Instagram engagement is without a doubt one of the most efficient strategies to increase and grow an Instagram following. Instagram marketing has helped businesses get a large number of followers for their growth.

Instagram has a monthly user base of one billion individuals, making it a platform with significant ROI potential.

However, you’ll need more than just an audience to gain the benefits: you’ll also require involvement. Comments, shares, likes, and other actions are all indicators that your content is resonating with the people who see it.

Importantly, engagement is only valuable if it is genuine — that is, when it comes from real people who genuinely care.

That’s why you won’t find any tips here on how to join a “engagement group” or “engagement pod,” or how to buy likes, or anything like that. The truth is, that isn’t going to work.

The truth is that there is no quick fix for high-quality engagement. What you put into social media is what you get out of it. So take the time to write that fantastic post, to stimulate discussion, and to connect with your fans authentically. The advantages are undeniable.

Ready to get started? Read on for proven ways to increase your Instagram engagement, make an impact with your Instagram audience and build strong, lasting engagement organically.

What Is Instagram Engagement?

Engagement is more than counting your views or followers. It’s about measuring the interactions that your audience makes with your content.

On Instagram, engagement is measured by a range of metrics such as:

• Comments
• Shares
• Likes
• Saves
• Followers and growth
• Mentions (tagged or untagged)
• Branded hashtags
• Click-throughs
• DMs

These sort of actions show that individuals aren’t only looking at your material. They’re paying attention to what you’re saying.

Why is involvement important to us? To begin with, it indicates that your material is having an effect on your audience.

Second, strong engagement is a key factor in Instagram’s algorithm.. The greater the level of participation, the more likely the material will be promoted in the newsfeed, attracting more eyes and attention.

How to measure Instagram engagement

Your engagement rate measures the amount of interaction social content earns relative to your followers or reach.

In other words: what percentage of the people who saw your post actually engaged with it?

By clicking on each post then tapping ‘View Insights‘ will open the in-depth analytics. Under this section of Instagram Insights, you can see the total interactions from each post, the breakdown of the engagement, and also most interestingly, the breakdown of the discovery of your post.

You might calculate an engagement rate by impressions, by post, by reach, or by followers. It really depends on your social media goals.

According to scrunch, less than 1% = low engagement rate. Between 1% and 3.5% = average/good engagement rate. Between 3.5% and 6% = high engagement rate. Above 6% = very high engagement rate.

Instagram Engagement Strategies

1. Engage With Your Audience Through Instagram Stories Stickers

Instagram Stories stickers are a great way to encourage your followers to engage with you. This allows you to build loyal followers who feel connected to your brand.

There are several quick and easy stickers to use in your story, including polls, questions, countdowns, quizzes, and emoji sliders.

One of the most interesting uses of Instagram Stories stickers is question stickers.

Instagram Stories question stickers allow you to talk directly with your followers. You can invite your followers to ask questions about a particular topic or open up your words completely.

One way to use the sticker is to host AMA (ask me anything).

You’ll be surprised at how much engagement you’ll get from this simple little questions box. Instagram users like to feel like they’re part of something bigger. And opening up the floor to answering their questions is a great way to do that.

Once you’ve collected all of the questions, don’t forget to hop on your stories to answer them.

Each time one of your followers interacts with a sticker, it counts as engagement! So, why not tap on a sticker on your next Instagram story?

2: Create and Share Relatable Memes

Memes are a way to win the hearts of all users. They should be funny, creative and relatable. And in 2022, reliability is everything.

Simply put: Instagram users want to feel seen and heard.

And with the right meme, your audience will be liking, commenting, and sharing your post with their friends.

Regardless of your niche or industry, the opportunity to create a meme is there. You can use branded text and a trending photo that ties into your content pillars.

Or source on-brand user-generated content (UGC) and credit the original creator.

Whether it’s someone reposting the meme on their Instagram Story or sending it to a friend, the more people who share your post, the more engagement you’ll see.

3: Create Saveable Graphics

Quotes, graphics, and repurposed tweets are everywhere on Instagram – and they’re perfect for driving engagement.

You’ll find that Instagram users love to share quotes on their stories — especially if they’re both moving and aesthetically pleasing.

A recent trend is repurposing tweets into Instagram feed posts. This type of content is really engaging and popular on Instagram. Ironic, we know.

Similar to meme creation, these sorts of graphics don’t require many resources. 

Even if you don’t have Twitter, there are many templates you can use to make it look like a tweet.

Designer or not, you’ve got this!

4: Share Valuable Information in Carousel Posts 

Carousel posts are an engagement gold mine. 

