6 Proven Ways to Increase Engagement With Your Instagram Content
How you can provoke reader's emotions and move them to leave a comment.
Getting views is simple — publish where your tribe hangs out.
Making people open their keyboards to leave even an emoji is the hard part. But you can steer up their emotions. And that’s how you move them to read, feel, and twitch enough to leave a comment.
I’ve seen top creators make it look so easy. Small accounts are making these strategies work for them as well. And it’s not too late for you to heat your audience’s feelings until they pop in the comment section. So, here are six settings for your virtual microwave.
A safe space question.
Controversy generates engagement. It also gets you unfollowed. You can never be sure which side of the double-pan balance will rise to the top.
Play with fire. But let your audience bear the risk. Ask an open-minded question and let readers leave their risky remarks in the comments.
Make people’s fingers twitch to reply like this:
- “A little bird told me that most of my Instagram babes live in these five cities: (the list & a notable plus one mention). Where do you live?” — We Are Joy Personified.
- “Entrepreneurs making over $100k per year, please take 30 seconds and drop a comment about the hardships you went through before the money came.” — Mahdi Woodard
- “What’s keeping you from success in design?” — Hanna Design
- “Ladies… Arrange this in order of importance: (the list).” — Amber Rose
- “Sick of hearing that reels are the only way to grow?” — Mya Nichol
Lighten emotional loads
Be a friend. Your content doesn’t need to snatch edges or hold readers accountable every time. Your audience knows what they need to do. They choose not to take action.
When people ignore your messages, don’t get creative. Change the idea your copy promotes. Take a break from gentle reminders, or I don’t know who needs to hear this but (your point here) statements. Those terms are well-loved and need to retire, anyway. Acknowledge your community’s pain and comfort them.
Here are examples of content created using of this strategy:
- “Stop assuming things aren’t attainable for you. You decide that.” — Ariel Carr.
- “Losing followers is a good thing.” — Your Social Team
- “To-do list: relax, disconnect, and have fun. Almost everything will work again if you unplug it, including you.” — Social Sam.
- “You’re not broke, you’re pre-rich. Your business isn’t failing, it’s in-between sales. Your idea isn’t impossible, you’re just sharing with the wrong people. Change your outlook, change your life.” — Ellie Talks Money.
No irrelevant information
They stay on top of industry news like tabloids in celebrities’ lives. I am impressed with their delivery.
They either post one or more times a day, so they break the story first. Or the creator has a unique interpretation of the update. Whether they are the former or the latter, top creators don’t echo mainstream facts.
This approach to content is possible when brands know their audience well. Dan Lok’s captions immediately come to mind. He can smoothly go from educating Instagram users to asking for the sale in the last 2–3 sentences.
Write about the topics trending in searches to benefit your audience and keep them active on your profile:
- “Stop putting hashtags in the comments.” — Daniel Queiroz
- “Instagram is not a video app. Instagram is a visual app.” — Brock Johnson.
Act like a fly on the wall
Those relatable reels have me wondering if I left my camera on accidentally. First, they voice their ideal customer’s inner thoughts. Then, the body language in their skits syncs with our regular mannerism, not only the song beat.
Every post doesn’t have to promote the sale. Relatable posts let your tribe members breathe. This content serves the purpose of building relationships and connections. Top creators have different resources to complete a distinct role. Some bring in followers; others generate sales.
Be okay with balancing promotion with soft-selling.
- “My Google searches are 90% me just checking if a word means what I *think* it does before posting it online.” — This Is Co.
- “When Drake said, ‘I’ve been losing friends and finding peace’ I felt that.” — Her Empire_
Filler posts give chills.
A filler post is a piece of content that keeps your account active when you don’t feel like sharing. Even if you batch your content months in advance, there will be days you have nothing to say.
On such days, creators can do one of two things. Repurpose their old post. And place an underrated or a high-performing piece back in the spotlight.
They may also choose to create a feeling. Feeling posts differ from random filler material Googled at the last minute.
It gives the same feelings your tribe associates with your content. A feeling filler post relates to your audience’s pain points but drives emotions. It can make viewers laugh, angry, motivated, or feel other types of high emotion.
- “Small choices become actions, actions become habits, and habits become our way of life.” — Miriam G.
- “My 800 credit score vs. That late payment ready to mess it up.” — Eye Candy Credit Services
I saved the best tip for last.
Return the love. Talking to members who leave comments is way better than lamenting your insights. Here and elsewhere, I always make time to respond to comments. It feels good to wave and have someone you haven’t met yet wave back.
Replies don’t need a comment for comment agenda. It is copywriting research, connection building, direct message lead up, and so much more.
