Why Has My Instagram Engagement Dropped?
Have you noticed a big decline in the number of likes and engagements your Instagram posts are receiving? You are not the only one and many are searching for answers!
Independent studies have shown a gradual decline in Instagram’s brand page engagement rates over the last six months. Some believe this dip is due to Instagram making changes to their algorithm and prioritising paid posts. However these claims have been denied by Instagram.
Many aren’t surprised by these changes, as it wasn’t long ago that we saw this trend on Facebook. Facebook began by giving brands the freedom to reach their fans organically, but eventually, that reach began to decline, until the point where now it is virtually impossible to reach any of your Facebook Page audience unless you are paying to promote your posts.
So is there anything you can do to boost your Instagram engagement?
For companies that want to keep their marketing focus on Instagram and believe that this is where their customers are spending their time, then we would suggest testing some paid advertising to see how it performs.
It is fairly simple to set up and you can set a low budget to start you off. The good news is you can test it on Instagram posts that you have already created and turn it off whenever you like.
If you do not have any budget, but still want to find ways to give your Instagram engagement a boost then here are a few tips…
- Re-evaluate your Instagram marketing strategy.
Take time to sit down and have a really good think about your current marketing efforts. The strategy you decided on a year ago may not match with the audience you are talking to now.
If your engagement is declining, this is a good indicator that your audience and your message are not in alignment
- Use Instagram stories
Many companies refrain from using the Instagram Story feature because they haven’t got anything exciting to share when they are sitting at a computer. However, on the days where content is low, you could promote popular old feed posts using your Instagram stories. This is a great way to give new life to those forgotten pieces of content!
- Focus on value & quality
Quality of your posts is also a key consideration for boosting your engagement rates. When you are taking the time to re-evaluate your marketing strategy, be sure to have a good think about what your audience want and need? Then get creative and think of new ways to convey this information into content that will capture your follower’s attention.
- Hashtags
When creating your list of hashtags for an image or video, don’t be afraid to use the full allowance of 30. However, try to mix up your hashtags from ones you have used previously and use a mixture of small, medium and large trending hashtags.
