Ready to see more engagement on your Instagram content? Wondering how to make your Instagram Reels, feed posts and stories get more likes, saves, and comments? Well, that’s what we’re talking about today! I’m sharing strategies you can think about to increase engagement on your Instagram content. Each of these strategies is something I use in my own business and are what I think really matters to make your content as engaging as you can. 

Capture & keep their attention

We’re creating content that needs to capture and keep the attention of our audience. In the first few seconds that they engage with me/my content, how can I keep them interested? No matter what you post – the first part should be the most captivating. The first set of your story, the first three seconds of your Reel, and even the first line of your caption needs to stop your audience’s scrolling. Some of my favorite ways to do this are calling out to my audience (“hey photographers!”) or throwing out a misconception about our industry. Seriously, anything that will get them to pause and look at your content is great. We want to capture their curiosity and get them to stay on your content.

When it comes to keeping their attention once you’ve gotten it, you need to think about how to keep your pieces of content engaging. Whatever it is, what is going to cause someone to keep looking through your Story or scroll through your whole post? An easy way to do this, especially with Stories, is to mix up what you’re sharing. Don’t share 15 slides of you talking or just screen shares. Keep things interesting. A quick tip for Reels – don’t leave “dead space” in a Reel. Get rid of (or limit) opportunities for people to move away from your Reel. Keep the content and pieces of your Reel compact. 

Change up the type of content you are creating

No one wants to see the same thing over and over again – especially when it comes to an app like Instagram. So, I just want to really encourage you to change it up! This is especially true when you want to see more engagement. We get questions from a lot of you asking why your engagement is low, and when we go to your account you are making lip syncs in the same spot with the same outfit in the same lighting over and over again… it seems pretty obvious. So, here’s your permission slip: try something new! Create new types of content that your ideal client will enjoy and find helpful. Show them why your products or services are going to help their pain points. 

Ps. If you need ideas of what to post, join our FREE CLASS: What to Post on Instagram for the Next 30 Days: How to Post on Instagram Consistently & Gain Highly Engaged Followers. It’s going to be a live video training with dates in 2023 on March 30, March 31, and April 1 (and no, this is not a joke!) Sign up to join us live here! 

Foster a loyal following on your account

Another way to increase engagement is to keep people coming back for more! Make your content bingeable so that people WANT to come back to your account. It’s important to engage back with your audience. I talk about this a lot – but it’s because it’s super important. You want to build your community and show them that you value their engagement. Finally, post consistently over the span of the month. Don’t post and ghost! Showing up consistently and regularly will help your engagement over time because you’ve created that engaged, loyal following. Over time, you’ll simply have more people who are excited for you to post content. 

Create more of what’s working

I’m a huge advocate of looking at your analytics and understanding what works for your account/your community – and what doesn’t. Reviewing your analytics can help you figure out if a certain kind of post or specific topic resonates with your audience. Make sure you’re looking at the type of post – and topic – so you know what to make more of! Your analytics will really show you what your audience ACTUALLY engages with!! That’s so important for you to understand as you’re looking to grow your account and increase engagement. 

BONUS TIP: Quality doesn’t matter as much as you think

We get a lot of questions about how to improve video quality – especially with Reels. I think the underlying concern for this question is that people worry that the quality of their video content is why they aren’t seeing engagement. But the reality is that you could have the highest quality video available, but if the content isn’t engaging or beneficial to your audience, then you’re not going to see an increase in engagement. Quality isn’t everything. Instead, what you’re sharing in the content and the message of what you’re saying matters way more than the quality of that content. 

As you can see, there’s lots of super simple things that you can do to increase engagement on your Instagram content! Want more tips? Check out our resources below! 

Other Instagram Resources 

Do you want someone to tell you exactly what to post on Instagram for the next 30 days to see real growth? Join my free Instagram class! The title of this free class is What to Post on Instagram for the Next 30 Days: How to Post on Instagram Consistently & Gain Highly Engaged Followers. It’s going to be a live video training with dates in 2023 on March 30, March 31, and April 1 (and no, this is not a joke!) Sign up to join us live here! 

I also offer a free one-hour Instagram Reels class if you want more help with how to grow your reach, followers, and customers with Reels in 2 hours a month! You can sign up for that HERE. And, if you have questions or want some extra support, I’ve got a FREE Reels Growth Facebook Community that you can join. I absolutely love getting to chat with everyone and help them work through their questions about Reels!

Wondering what to make for your next Reel? Free quiz to find out what type of reel idea you should make next! 

Discover what your next step should be to gain your next 1,000 followers!

Need ideas for Instagram? Grab our free sample Instagram posting schedule here!

We’ve started a podcast! If you haven’t checked it out yet, now is the time! If you’re listening and you have ideas about what to talk about next, please send in your requests! I really do want to know what you want to hear about in future episodes. Email me at [email protected] with your questions!! I can’t wait to hear from you!