optimize your engagement on instagram

1. Switch to a Business Account: Not only will you have access to numerous statistical tools to understand your community, but you’ll also benefit from a more refined bio and contact options. Pay attention to your bio: the first impression can change everything!

2. Engagement is King: Let’s stop the race for followers once and for all! Engagement is now the flagship of visibility on Instagram (and in the Facebook kingdom): the more a follower interacts with your content, the more likely they’ll see it in the future. However, remember that only 30% of your Fan Base sees your content!

3. Understand Different Types of Interactions: In the hunt for engagement, sharing reigns supreme. Likes, comments, saves, or shares don’t have the same value for the Instagram algorithm. So, create content that people would want to save or share with their loved ones; it’ll boost your visibility!

4. The Power of Calls to Action: Be straightforward and clear in the information you disclose. Encourage your followers to “click the link in bio” or discover the new post by adding attractive emojis! Also, reshare your Reels, posts, carousels, videos within your stories to create a bridge between ephemeral and lasting content.

5. The Art of Conversation and Moderation: Not only talking about yourself is imperative in brand communication nowadays. The idea is to find a balance between institutional content, educational content, inspiring content… while showing a lot of interest in your community (make them vote, express themselves, co-create)! It’s also essential to take the time to interact with other accounts that interest you to gain visibility by capillarity. Instagram is a “social” network; yesterday’s “top-down” communication between the brand and its audience no longer has a place now! Don’t forget to take care of your moderation: answer questions, comments, and private messages promptly, respond to everything!

6. Hashtags: Vary hashtags (no more than 10 or 11 per post) with brand hashtags, sector hashtags, circumstantial hashtags depending on the publication. Remember that hashtags are valuable tools only associated with quality content. You can also add them to your stories to increase your visibility. Instagram also integrates stories into content search via hashtags. To find relevant hashtags, you can use the Instagram search bar, which will suggest keywords by usage frequency!

7. The Importance of Cross-Posting: Repost your publications in stories that are not subject to the algorithm but appear in chronological order. Also, repost your content from other platforms by integrating the “LINK” sticker into your stories (to blog articles, YouTube videos, discords…).

8. Less is More: Post less but better. Avoid long breaks (during the summer, for example) to avoid negatively impacting your organic reach.

9. Be Authentic: Gone are the days of polished but soulless feeds or photo databases. If you want to convince, you must first move and reassure. Don’t hesitate to show the faces of your company, the teams behind the work done, behind-the-scenes, but also give expert tips that only you know!

10. Continuous Optimization: A mantra for social networks is “Test & Learn”! Use Instagram statistics abundantly (connection times of your subscribers, best posts, affinities…) to refine your content to the nearest. Also, closely follow content trends: today, videos and Reels seem to garner the most engagement compared to photos, but it may not be the case for your account! Vary the content (photos, carousels, videos, Reels, stories) to analyze what works best.

Audrey Mezin

Head of Web Marketing and Activation at Gardeners.
Part-time Lecturer at INSEEC and IAE University of Savoie Mont-Blanc.