Engaging Instagram posts create buzz and increase brand awareness. You can achieve this by incorporating memes, trending topics, or other popular content. Posts with inspirational or motivational quotes are another way to drive engagement. These posts can inspire followers to tag friends or share their own stories.
Lastly, posting at times when your audience is most active can boost engagement. Use Instagram’s Insights tool or external tools to identify when your audience engages best with your content.
1. Use Hashtags
A well-chosen hashtag can boost your post’s reach and improve your Instagram engagement rates. But choosing the right ones can be a daunting task. It’s important to find hashtags that are relevant and widely used, but not so popular that your posts will get lost in the noise.
Try looking at your competitors’ posts and searching for hashtags they use that are relevant to your business. You can also use a tool like Hashtag Suggestions from Later to find relevant hashtags that will help drive more reach and engagement.
Another key factor to consider is how many hashtags you should use in your post. Using too many can dilute the effectiveness of your hashtags and may even cause your post to be blocked by Instagram. In general, it’s best to stick with no more than 30 hashtags in your Instagram posts.
It’s also a good idea to have a list of popular and niche hashtags on hand that are relevant to your content topics. This will make it easier to quickly find a set of hashtags for each type of post that you’re creating. You can then keep these lists in a note app or save them to Sprout’s Asset Library, so that they’re ready to be added to each post you create on Instagram.
Hashtags are an important part of your Instapro strategy, but you should still focus on creating the highest quality content possible. This can be anything from a fun, eye-catching image to a thought-provoking caption. It’s also a good idea to experiment with different types of content and caption lengths to see what performs the best on your account.
2. Add a Call-to-action
A call-to-action is like the digital version of a business’s closing line, asking for the sale at the end of your pithy caption and stunning photo. It’s also the way to guide your audience toward specific actions that are aligned with your marketing goals.
Instagram provides several ways to add a CTA, including post captions, Stories, and ads. The most effective approach depends on your audience’s needs and the content type you’re sharing.
Adding a CTA to your Instagram post is a great way to boost engagement and help your audience take the next step in their journey with your brand. For example, if you share a beautiful tropical photo of your new storefront, a CTA like “Tag someone who would love to visit this paradise with you” can help grow your audience and encourage new customers to make a purchase.
You can also use a CTA in your Instagram bio link to direct your audience to a specific action, such as visiting your website, signing up for a newsletter, or making a purchase. These CTAs are especially useful for e-commerce brands that want to boost sales and drive conversions.
Lastly, you can also include a CTA in your Instagram Stories to encourage your audience to interact with your content. For example, if you create a Reel that highlights customer testimonials, a simple CTA like “Tag your friends and family to see how they loved this experience” can increase engagement and inspire them to purchase your product.
3. Add a Caption
A well-crafted caption can improve the quality of your Instagram posts. Captions can make your content more accessible to viewers without sound, and they can also help increase engagement by encouraging people to double-tap or comment on a post. Captions can also be used to cross-promote your other social channels, thereby expanding your audience and growing your following.
Keep in mind that there is a maximum character limit of 2,200 characters for Instagram captions. Depending on your audience, however, you may find that longer captions work for your brand. Just be sure to frontload important content or text calls-to-action and leave the hashtags, @mentions, or extraneous information for the end of your caption.
When it comes to Instagram captions, using verbs tends to generate more shares than nouns and adjectives. Likewise, combination emojis can add a fun and engaging element to your captions.
You can also use your Instagram caption to include a call-to-action that encourages people to share your post. A simple prompt like, “Click the link to learn more!” can be enough to boost your post’s reach and engage your audience.
In addition to photos and videos, you can also use Instagram Reels to create unique content that will wow your audience. For example, you can create a product series where you highlight different features or benefits of a particular product to boost awareness and encourage repeat purchases.
4. Add a Link
Until recently, opportunities to share clickable links on Instagram were limited. Instagram understandably wants users to stay within the platform, but that doesn’t mean you can’t drive traffic to your website or blog using Instagram posts. There are various methods for sharing links on Instagram, and new ones are being tested and added all the time.
For example, you can add a link to a photo post’s caption by using tools like Bitly to shorten the URL. Shorter links are easier to remember, and they also look more professional in a photo caption. Additionally, using a tool that includes UTM tracking helps you get more information in Google Analytics about who is clicking your Instagram links.
Another way to add a link to an Instagram post is to use the Reel feature. Reels enable businesses and creators to create shopping experiences on Instagram. By using Reels, you can tag products in your videos to direct viewers to your shop. Viewers can then tap the tagged products to learn more about each item and make purchases directly from your profile.
Whether you’re trying to drive traffic to your website or blog, a clear call-to-action is crucial for any Instagram post. Add a call-to-action in your post description or as an overlay text on your visual content to encourage followers to follow the link.