You’ve seen it, you’ve felt it, you’re experiencing it: Instagram engagement is down for traditional posts. With the introduction of Reels, engagement has been declining year-over-year for carousel, single-image, and in-feed video posts. And, suffice to say, users and businesses alike are not happy:
We’re diving into why engagement is dipping on the ‘gram, and how to pivot your content strategy to make up for the recent changes.
5 Things To Do When Your Instagram Engagement Is Down
First things first — try not to take it personally. Engagement rates have taken a hit for everyone, but it’s not all gloom and doom. The future of Instagram presents new storytelling opportunities and ways to promote your business.
Tip #1: Share More Instagram Reels
With Instagram pivoting to Reels - it’s important to make them a regular part of your content strategy. Are there are any top performing posts that could be repurposed into Reels?
Tip #2: Put Keywords At the Heart of Your Strategy
Instagram’s suggested content relies on keywords to accurately categorize and recommend posts. According to the platform, these suggestions are based on “posts from accounts like the ones you follow and posts similar to the ones you like or save.”
So with a strong Instagram SEO strategy, you can reach high-interest users who are more likely to engage with your content.
Tip #3: Audit Your Followers and Remove Spam Accounts
Your engagement rate takes into account your overall follower count, so if you have a ton of inactive (or worse — spam) followers, they could be doing more harm than good.
While Instagram does remove spam accounts, it’s a good idea to do a little spring cleaning too. Go to your profile, tap “Followers,” and manually remove them.
Remember: follower count is essentially a vanity metric. A smaller, more engaged community is often better for driving real results.
So, spend time focusing on your community — engage with their comments, the posts they tag you in, and strengthen those relationships.
Tip #4: Experiment With Different Carousel Posts
Traditional feed posts may not perform as well as they once did, but they’re not completely out of the picture either.
You can use the carousel format to post behind-the-scenes content, tips and tricks, a round-up, or even experiment with different content types like a photo dump or memes.
Carousel posts are great engagement-drivers and can help increase the amount of likes, comments, and shares you get on your posts.
Tip #5: Post When Your Audience Is Most Engaged
Posting when your audience is most engaged is a great tactic for boosting engagement.
According to Later, the best time to post on Instagram is 6 AM — however, your own personal best time will vary based on your audience's behaviour.
So, how do you know when your audience is most engaged?
You could manually track when you post on Instagram, and see how your content performs over time in an Excel sheet or Google Doc.
In Conclusion
Instagram is constantly evolving, so what once worked for your account might not work in 2022.
However, with an updated strategy, you can still see a growth in engagement on Instagram.
Try these tips, check your analytics, rinse and repeat.