No, the algorithm isn’t against you.
On top of creating great content, it’s important to do the work. Yes, you can’t just post and ghost - you need to stay on your social platforms and actively ENGAGE with your audience if you want them to return the favor.
It’s really important to have an engaged audience when it comes to holding a successful online profile.
An engaged audience will listen to you.
An engaged audience will buy your products.
An engaged audience will bring you clients.
So here are a few things to add to your social media strategy to help improve your engagement and reach a new audience.
1. Post to stories at least 5-6 times a week
Okay, hear us out. We know that it may seem like a lot of work but it really isn’t. The content used in your stories is a little more relaxed than the content shared to your feed: Behind the scenes, flash sales, meet and greets, how to’s, advice …. The list goes on and on.
Stories are located at the top of your feed on all platforms that offer the feature (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) so your chances are higher to be seen. Have you noticed that you typically receive more views on your stories than likes you receive on your posts?
Yup. That’s because it is purposely placed in a high traffic area.
When you’re posting to your story, make sure that you have at least three to four posts in a row. This helps you actually create, well - a story.
Tip: You don’t have to post immediately. Collect your content then post at your peak time the next day if it’s not something timely.
2. Use the engagement stickers
Instagram has its platform set up for engagement. This is because they are a business and they want you to engage with others because that keeps their users on their app longer. To encourage more time spent on their app, they provide tools to encourage engagement.
When you are posting to your story, always use:
- Location sticker
- Hashtag sticker
You’ll also want to use the poll stickers, questions, quiz, slidebar...these stickers are there to get your audience to respond. Create a quiz about your product or services. Use the poll sticker to end the ongoing debate on how you pronounce “tomato” (it’s tom-A-to btw).
Tip: Did you know that you can use up to ELEVEN hashtags on a story? Click here to learn how.
3. Use ALL the new features
Stories, REELS, IGTV, guides...it seems like Instagram is constantly adding new features to their app. Use them. Why? Because Instagram wants to encourage its users to use these new features, so they’ll help push content created using these new options.
Tip: Watch for trending songs or trends and recreate it in a way that relates to your industry.
4. Hashtags
No, they aren’t useless. Yes, you need to use them. When it comes to tags on Instagram, you can use up to 30. You want to make sure you’re using a mix of popular tags with a high rate of use, and less trendy tags with a low rate of use. You should also search for niche hashtags to follow and engage with on a regular basis.
Tip: Don’t just use industry specific hashtags as the whole point is to be discovered by people who may not be following you.
5. Actually engage
You’d think we wouldn’t have to remind people to do this, but here we are - reminding people to do this. Social media is meant to be social, so you’ll need to socialize. You need to engage with your dream audience. That means you’ll need to view and respond to stories posted on your feed. You’ll need to answer others’ calls to action and you’ll have to like people’s posts.
We do this for at least an hour a day per client. We also mix it up! We’ll spend about 20 minutes in the morning, maybe another 10 during lunch time and then spend the remainder after 6:00 p.m.
Do this every day and you will absolutely see a difference. We can pretty much guarantee it.
Tip: Make sure to read the captions and leave real comments. Try asking a question related to their content over leaving a high five emoji.
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