How to Increase Instagram Engagement for your Small Business

Instagram is one of the most visual and widely-used social media platforms on the planet, making it super powerful for sharing your business’s story, people, mission, previous work, and, of course, your goods and services. And the concept behind Instagram for a small business has always been fairly simple - upload photos and videos that represent your brand and products, include some relevant hashtags and your location, and watch the followers (aka potential customers) roll in. Well my friends, the name of the game has changed, and we’re going to show you why you should try and increase your Instagram engagement, instead of spamming your posts with irrelevant hashtags.

You see, with the introduction of the Instagram algorithm a number of years ago, being seen on Instagram has become harder and harder. Back in the good old days, Instagram would show posts in chronological order, meaning all of your followers could theoretically scroll through their feeds and eventually find the post your business did that morning. This is no longer the case.

The Instagram algorithm now chooses who sees what posts and when, depending on each individuals’ likes and preferences on social media, as well as how much engagement a post actually gets. Read the second part of that line over. Instagram’s algorithm essentially looks at how much engagement one of your post receives, and then determines whether or not to show it to a bunch of your followers, or hide it from their view.

Yes, this algorithm issue does make posting on Instagram seem like less of a worthwhile venture, but countless brands and businesses still do it. Why? Well, for one, millions upon millions of potential customers still use it every day. And secondly, if you can increase your Instagram engagement, the system can actually work better for you than the old chronological Instagram did.

You may be wondering how that’s possible. Well dear reader, it’s quite simple - if you are able to create a fan base on your Instagram that is highly engaged to your posts, Instagram will continually ensure that your posts reach their feeds, giving you and your brand tons of free exposure online. This means that, instead of hoping your followers scrolled all the way through their feeds to find the post you posted last night (in the old chronological days), highly engaged users will now open their Instagram accounts and see your brand’s post first, even if your post was from 10 hours before.

Aside from that obvious bonus of a highly engaged Instagram account, it should be noted that increasing your Instagram engagement is just all around better for your brand anyways. As you’ll see in a moment when I run you through how to increase your Instagram engagement for small businesses, Instagram engagement isn’t about racking up a bunch of likes and followers. It’s more so about getting customers to truly interact with your brand’s messaging, take specific actions towards your brand, and ultimately believe in your brand’s story and journey. And isn’t that what all brands truly want anyways?

So don’t fear the Instagram algorithm. If done correctly, you can increase engagement and actually utilize the Instagram algorithm to your advantage. To get you started on dominating your Instagram game, here are some tips for how to increase Instagram engagement for small businesses:

Include a Strong Call to Action

Fun and witty captions are always great, but captions that drive your customers and potential customers tend to boost engagement, and even lead to more sales (which is the name of the game!). And, believe it or not, if you ask your followers to do something, there’s a greater chance that they actually will than if you don’t ask. So, if you want to improve engagement on your posts, simply ask with a strong call to action.

A strong call to action can be anything from asking your followers to like your post if they agree with what it describes / represents, seeing if they’ll save or share it with other potential followers / customers who may like it, or asking them to comment to leave their opinion or to answer a simple question.

For example, you’ll see travel accounts post photos of specific places, and then the caption will ask their followers to tag a friend that they’d like to travel there with. This will not only increase Instagram engagement for the travel account, as the post will receive tons of comments, letting the Instagram algorithm know that this post is popular, it will also introduce the account to potential new followers, as your existing followers will be tagging new potential followers in the comments. Sounds like a win-win to us.

Tip: Explore some of the more successful Instagram accounts in your industry to discover what types of calls to action they use to increase Instagram engagement on their profiles, and then try and emulate that on your own.

Create Educational Content That’s Shareable

Every good digital marketing strategy should aim to create content that educates and brings value to their potential customers, and helps establish the brand as an expert in their chosen industry (that’s what this blog’s doing right now!). If you think about it, people utilize the internet to search for answers to a problem they’re having. You as a small business owner are typically the solution to a problem that your customers have. So why not educate them about the solution?

