Gearfuse Technology, Science, Culture & More
Today many small businesses use social media, specifically Instagram, to reach more customers and grow their company.
Why wouldn’t they, when Instagram has become the world’s fourth most popular social platform since it launched 12 years ago with 1.22 billion active users every month?
A small business could benefit significantly from Instagram to build their business, create brand awareness, and tap into their potential markets. However, having many followers is not enough to achieve your business goals.
More than the number of followers, which many experts believe is just a vanity metric, what’s important is that you have engagement on your account. Engagement that is genuine and authentic and not coming from bots that could potentially harm your account when you get shadowbanned.
What is social media engagement?
Social media engagement quantifies the activities your posts generate on your feed. It’s the reactions you get from your followers that could get you featured on the explore page of the platform.
Here are the examples of engagements:
- Comments
- Mentions
- Branded hashtags
- Shares
- Likes
- Saves
- Click-throughs
- Direct messages
In 2024, you should be able to set a new goal for your business and aim for a higher Instagram engagement, and here are tips on how you can do that:
1. Post Video Content
Today’s most valuable and engaging content on social media is videos. According to the statistics from Sprout Social, 91% of active Instagram users watch videos weekly. Videos can captivate your audience quicker, and they are more likely to stay and react with them than reading a post with a lengthy caption.
Just remember to create videos with relatable content and charming music to catch the interest of your target audience. To help you increase engagement on your video posts, you can get Instagram video views from a reliable source.
2. Increase Number Of Followers
The number of followers may be labeled as a vanity metric, but it’s one of the first things netizens see on your page. And a large number of followings could be imposing. Remember, bots are practically useless. Instead, you should have more active Instagram followers.
You may buy followers, or you can also create organic posts. Many ingenious accounts have started a trend they call ‘Grow’ wherein they will ask followers to comment grow, and every handle that likes that comment is obliged to follow and engage with their post.
This may be a slow process, but you can rest assured that the followers you will acquire are real ones engaging within your target community.
3. Create Savable Graphics
You can add your business’ logo and mascot to your stories about your products. Also, when your followers or partner influencers share a story, you can make them use a savable graphic embedded on the platform to make their stories more aligned with your brand. It’s one way of increasing brand awareness and brand recognition too.
4. Generate Posts With Questions
A post with a question is something your followers may not easily dismiss. They are more likely to answer the question, especially if it’s about your shared value.
Instagram poll stickers, where your followers can choose an answer, are also an effective tool to ramp up that engagement.
5. Use Relevant And Branded Hashtags
Instagram hashtags make you more discoverable to others. It’s a meaningful way to expand your reach and tap into potential markets.
On Instagram, users can follow hashtags too, and many use them to expand their community.
On the other hand, branded hashtags are identifiable to your brand only. It is a custom hashtag you can create for your products, campaigns, slogans, and values.
6. Do Giveaways
Who doesn’t love free stuff? This tip is one of the most effective tactics since many people are attracted to anything free. Not only can it increase your followers, but it can also foster a strong sense of community around your brand.
By carefully crafting steps your community will follow, a giveaway can generate more buzz and develop loyalty to your brand. Moreover, collaborating with prominent influencers in your community can help you create a better program and tap into their respective followers.
7. Run Q And A Instagram Stories
Many famous personalities and celebrities on Instagram now use the #askmeanything tactic, where they answer any questions given by their followers. It has proven to be very effective in drumming up their engagement and connecting with their followers. You may also use this tactic and add Instagram stickers for more effect.
Conclusion
A brand’s relevance and authenticity will be more critical in the coming years as more people look for positive values in brands they patronize. You have to remember that engagement in social media is more than skin deep, and these positive values can be seen in how you interact and react with your audience.
