Wondering how to increase engagement on instagram organically in 2021?
If you’ve noticed a drop in engagement from the instagram algorithm, in this video I share instagram engagement tips, my instagram engagement strategy to increase instagram reach and growth.
If you want to get more engagement on instagram, use these 6 instagram templates that will BOOST your engagement that I created for you. Download for FREE here:
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(00:00):
Okay, so let's talk about the dreaded A word for a second. If you've been on Instagram for a while now, you have definitely experienced the rollercoaster of emotions when it comes to another algorithm update, and you probably saw your engagement drop drastically. But rather than spending another minute complaining about the algorithm change and blaming the algorithm for a lack of engagement, I promise you, it is not worth your energy.
(00:29):
In this video, I'm going to share my three algorithm-proof tips that will increase your engagement in just seven days. It will also help you create a loyal following and build a super awesome brand. But before we get to that, if you do not want to miss out on cool hacks and ideas to help you grow your business, please be sure to hit the subscribe and notify buttons now.
(00:51):
Welcome, I'm Vitina, co-founder of a Brand Therapy Sessions. And I got to tell you, I get this question all the time. "Vitina, I keep making all these posts. No one's engaging with them, and the algorithm hates me. What do I do?"
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So the first thing that you need to remember, and never ever forget this, is that Instagram is a storytelling platform. That is all it is. And it's also an essential marketing and storytelling tool for every business. Think about it. It gives your ideal clients and your audience a quick accessible, emotional, and highly visual experience of your brand and of your message. And because you can create such an intimate connection on Instagram, you can probably begin to understand why the platform has the highest average brand engagement rate of all the main social media channels.
(01:48):
And remember, Instagram is a social platform. So the folks over at IG, they're rewarding users who are actually engaging on the platform. And I know what you might be thinking. "I have email campaigns to write. I have courses to create. I have clients to tend to. Fill in the blank, Vitina. How in the world am I going to find time to engage every day?"
(02:12):
And look, I hear you, but Instagram is like a goldmine of your ideal clients. And if you think of engaging as a way to authentically connect with your dream clients and a way for those clients to actually find you, it might change your mindset around doing this for your business regularly. And you're not just doing this for the glorified numbers. And I promise you with what I'm about to share in this video, you only need 15 minutes a day, that's it. So without further ado, let's dive into the first tip.
(02:47):
Tip number one, create engaging content. So when it comes to your grid, Instagram rewards posts that are saved and that are shared. So the more saves shares a post has, it tells Instagram that this is some crème de la crème content and it wants to boost your post out to more of your followers.
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So when it comes time to actually create your content, think about if the idea is actually shareable or saveable. And this goes for your static posts, your carousels, your IGTV, and your reels. So really put yourself in the shoes of your ideal client and of your audience and think about what they're really struggling with right now. What do they desire right now? And really think about how you can make their day better just by interacting with your post and using your skills to match whatever they're struggling with.
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And the same principle applies to stories as well. So if you think about using Instagram's features, like polls, questions, or even that little slidey scale, those features are already more engaging because they're very interactive. So if people are using those on your posts, it's going to tell Instagram or hinting to Instagram that people are digging your stories, and that way they know to actually push your story out to more of your followers to get more eyeballs on it.
(04:18):
And the most important thing that you need to remember is consistency. Yes, I am sure that you've heard this many times before, but seriously, to stay at top of your audience's mind, you need to be putting out content consistently and regularly. And not just any sort of content, content that they actually find valuable.
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Now, if you do have trouble coming up with ideas, we created a whole video exactly on this topic. I will link the video up here and I'll also put it in the resources mentioned below. And to make your life even easier, I created six free Instagram templates that you can edit and update to your brand in Canva. They are super easy to modify and they'll make your posts look great, I promise. You can also find the link to download the templates in the description below.
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Alright, now I am curious, what type of Instagram user do you identify as?
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Are you A, someone who posts daily, you constantly engage with people who comment and like your posts and you also engage with other people's posts and comments?
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Or are you B, you post a few times a week and only sometimes engage with comments and likes?
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Or are you C, you post randomly or maybe once in a blue moon and you don't spend time commenting back to users and you don't engage with other accounts activity?
(05:47):
Hey, there is no judgment here, but let me know where you're at. Are you A, B or C? Tell me in the comments below.
(05:56):
Now that brings us perfectly to tip number two, engage with your existing audience. So if you do fall into the category of B or C, it is time to show your audience some love. There are three things that I want you to do, and I'm going to do it together with you on my phone.
