15 ways to improve your instagram engagement

There’s a funny mood in the insta-air. For the first time in my memory, people are stepping away. Twitter is awash with people saying it just doesn’t work for them any more – for inspiration and for engagement – and the frustration is growing daily.

I have a lot of thoughts on this – on why it’s happening, and how it might change. There’s too much to include in this post, so I’ll save most of that for another day. I remain hopeful that more changes will happen, perhaps for the better.

As a bigger user, I’ve been pretty well insulated from the changes, but I’ve heard from lots of you who’ve seen a real negative impact, & so I wanted to share some ideas.
The tips below aren’t a solution – ultimately we need instagram to evolve (back) towards something more democratic again – but should give you some tools in the interim.

ways to get more likes and comments on instagram

1. Like more. Liking pictures often leads users to visit your page in return. Don’t only like the posts on your home feed – especially now Instagram control what you see here. Visit your favourite pages directly, and then go and like whatever is fresh and popular under your favourite hashtags. You can test the impact of this by having a ‘liking spree’ – explore a hashtag and like your faves for ten minutes. Watch what happens to your engagement immediately after.

2. Comment more. It’s good Insta-etiquette to try and visit the page of anyone who comments, and return the favour, and most people do this. Comment widely outside of your immediate circle to reach out to different users.

3. Comment awesomely. Making those comments count – by being funny, sassy, meaningful or kind – is all the more powerful. It’s easy to fall into the “lovely” or emoji trap (and that’s fine, btw – we’re not made of free time!) but if you have something better to say, then say it. People are more likely to investigate the person behind an intriguing comment – both the account you’re commenting on, and any other users who see it.

4. Reply to comments (also awesomely). Your captions and comments are your opportunity to show who you are, so make it count. Replying also means users get a reminder that they liked and commented on your post in their notifications, keeping you fresh in their mind.

5. Consider your profile picture. If people are clicking over from comments, likes, or followers, they’ll judge you based on a tiny thumbnail of your profile pic. Something that translates well even on a tiny scale is helpful here.

6. Optimise. Despite hopes and fears to the contrary, the changes haven’t completely removed the relevance of posting at a key time for your audience. Post when most people are online to get a better immediate response to your photo, and therefore a higher ranking in Explore & hashtag ‘top posts’.

7. Up your hashtag game. Without hashtags, you’re essentially posting to a private account. Make use of the full quota and switch them up regularly. Following my hashtag advice and subscribing to my free monthly hashtag emails can help you stay up to date. (You can sign up at the bottom of this page.)

8. Up your photo game. Brilliant content will always win out! You can read lots of my tips here and over on the Inkifi blog, and youtube is a goldmine for tutorials. If you’re struggling to find inspiration on Instagram (I know I am ?), try Pinterest for a fresh hit of ideas. I have a dedicated insta-inspiration board here.

9. Share elsewhere. As I’ve mentioned before, it’s always worth sharing your posts on other social media. Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest can all send new followers your way, and embedding photos directly into your blog means readers can add to your like count.

10. Enter contests. A feature from another, big account is a great way to reach out to a wider audience. Many run monthly, daily or weekly hashtag competitions that you can enter by uploading a photo. Check out my hashtag emails for suggestions, and this list on Mollie Makes to get started.

11. Rainbow colours. I’m loathe to suggest playing along with the Explore trends, for reasons I’ll explain in my next IG post – but then again, it does work. Images that are eye-catching thumbnails work well right now. Rainbow colours are generally a hit.

12. Negative space ticks the same box as rainbow colours. Combine the two and you’re on to a winner, engagement-wise. Whether you’re selling your soul to the insta-devil is a different point entirely… ?

13. Find a new audience. How many Japanese accounts do you connect with? Finnish? Korean? Brazilian? One problem with the algorithm is that it’s rapidly creating an insta-echo-chamber of middle-class white peony-shoppers. Step outside of this and find new inspiration worldwide again, and probably a new audience there with it.

14. Work with me! Ha! Sorry, but I had to, right? Due to overwhelming demand I closed the doors on my mentoring packages a few months ago, but I do have a handful of slots opening up in late September. If you’d like to work 1:1, drop me a note to be added to the waitlist & be the first to know.

15. Tell Instagram. If people used to like your posts, and aren’t now, it’s reasonable to assume that the changes have reduced the number of people who see them. While I don’t think blaming Instagram is especially helpful, a polite, friendly message letting them know how the update is working out for you can’t hurt! They don’t have a public email address for customer support, so a tweet or Facebook message is probably the best place to do this.

a twitter chat

Starting Tuesday 30th August at 8pm, I’ll be hosting a monthly Twitter chat to discuss Instagram issues & ideas. Follow me over there now to get more details, & look out for more info here & on my other channels once I finally decide on a hashtag! What do you guys think of #instaclinic?

More help

If you liked this, then you should love…

• My free instagram ebook – The Instaretreat
• My whole series of posts on Instagram tips
• My Instagram account at @me_and_orla

What’s working well for you on Instagram right now? Are you enjoying the changes?