Before we dive into the new engagement metrics on Instagram, let’s remember why engagement on the platform is so important. Engagement refers to user interaction with your content, such as likes, shares, comments, and direct messages. If your content has a high engagement rate, it shows that your audience is interested and engaged with what you share.
High engagement rates also have a positive impact on the Instagram algorithm. The higher the engagement, the more likely your content will appear in your followers’ feeds and be crawled by potential followers. Therefore, understanding and optimizing engagement metrics is the key to successful marketing campaigns on Instagram.
When it comes to engagement on Instagram, likes are one of the most recognized and commonly used metrics. However, there is much more behind this number. Likes are not only about the number, but also about the quality. While a high number of likes indicates popularity, it is less meaningful if it comes from fake accounts or irrelevant followers.
We recommend focusing on organic likes, which are likes that come from followers who are actually interested in your content. To achieve this, make sure your content is relevant, interesting and adds value to your audience.
When your content is shared, it shows that your followers find the content valuable and want to share it with others. Shares are an effective way to expand the reach of your content, as your content will appear in the followers’ feeds of the people who share it.
In order to increase shares, make sure your content has “shareable” elements such as infographics, catchy quotes, or even humorous content that is relevant to your audience. The more interesting your content is, the more likely it is that people will share it with others.
Interaction through comments or comments is a very meaningful form of engagement. When your followers comment on your posts, it shows that your content has sparked a certain feeling or response from them. It is important to respond positively and actively to comments. This will strengthen the bond with your followers and encourage them to interact further in the future. Be responsive to questions, feedback, and even constructive criticism. Remember that every comment is an opportunity to strengthen your relationship with your audience.
In addition to likes, shares, and comments, direct messages are an invaluable form of personal engagement. Through direct messages, your followers can communicate with you directly, without having to talk through public comments.
Engagement metrics in 2017 include the save feature which allows users to save your content to their personal library. This shows that your content is consideredvaluable and informative so that users will want to refer back to it in the future. There is also a story replies feature that allows users to respond to your stories with direct messages. This feature creates further interaction between the user and the account owner.
Then the story mentions feature allows users to mention your account in their own stories. This can help increase your exposure among new audiences. Apart from photos and stories, Instagram also introduced a live video feature that allows you to broadcast live with your followers. This feature offers real-time and spontaneous engagement.
Don’t forget to be consistent in sharing quality content, and always be responsive to your followers’ responses and requests. By optimizing engagement metrics, you will help increase the visibility of your account and build strong relationships with your audience.
