With over 700 million active Instagram users, we know the importance of getting a lot of engagement on an Instagram post. We also know, it is not always an easy feat. There are many people posting selfies and sunset photos because everyone is a photographer when it comes to Instagram.
People thrive on posting a picture and watching the notifications roll it. They love watching their followers increase, and trying to determine an algorithm that will increase overall page engagement.
Although receiving more likes and followers can be difficult, it is possible. Our crew at Eternity is here to maximize your time spent on Instagram and provide you with tips and tricks that will enable you to witness noticeable growth.
Share High-Quality Images
Do NOT overlook the importance of having high-quality images. Avoid posting photos that are grainy, blurry, pixilated, or too dark. You will likely not get as many likes. We highly recommend using Instagram’s photo editing software that is built into the app itself, however, do not OVER edit.
In addition, when posting graphics to your Instagram page, we do not recommend using too many different fonts or leaving out any room for white space within the graphic. Too much CAN be a bad thing.
We are not saying that you need to be a professional photographer or graphic designer, but you must put in an effort in our to increase the amount of engagement on a post. Focus on post quality, whether that means upgrading your camera or sitting in a room with better lighting.
Write Engaging Captions
The perfect caption is difficult because it all depends on your audience. In order to get the most out of your high-quality image, you need to pair it with a high-quality caption. Make it interesting, engaging, and value-packed. Perhaps your audience enjoys humor, don’t be afraid to sneak some of your humor into the caption. additionally, ask questions and force engagement from your followers.
Avoid one-word or single-sentence captions, and instead do your best to inspire and provoke emotion by telling a story, sharing a statement, or providing tips and tricks. Your goal is to provoke humor, nostalgia, or inspiration. Make it easy for your audience to put themselves in your shoes, and relate to your caption and photo.
Use a Call-To-Action
Do NOT overthink this step. Keep it simple by including a line at the end of your caption, such as “Like this post if you agree!” or “Follow the link in my bio.” Be very clear to your audience, because your audience will not be able to read your mind. You must be precise if you want to get them to do what you want them to.
Know your Audience
You have probably heard this a lot, but know your audience so that you can tailor your content to appease them. If you know what their interests are, what they like to do for fun, you will find it easier to appeal to them through your image and your caption.
Instagram is more simple than we know. Pick a niche, and run with it. You will attract an audience, and be able to give them what they are looking for easily. From there, the followers will flow in and the likes will increase.
Add a GEO-Location to Every Post
Believe it or not, adding a GEO-location to your social media post will make a huge difference. It makes it easier for followers to find you because your post appears under that location and it can increase your reach and your likes.
ALWAYS remember to add a GEO-location to your Instagram post, it is the first thing you should do when creating a post. This location can be somewhere that you are not, somewhere in which the photo was taken, or any other location of your choice. Most importantly, consider what locations your target audience would be most interested in.
Like and Comment Daily
This is a crucial step, yet a step that many people do not do out of laziness. In order to get likes, you must be willing to give them! When you show genuine interest in someone else’s content, you are more likely to get a few likes back, and perhaps even a new follower.
Instagram has released information that proves that the more you engage with other Instagram users, the more likely you are seen as a real person, and will earn more followers and likes. Engaging on a daily basis for 15-30 minutes will improve your standing in the Instagram algorithm, and increase your likes and reach in no time at all.
Use the Right Hashtags
Avoid using random hashtags. This is vital to not only increase the likes you get on a photo but to your entire Instagram strategy. If you use a hashtag that does not fit your post, you will miss out on a huge amount of engagement, and the engagement you do receive will likely be from competitors or people who do not fit your target audience.
We highly recommend using at least 30 hashtags in a post. That sounds like a lot, but it will reach a larger audience. Be sure to avoid using hashtags that are way too popular (think 1 million or most posts) because your image will get buried in a matter of minutes.
Encourage People to “Tag a Friend”
In order to get more likes on an Instagram post, your post needs to be seen by as many people as possible. Increase your traffic by using a simple call to action that encourages your audience to tag a friend or two, and like your latest post. This will add value to your audience, and encourage them to engage with your post by tagging a friend.
Be sure to keep your audience in mind when doing this, because you want to tailor this request to a specific user.
Utilize Instagram Stories
Do NOT forget about Instagram stories! It is growing increasingly popular amongst the Instagram population, with 500 million daily active users worldwide utilizing Instagram stories to share posts, and get a message across to their audience. They can be used to both broadcast your content, or to increase traffic to your recent post and easily boost your likes.
This is very easy, yet very important. Share your latest post to your Instagram story, and encourage your audience to check it out. Be sure to include the actual post, a swipe up link, or an @ mention to yourself so that they can easily access your Instagram feed.
Shoutout your Favorite Brand
If you have recently found an account that you love, and want to get their attention, give them a shoutout in your post or Instagram story. Be sure to tag them in the caption, and in the photo. Anyone who is tagged in your content will receive a notification and might share it with their account. This will lead to more followers and likes on your post.
Tag Relevant Accounts in your Post
With very little effort, you can tag relevant people and brands in your Instagram posts, give a shoutout, and tag them in the post. This will leave them with a notification, and it effectively grabs the attention of their brand and audience.
Oftentimes, the owner of the account will throw a like your way, and you will also remain in their ‘tagged posts’ section where their followers may or may not come across your account.
Only tag accounts that are relative to your posts, because if it is not relevant it can come off as a scam and have the opposite effect.
Host a Giveaway
Make things light and fun with an Instagram giveaway. This will also increase the likes and followers on your account because it tells entrants that they must follow your post to be qualified for the giveaway. You can add a few additional requirements, such as following you and tagging a friend or two, which will increase your overall account engagement and follower count.
Utilize Cross-Promotion
Again, do NOT overthink it, and cross-promote your content in order to get more Instagram likes. Your audience will not always see your posts due to the flood of others, therefore you want to make sure your Instagram content is accessible to audience members across each social media platform.
In addition, to cross-promoting social media posts, you can also cross-promote your social media pages. For example, you can share your Twitter name on your Instagram stories, and increase the number of followers on all of your platforms.
Post Consistently
Post regularly, and play around with times. You will not receive more likes if your audience isn’t seeing a post to engage with. Keep things consistent in order to keep your brand in the top of mind, and in order to follow along nicely with Instagram’s algorithm.
This does not mean that you have to post more than once a day, but you do need to have a consistent schedule. Check your account insights in order to see if it is an improvement on your account engagement rating.
Utilize Paid Promotion
Last but not least, we highly recommend a paid promotion. We generally encourage paid advertising as a way to increase traffic to a free opt-in or a sales page, however, ads can help increase likes.
To promote a post, you simply hit the “Promote” button underneath the images and follow the steps. Keep in mind that this does cost money, and it will add up. This is best used when leading your audience to a profit-generating outlet, such as your website.
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