Instagram is certainly one the most popular platforms for influencers. Brands love working with influencers on Instagram because of the analytics available to demonstrate performance. Since Instagram’s launch in 2010, the app has become a space for much more than posting photos with captions. Instagram gives influencers the ability to connect with their following and grow as a business. Building and boosting your engagement on Instagram can be thought of as both an art and a science. It takes a series of A/B testing, learning about your audience and finding what feels “right” for you to develop an engaged community on Instagram. Find Your Influence offers the following recommendations to influencers to grow their engagement on Instagram.
Find the Best Time to Post For You
While it may be easy to post when it is most convenient for you, your engagement depends upon when your audience is looking for your content. According to a study conducted by Later of over twelve million Instagram accounts, the best time to post on Instagram are:
- Monday: 6 AM, 10 AM, and 10 PM EST
- Tuesday: 2 AM, 4 AM, and 9 AM EST
- Wednesday: 7 AM, 8 AM, and 11 PM EST
- Thursday: 9 AM, 12 PM, and 11 PM EST
- Friday: 5 AM, 1 PM, and 3 PM EST
- Saturday: 11 AM, 7 PM, and 8 PM EST
- Sunday: 7 AM, 8 AM, and 4 PM EST
Take note of these times and play around with them. See what times are best for your engagement based on your specific audience. Instagram is prioritizing “new” content, meaning that you should figure out when your audience is most likely scrolling through their feed. Later this year, Find Your Influence will be introducing a series of influencer-based analytics, showing when content is most engaged on your feed. (Check back weekly to the blog for more updates.)
Don’t Just Post, Utilize Instagram’s Features
While Instagram started off as a strictly photo-sharing platform, over the last decade it has grown to be much more. Influencers have the ability to interact with their followers through Instagram Story questions, polls, quizzes, and the countdown sticker. Each of these features gives followers the opportunity to directly interact with the creator, developing a stronger connection. Creators should be regularly using these features and encouraging followers to respond.
Blogger Bethanie Garcia is often using various story questions and polls to prompt responses and engage with her following. Every Tuesday, she hosts“Confession Tuesdays” on her Stories where her audience can submit confessions about themselves. In addition, she also engages her audience through various polls in an effort to normalize certain topics/conversations.
Go Outside Your Comfort Zone to Boost Your Engagement
When posting content on Instagram, it is easy to become complacent and stick to what you know. Instagram features like Reels, IG Live and IGTV to allow your audience to get to know you better. Rather than showing just a single image, followers get a peek inside various aspects of your life. Use your niche to your advantage and post videos that coincide with that. For example, if you’re a fashion influencer, create a reel of you doing a try-on haul with a voiceover explaining why you styled it that specific way.
Fashion and beauty creator, Tomi Obebe, is often posting Reels with a diverse range of content. Recently, she’s done try-on hauls, her favorite sunscreens, and dance trends.
Long Captions Can Yield Greater Engagement
While long captions may seem tedious to write out, one of the factors that impacts your Instagram engagement is the amount of time you put into the post. Your captions should tell a story and explain the meaning or situation behind your photos or videos. Not all of them have to be 2,000 characters, but choose the posts that make the most sense to create longer captions for.
LA-based Alicia Tenise is a great example of a blogger who creates long captions for her posts in order to engage with her following. For example, earlier this summer she posted a photo at the Row in Downtown Los Angeles. Rather than just posting the image, in the caption she listed her favorite things to do at the Row, tagging each business. She is not just sharing a day in her life, but giving her followers the ability to learn as well.
Boost Your Engagement When You Utilize Hashtags
Hashtags are one of the founding features of social media. Hashtags give creators the ability to be seen beyond their following. Instagram users search hashtags to find new content and inspiration.
Are you someone who wants to grow their popularity as an influencer, but you don’t know where to start? Reach out to our Influencer Management Team with your questions today. Send us an email at info@findyourinfluence.com.
Freelance contribution especially written for Find Your Influence by Gemma Weinstein.