If you have a social media account and/or happen to be on Instagram, you know that while there are literally millions of people using it, not all are active. It’s easy to get disillusioned when it seems like nobody is engaging with your posts and your follower count isn't climbing the way you want them to and you even consider buying Instagram followers. But luckily, there are many ways that you can engage your community to increase their level of engagement with your content. Below are five ideas from influencers who have seen firsthand the effects of each approach on their following size and engagement rate.
5 Ideas To Engage Your Instagram Followers
1. Be Interaction-Friendly
If you're unsure of what it means to be “interaction-friendly,” that's okay. Just remember that the more interactive you are with your followers, the more likely you are to gain engagement on Instagram with your posts and become a loyal fan following instead. The purpose of interacting is to encourage the community to interact with you back—and this applies whether it's through a comment or direct message.
For someone to interact with you, they need some sort of information or knowledge about you. If they don't know anything about what you do, imagine how little they'll want to interact with your posts if there's nothing in them that interests them or motivates them to participate.
More often than not, people who engage with your posts tend to be fans of what you do and interested in learning more about you or your work. This means caring about what you have to say on the platform and are likely passionate about whatever you're talking about.
One reason for this is that people like feeling like they know something about the person they follow, even if it's just a little bit.
2. Answer Questions
When you buy Instagram followers, people love getting information from you. Even if it's something as simple as a “how-to” question, people will appreciate it if you're willing to answer their questions.
For example, if someone asks you where you got the inspiration for a certain project you did, that's one thing but ask them what they want to make and they're probably going to keep interacting with you.
People like learning more about the whys behind your work, how long you've been doing what you do and how much time and effort goes into doing what makes your work unique and special.
And when you're answering questions, be sure to include a link to your main website or profile so that people can follow it and see more.
3. Be Inclusive
It's important to think about who you're interacting with—and this isn't just about communicating with your followers in a way that makes them feel like they're the only ones in the world who matter. Pay attention to anyone who's sharing and engaging with your content and make sure to connect with them on as many platforms as you can which will help you gain engagement on Instagram and on other platforms too.
I know this might sound counterintuitive, but you'll end up gaining more followers from being inclusive than if you were only accepting connections from people within your smaller circle of influence.
4. Engage with Influencers
There are so many relationships to be formed in the Instagram community, so you can't just stick with your core following. Instead of working to get more followers of your own, reach out to people and start building relationships with them by commenting on their work or liking their posts and then following up by sharing a piece of information that you feel might be interesting or relevant to them.
If you engage Instagram influencers who have a similar following size as you, they'll have no reason not to follow you back. And if they don't, they might expose your account to theirs.
5. Be Consistent
If you want your content to go noticed, you need to figure out how to make it interesting enough for people to engage with it again and again.
This means creating a memorable brand, posting quality content consistently, and providing value in whatever way you can so that people will be dying for more.
For example, rather than just posting a picture of you every day in which every face looks different (if not every outfit), find something that seems to resonate with your followers and stick with it. Perhaps it's an event, a certain type of look, or even a caption that's used on most of your photos—do what works and be consistent with it so that people recognize what they're seeing when they see it.
This is why hashtags are so important. Not only do they help people find you, but they also help you reach your audience—and every time you post a photo with a hashtag related to your brand, it's also almost like advertising for your work.
Posting regularly and consistently is likely one of the most important things you can do when it comes to increasing your follower count and gaining engagement on Instagram. So don't feel like you need to create completely original content every single day—just post what makes sense for your brand, when it makes sense for your brand, and remember that it's about creating quality over quantity.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the first thing to keep in mind is that increasing your Instagram followers will never be a walk in the park. You need to be very active when it comes to marketing your brand, especially on Instagram. But the good news is that you don’t have to do it alone.
Always strive for originality and creativity in your content. The easiest approach to achieve this is to see how others create unique and innovative material. Also, try to interact with your current followers as often as possible, and don't forget to have a fantastic profile photo and a wonderful description of yourself.