Instagram carousels allow you to share up to 10 pictures, videos, and text graphics with your audience in one post.

Whether it’s sharing educational content or supporting a social cause, carousel posts that offer some sort of value can help drive saves and shares.

Think about it: each slide in your carousel post is an opportunity to drive engagement – it’s a 10-in-1 kind of deal.

5: Include Call to Actions In Your Captions

Call to actions (CTAs) continue to stand the test of time. Including a CTA, more specifically, a direct question, in your caption is a sure way to get more Instagram engagement:

But remember to ask a genuine question.

You don’t want your audience to think it’s simply an engagement tactic. That’s a big no-no.

For example, if you share a selfie asking your followers what their favorite food is, it can look like you’re on the hunt for comments and comments alone.

Whereas if you share a genuine interesting story and follow it up with a relevant question, your community is more likely to respond in your comments. 

You can be creative with your questions. You can ask for advice, recommendations (restaurants, vacation spots, books), or what type of content they want to see from you. 

Another way to drive engagement with CTAs is by encouraging your audience to click the link in your Instagram bio. 

When your followers click the link in your bio, they’ll be able to tap on any image or button and be directed straight to the links you’ve added.

This can be a landing page for a product launch, a blog post, your YouTube channel, and so much more.

6. Allow Your Personality to Speak for You on Instagram Stories

If you want to drive engagement with your community, bringing your personality to Instagram is a great place to start.

Stories are the perfect format for chatty, informal interactions – share a personal anecdote, ask questions, and show your face!

Share a personal experience, ask questions, and put your best face forward! It’s a basic strategy that can have a big impact on your engagement.

As a brand, it’s important to show your face every once in a while. Your followers want to see that you’re more than a logo. 

People tend to be more engaged when they see a face pop up on a brand account’s stories.

If you want to take your Instagram Stories strategy to the next level, try planning them out in advance.

7: Host an Enticing Giveaway

Everyone loves free stuff. We don’t make the rules.

And with this knowledge, it only makes sense to include giveaways in your Instagram strategy. 

But, not just any giveaway.

In 2022, giveaways need to be intentional, enticing to both your existing and target audience, and authentic to your brand.

Whether it’s a product, service, or experience, with the right prize up for grabs, you’ll be racking up the engagement.

If the goal for your giveaway is to increase engagement, the tag/follow/share entry requirement format may be best. 

It’s a straightforward and clear way to gain tons of engagement on a single post.

8: Collab on Your Instagram Reels

Instagram Collab’s are a new way to boost engagement on Instagram — especially on Reels.

The feature allows you to invite someone to collaborate on a Feed post or Reel, so they can share the content with their followers.

Essentially, you can co-author content with a fellow Instagram user, and the post will show up on both of your profiles.

This way, you’ll be able to share views, likes, and comments – allowing you to leverage and engage with each other’s communities.

9. Post When Your Audience Is Most Engaged

Posting when your audience is most engaged is a great tactic for boosting engagement.

You can organize the finest Instagram Stories and giveaways in the world, but posting when your target audience is offline is pointless. So, how can you determine when your target audience is most active?

Instagram Insights may help you figure out where the majority of your followers are, as well as what hours and days they’re most active.

By posting then, you’ll gain more engagement within minutes of posting, which counts more than engagement gained ages later.

10. Use Relevant Hashtags

Hashtags are, first and foremost, a reach tactic – but greater reach typically equals higher engagement levels.

The use of hashtags is an excellent engagement strategy that should not be missed. But not just any hashtags will do. It all comes down to choosing the proper ones. So how do you determine which hashtags are effectively with your target audience?

You can track the hashtags you use by checking your hashtags insight metrics – likes, comments, impressions, reach, and saves.

This feature is a hidden treasure – it helps to improve your content strategy by showing which hashtags are worth keeping and which should be avoided. Not only should you understand the hashtags to use for engagement, but you should also consider how much you’re using.

11. Boost your posts

Getting your post in front of more eyeballs is one easy way to build engagement (and hopefully increase your follower count while you’re at it).

With a potential audience of more than 1 billion users on Instagram, your next superfan could be out there, just waiting to discover what you have to offer.

Using Instagram ads or boosted posts can be a strategic way of getting your name in front of the right people.

Ready to Increase Your Instagram Engagement?

The key to achieving marketing success on Instagram revolves around engagement rates. You need to experiment with the above strategies to identify the ones that work best for your brand. These tips will go a long way in helping you achieve that.

Try using these strategies the next time you’re planning a content and you will see that your engagement on Instagram will be increasing.

Do you have any questions about the best tactic to increase Instagram engagement rates? Let us know in your comments.