Although we are all well aware that the instagram feed is no longer in chronological order – posting at the prime time for your audience is more important than ever. Instagram’s algorithm is based upon high engagement and showing your followers content they’ll be interested in. In a statement announcing the algorithm changes instagram said:

“The order of photos and videos in your feed will be based on the likelihood you’ll be interested in the content, your relationship with the person posting and the timeliness of the post.”

Therefore, educating yourself on when your followers are most active and posting accordingly will allow you to engage with them – in turn, optimising your posts reach.

 

Conversation is Key:

Building relationships with your audience is a priority that has only been heightened by the change in algorithm. By replying to comments or at the very least ‘hearting’ them will not only boost the visibility of your post but will also aid the formation of relationships. Incorporating questions into your captions is a great way of encouraging this.

 

Giveaways/Call to Actions (CTAs):

Create fun giveaways that require your followers to interact with your post or your profile. For example getting them to tag you in their Instagram Stories or asking them to tag their 3 best friends on your post. By doing so you will increase the time your post is likely to stay in the instagram feed for and you’ll expand on your reach.

 

 Blog Post: Understanding Your Engagement Rate

 

Instagram Stories:

With over 3 million daily active users this is a great way to tap into your audience in between instagram posts. Followers will feel more personally connected to you as they are seeing a snapshot of your day. By making your Stories interactive you are further increasing engagement for example, utilising the poll and swipe up features. This also gives your following a voice and an opinion which allows them to feel more valued. The highlights feature on Stories now lets you permanently archive Stories on your profile. Existing followers can therefore go back and rewatch Highlighted Stories after the usual 24hr time limit and new followers have the option to view them which increases their overall reach.

 

 Blog Post: Instagram Stories… Do Yours Tell The Right Story?

 

Hashtags:

Using hashtags where relevant is important as instagram users search hashtags that they are interested in and have the option to follow them. When using a block of hashtags it is vital that you mix them up from time to time. Similarly to users being able to follow hashtags, they can also unfollow them. This prevents your posts from appearing in their feed every time you use that specific hashtag. So, using the right hashtags will increase your discoverability and influence.

 

Blog Post: Get The Lowdown On Influencer Engagement Rates

 

Cross promotion:

Something as simple as sharing your new post across all of your social channels can make a huge difference. It ensures that your post has the potential to reach your full influence and drives more traffic to it.

It is rumoured that setting up as a brand account can affect engagement, although there is no proof in this claim. However, here at ZINE we have you covered – you can access your audience demographics directly from your digital media kit. 

 

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Lucy Barker

I’m Influencer Marketing Executive here at ZINE, where I manage communications of over 40,000 influencers. I’m addicted to coffee, shopping and makeup