5 Rules to Keep High Engagement on Instagram
Let’s be honest - who doesn’t want their followers to grow, have more likes on their posts, have more views on their stories, or maybe just land on more feeds? But if you’re just posting & ghosting - there’s no way it’s gonna happen organically.
Keep Your
Audience Engaged
As you grow your audience and tribe, which actions are going to be the most effective in keeping them engaged? I'm sharing my 5 classic recommendations that will work for you whether you have 100 or 100K followers.
5 Rules to Keep High Engagement on Instagram
Rule 1: Welcome your new followers
Go to their accounts and spent a few moments getting to know THEM. If they followed you- HOPEFULLY you have some connection. For me, they might be moms, or local to Arizona, or maybe they are an entrepreneur i need to connect to. LIKE the posts you like and leave a genuine comment on their feed - this makes them feel seen. Think of it as a waving back and welcome them to your tribe.
Rule 2: Have a Call To Action (CTA) in every post
An easy question to ask yourself is, “now what?” after you write your copy. The answer could be leaving a comment, bookmarking this post, sharing to your stories, or heading to the link in bio. You don't want to leave your audience hanging so please guide them to the next natural step.
So you're probably thinking, - okay I get it but how do I do that without sounding salesly or BASIC? I got you!
Instead of: “Do you feel this way too?”
Try this:
- Where are my tired mamas at?
- Which one of these are you committing to trying today?
- Let me know I'm not alone and tell me about a time you...
For bookmarking and sharing, I like to remind my audience of the value in doing so.
Instead of: “Save this post!”
Try: Save this post for your next grocery run!
- Refer to this post the next time you get writer’s block!
- Share this to your stories if you think your audience will find it valuable
Rule 3: Get on IG Stories
Stop hesitating and go for it! Listen to the little content creator in your heart and don’t overthink it (remember, it’ll disappear in 24hrs anyway so have fun!)
Start with behind the scenes, quick tutorials, or just share your unique POV.
Make use of polls, questions, and other interactive stickers so you have easy access to your audience’s DMs.
Learn Your Hashtags
Use em in your posts to be discovered, and engage with the ones you're using. Get out of your own feed! It's great to attract your tribe, but you also have to put the work in to go out there and find them.
Your ideal customers are out there, make it easy for them to find you even if that means you're saying hello first!
So how does this actually look like? If you're using hashtags correctly, I want you to engage with the top 9 most RECENT accounts that posted using the same hashtags you just used. (Not the TOP posts - but the most RECENT)
The most recent shows us they're active and probably checking the likes and comments on their post, too. Obviously choose the ones who are relevant, not just “keyword stuffing” ones - but go ahead and give their profile a visit, or leave them a genuine comment on their post.
If you're not sure where to start, I recommend beginning with hashtags used in your niche, location, and ideal client)
If you need more help with #4, please Grab my FREE Hashtag Strategy Guide here to learn how to leverage the power of hashtags.
Rule 5: Use Common Comment Courtesy
Comment back (yes, every single time). You’re never too cool to say thank you. And the more engagement IG sees, the more it will deliver to a bigger audience. It also invites your audience to add their 2 cents to the ongoing conversation and seeing you have a real presence with your tribe.