Instagram is currently one of the most popular social media platforms. It’s well-loved by so many people and is such a great place to market your business. But the truth is, a big follower count and posting every day means nothing without good engagement. So let’s talk about it! Here’s how to optimize your Instagram engagement!

Optimize Your Hashtags

It may seem simple but optimizing your hashtags really makes a difference. Hashtags allow your posts to be seen by people that might not normally come across your page. When using them be sure to have at least three different groups of hashtags that you cycle through. If you’re a photographer, location-based hashtags work really well and it typically what I gravitate towards for my clients. When doing hashtag research, you’ll also want to be sure to use ones that are a good size. When you click on a hashtag you can see how many times they have been used in a post. Hashtags with anywhere from 30k-500k posts is the range I look for. Using hashtags with 1 million+ posts is pointless as there are so many posts, yours is much less likely to get noticed.

Engage With Other Accounts

Instagram was made so that people could connect with each other! That’s why engaging with other accounts is so important. Try to spend at least 15 minutes daily engaging with other accounts, preferably right before or after you put up your own post. Make sure you engage with accounts that follow you and also new accounts that you can find through hashtags. Bottom line is, engaging is a two-way street! Typically, if you engage with others, they’ll engage back. Plus, the algorithm likes you interacting on its platform. If you don’t have time to engage daily, it’s an easy task to outsource!

Take Advantage of Reels

Reels can get a TON of reach. So it’s time to start making and posting reels and take advantage of that reach. I know they can be hard to make and are time-consuming, so outsourcing them is a great idea as well and something I offer as a virtual assistant. Whether you make them yourself or have someone else help you, I recommend posting around 2-3 a week! Be sure you use trending sounds to get the best results. They should be around 5-15 seconds long and adding words that hook the audience in can help too. Another perk to making reels is that you can recycle them for a second and a third time! Do this by posting them to TikTok and also using them as idea pins on Pinterest.

Check Optimal Posting Times

The time of day you post on Instagram can affect how well it does. Head over to your insights on Instagram to see what time of day the majority of your followers use the app. Use that information to find the best times to post your content. Every account is different due to the timezone and lifestyle in different parts of the world. If going off of what your insights say doesn’t make a difference for you, another way to optimize your posting times is to experiment. Try posting at different times and test which times work best for you.

Have Engaging Captions

Write captions people enjoy reading! Add call to actions at the end of your captions by asking a question and then telling your audience to “comment below.” or head to the link in your bio! Provide value by including helpful tips to provide value and give helpful information. And, make sure to add a personal touch to make people feel more connected to your brand so they keep coming back!

Post to Your Story Often

Things on Instagram have been shifting lately and most users spend a lot more time watching stories than they do scrolling through their feeds. I recommend posting to your story often in order to cater to this user type! The more people that keep up with your story – the more it tells the algorithm they should be pushing your content to people!

If you want to improve your Instagram engagement but don’t have the time, I can help! Click here and we can chat about how I can take over some of those tedious tasks for you.

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KIND WORDS

“Kaylee has been an absolute godsend in my business. Too often I tried to wear all the hats in my business and Kaylee has been an incredible resource to start officially handing things off. Her prompt responses, weekly check ins and forward thinking has made this process super easy. Kaylee is constantly asking how she can better help me and my business which is a rare and special quality. Kaylee is a self-starter which is essential for a VA, as I do not have time to micromanage her (and no one likes to be managed that way)! She’ll come to me with ideas for my newsletters, Instagram captions and basically anything that I’m letting slip thru the cracks. I cannot recommend her enough! Everyone needs a Kaylee in their business.”

– Sarah