(06:18):
So the first thing that I want you to do is take a look at your last three posts. I'm going to use one post, just as an example, but you do this for at least your last three posts. So I'll look at our latest posts and I'm going to take a look at the comments and I want to make sure that I have liked and responded to each of those comments. So I already see one that I didn't like, so I'm going to do that and I'm going to reply back to Alexandria and I'll ask her, "What is one step you're taking towards your wildest dreams this week?" Perfect.
(07:09):
So I sent that over to her. I'll make sure that all of the rest of them are good. It looks like we're good there. And now the second thing that I want you to do is you're going to go to each of these accounts, and I'll use Alexandria as a post again, and you're going to like their latest three posts. So I'll take a look here. I'll like this post. I'll like this one, and this one, and I actually had just read this post and Alexandria was explaining how proud she has been over the last few months, and I'm just going to share that appreciation back. "Proud of you ladies and your Growth." Perfect.
(08:02):
So once you have done that for all of the comments that are here, the next place you're going to look is your likes. So you'll do the same thing. You'll go into the people who had liked your post and you'll like their latest three posts and leave a genuine comment.
(08:23):
Now, once you've done that, I want you to take a look at your latest followers and what you're going to do is send your latest followers a DM, welcoming them to your community, letting them know how grateful you are to have them in your space and let them know what they can expect from what your content is or what's in it for them. Or even if maybe you have a freebie that you think they would benefit from, you could send that to them as well.
(08:54):
So I'm going to use love and light Nicole here as an example. I'm going to send her a message, and I had already had this copied, so I'm just going to paste it and I'm going to make sure I change the name to the right person. So I know her name's Nicole. And we just have a nice welcome message here. I let her know exactly what to expect from our page and I let her know about our free six-day brand bootcamp to help her get started if she's struggling with anything in terms of her branding and her business, and I'll just press send.
(09:33):
So the reason I want you to send your followers or your new followers at least a DM, because the algorithm prioritizes posts from your family, your friends, and the accounts that you genuinely care about. And it uses the interactions that you have with people as a way to piece together who those most important accounts are for you, and DMS is one of those main interactions that they prioritize.
(10:06):
And the last tip, tip number three, engage with your ideal client. If you have zero clue who your ideal client is, please watch our episode on this. I'll link it up here and I'll also link it in the description below. If you don't have any clue who your ideal client is, no sweat, you can still follow along with what I'm about to share, but you'll be doing it with less strategy and kind of aimlessly, but that's okay.
(10:34):
There are two places you can look to find your ideal client on Instagram. The first place is looking at accounts that do something similar to you or accounts that your ideal client would actually be interested in. So let's take a look at it that Reese's account, she's the founder of Yes Supply, and Yes Supply is a coaching certification. So we're not necessarily doing the exact same thing as her as let's just say a brand strategist or a brand designer. But I do know that the people coming out of these courses are going to be starting their own business and I do know that we can really help them and serve them in growing their business through our Instagram content.
(11:21):
So let's take a look for a moment at her latest post. So let's take a look here and I'm going to take a look at this post right here. And the first place I'm going to look, similar to tip number two, is in the comments. So I'll go down here and what you're going to do is go to each of these accounts and you're going to like and you're going to comment on the posts.
(11:50):
So let's see, let's go to this person here. Amazing. I'm going to like that post, this post. And this post here, I personally love talking about limiting beliefs. So I'm going to leave a comment here and I'm going to write, "Working through my own limiting beliefs. Thanks for sharing these tips."
(12:25):
So after I've gone through all the comments, and I go through all the comments first because I know these people are the most engaged. The second place I'm going to look is in the likes, and I'm going to do the exact same thing. I'll go to these accounts. If it's private, you can't do anything about that, just like that account. But you'll go to the accounts that are open and you'll like a few posts and you'll leave a genuine comment. And the last place that you're going to look is in her new followers or in the account's new followers, and you'll do the same thing. So what I want you to do or what I recommend is having a list of five to 10 accounts that you can do this with.
(13:07):
The other way you can find your ideal client is through searching in the hashtag section. So I'll go to the main search page and I'll click on tags and let's take a look at #soulpreneur. So I had already clearly searched that. But I'll click on this and I'm going to take a look at the latest posts. Let's take a look at this gal. She might be a perfect ICA for us. And what I do again is I like three of the posts and I'd leave a genuine comment.
(13:43):
I know initially that this might seem like a lot, but once you get the hang of this and once you get in the rhythm of doing this every day, again, all you need is 15 minutes a day to show your audience some love and in turn you're going to get more engagement. And if you haven't already, make sure to go download the six free Instagram templates I created for you in the description below. They'll make creating content much easier and faster. And hey, I promise they'll look good.
(14:15):
Now, if you like this video, please be sure to hit the thumbs up button below and hit that subscribe button so you never miss out on cool hacks and ideas to help you grow your business. Happy engaging, and we'll see you in the next video.