It may seem counterintuitive to offer education for free about a problem you solve, as you may think your customers will try and solve the problem themselves, but it can actually work in your advantage. Potential customers will start to see you as the expert in that industry, and will lean towards your services / products in the future if they can’t solve the problem themselves.

This idea of educating through great content is perfect for a website, but it’s also a great way to increase Instagram engagement for small businesses. Why? Because a great educational Instagram post will be saved or shared by your followers who are needing a solution to the problem you’re educating them on. And the more saves and shares your posts get, the more the Instagram algorithm shares your posts with your followers.

Tip: Create strong educational infographics with a free design tool like Canva. They’ll look professional, and, because they’re typically simple and visual, they’re easily shared and absorbed by your followers.

Use a Strong Image That Actually Stands Out

When you post on Instagram, your photo will only have a brief chance of being noticed by the followers that the algorithm actually shows it to, so your window for increasing engagement on a particular post is small. Why? Because your followers just casually scroll through Instagram, glancing at photos for barely a second (if that). If you want your followers and potential customers to engage with your posts more, you need to make sure you capture their attention - quick. Instagram is a visual social media platform after all!

Now, you don’t have to be a professional photographer or graphic designer to stand out on Instagram. Learning some simple editing and composition techniques to ensure your photos all look professional, or utilizing a free design software like Canva to build posts that stand out, can go along way. Even incorporating colours that pop can help (as long as it’s done tastefully).

Or, if you really want to stand out, hire a digital marketing agency to help you create digital assets that truly stand out for your brand.

Tip: Look at the accounts of competitors in your industry, and see which ones catch your attention and keep it there. Chances are you can recreate some of that magic in a way that’s unique to your brand.

Respond to All Comments and Direct Messages

As you create posts with strong calls to action, educational material and images that stand out, chances are you’ll start to get a lot of comments as well. And this is good, because that shows that people are interested in you, your work, and what your business represents. They may come from people who want to work with you too.

Comments and direct messages are also a great way to increase Instagram engagement for your small business. Why? Because comments and direct messages show the Instagram algorithm that people are into (or shall we say engaged with) your posts and content enough to stop and start a conversation with you about it. This signals to the algorithm that other people, too, may be interested enough to start a conversation about it, thus leading the algorithm to show your content to more of your followers.

As important as comments and direct messages are, responding to them are equally, if not more so, important. This is because your comment will not only count as an additional comment on your post, signalling to the algorithm that your post is receiving even more engagement, but it’ll also start to build real, human connections with people who dig you and your brand, and that’s what social media is all about anyways, isn’t it?

Tip: As part of your daily social media checklist, set five minutes aside to respond to all comments and direct messages. Check your requested messages folder as well.

Build Real Connections with Your Followers

Similar to responding to all comments and direct messages, another critical element to increase Instagram engagement for a small business is to build real connections with your followers, or just other people and businesses in general. Why? Because at the end of the day social media is about forming real human connections.

Though this idea may become lost due to the fact that the lines between technology and our personal, human lives have become blurred due to social media, there is still a human being on the other end of each social media profile that your brand’s profile encounters. As business owners on Instagram, the number of likes, comments and shares you receive won’t actually sell your products or services; the humans who believe in your brand, its values and the story behind it will, so make sure you actively connect with people on the platform; don’t just post photos with a whole bunch of hashtags and hope you’ll one day land a bunch of fans.

The best way to increase Instagram engagement for a small business is actually a bit of a long haul, but it’ll pay dividends in the long run. If you build genuine connections with people who like your brand or other businesses similar and help support their missions, they’ll return the favour by liking your posts, commenting on them, sharing them, and ultimately engaging with your Instagram profile.

So, how do you build real connections with your followers and fellow business owners and creators on Instagram? Leave a comment on a post that inspires you, share someone else’s post that you found educational, and reach out to a business or creator that might be good to collaborate with. Someday, they may just return the favour.

Tip: Comment on 5-10 posts that inspire you every day, and even follow a few. They may just follow you back if they’re inspired by your work too.

That’s it! Let us know how it goes in the comments below.

Want us to help you increase Instagram engagement for your small business by developing an awesome digital marketing strategy, managing your social media accounts, or creating content that actually steps outside the box? Contact us today.