brands to build an audience. Understanding how it works is crucial to your account’s success.
So, before you go and boost your posts, take a look at our quick guide (hint hint: keep reading) on Instagram engagement rate.
Why is Instagram engagement rate so important?
Instagram engagement rates go beyond vanity metrics. Engagement rate is significant for a number of reasons - measuring an audience’s interest, brand relevance and social authority.
Audience Interest
Audience interest on Instagram is quite simple really - is your audience interested? If your content appeals, your engagement rate will be higher. Take a look through your posts to discover those that performed the best, ie, posts with the most shares, saves, likes and comments. This will help you get an idea of what your audience really wants to see. High impressions might be misleading - as they indicate how much your content has been viewed - but not engaged with.
Relevance
In order to stay relevant, you need to keep on top of your engagement rate. Has it dropped or spiked in the last three months? Or is it considerably different from last year, even? If your engagement rate continues to improve, it’s clear your audience sees you as a great source of information. Monitoring your engagement rate can help you set a benchmark for relevance.
Social Authority
Nailing your Instagram target audience is half the battle - but it’s never a bad thing to keep that audience growing. Social authority is like your place in the Instagram food chain - if users notice a lack of engagement with your Instagram account, they’ll be quick to move on to a competitor or similar account.
So, what is an average engagement rate?
Instagram engagement rate can vary greatly across industry and your strategic goals. While there may not be a single definition of a “good” engagement rate, we can take a look at ways to improve upon it.
Although Facebook has around 2x more monthly users, Instagram records higher engagement rates - generating 23% more engagement than Facebook.
Rival IG found that the average engagement rate across all industries is 1.22%. Specific sectors have higher rates, like higher education with 3.57%, sports teams with 2.33%, and influencers with 1.67%. But what does that all really mean?
If you’ve run the numbers already and discovered your engagement rate is falling a little below par, don’t fret - we’ve got some tips to keep that number up.
How to calculate your Instagram engagement rate
Although people will argue the best way to calculate your engagement rate on Instagram until they are blue in the face, we’re going to keep it quite simple.
Of course, your preferred method is totally up to you as an influencer or brand.
Brand Engagement rate = (Likes + Comments) ÷ Impressions x 100.
Influencer Engagement rate = (Likes + Comments) ÷ follower count x 100.
Sounds a little confusing, right?
To save yourself the headache, head to Ninjalitics and analyse any Instagram account. You’ll quickly see your engagement rate, follower growth, daily growth and more.
How can you improve your engagement rate?
Be consistent.
In order to improve your Instagram engagement rate, you need to be consistent - and we’re not just talking showing up, either. Maintaining consistent branding across your Instagram profile is super important.
But how?
Well, firstly, your username should be as similar to your other social media profiles as possible. Your account needs to be searchable - so don’t go adding in numbers or words for the sake of it.
Keeping your content visually consistent is also crucial to your account’s success. If your followers can’t recognise content as yours immediately, it’s not staying true to your brand.
Understand your IG audience
Before you get started on Instagram, you need to understand your audience. Whether this means developing Instagram personas or checking out the competitors - it’s gotta be done.
Use Instagram insights to get the best understanding of your demographics. This can really help you in understanding your Instagram followers. Your audience may differ across platforms, so it is important to pay attention to the platform in question and its users.
Post regularly
We touched upon the importance of being consistent above, but it’s a point worth stressing further. Once you understand your audience, posting regularly and consistently will help to drive users to your website (and engage with your content, obviously).
When I first started my own account, I posted every day. Sometimes I posted twice a day. But don’t underestimate IG, as it is most certainly a full-time job! Creating a social media calendar can save you a shed load of time.
Write incredible captions
Your visuals might be great, but if nobody is engaging it could be down to your captions. This is where you can really put your brand voice across and engage with your followers on a real human level.
Whether you’re sharing a single image with a snappy caption for effect or telling a story in long-form, your caption is an important part of your Instagram content.
Engage, engage, engage
Before you post, engage with your followers. Continue to engage with them as your posts go live. Whether it’s in comments, DMs, stories - you name it. Simply engage! Reply to comments, start a conversation and open your account up for even more interaction.
Engage with other accounts
You can’t just post and expect engagement to come flooding in. Engage with similar accounts, follow others and partner up with influences in your industry.
Where applicable, tag them in your posts. If you’re a clothing brand and another brand features in your content, tag them!
Create variety in your content
Mix things up when it comes to your content. Take advantage of single posts, carousels, video and of course, Reels.
Video is crazy big right now, whether it’s ‘behind the scenes’ content in Stories or IGTV.
Stuck for ideas? We’ve got you covered.
Use a call to action
If you want your followers to take a certain action, tell them. This could be a swipe up in your Instagram story, or CTA in your caption. Don’t be afraid to ask your followers to get involved in comments, either.
That’s all folks! These factors will reflect in your engagement rate when done well, so get crackin’. If you’re looking for a little help with your Instagram strategy, get in touch.