social media marketing

Right now it feels like everyone is struggling with the algorithm and getting their content seen.

But it doesn’t have to be that way there are definite strategies and tactics which can help you gain more engagement and get your content seen by more people in 2020 which essentially leads to more sales through the platform

So, How do you get more engagement in 2020

Focus on Engagement

Instagram is a social platform and getting engagement on the platform is the key to a good performing account.

It sounds simple but you need to be social to be on social media! You cannot just post and expect the masses to come flooding to your page!

The more you engage with your audience and potential audience the more engagement you will get in return. It’s the law of reciprocity.

Storytelling is Key

People find connection through stories its been that way since the beggining of time, its how we relate to others and create emotion.

Use your cations and stories to tell a meaningful story that allows you to connect with your audience.

What unique aspects of your business can you share that will allow you to build a deeper connection with your audience?

Focus on smaller hashtags

I am sure you are aware of how important hashtags are! Did you know that a post with even just one hashtag will perform 18% better than a post with none! And that percentage only increases the more you use (buffer)

However just chucking random hashtags into your post won’t help, often the hashtags you think of first will be huge which means the amount of traffic heading to those hashtags is so great your content won’t be seen.

With huge hashtags by the time you have posted so have hundreds if not thousands of other people so your post will be so far down the hashtag feed it won’t gain any exposure from using that hashtag.

So, you are far better using smaller more niche hashtags which means that your content will stay in the ‘recent’ posts for a lot longer and also means you have a greater chance of getting into the ‘top’ posts for that hashtag.

To help you find the perfect ones for your account check out my eBook by clicking the link below:

‘The Ultimate Guide to Hashtags’

WHo is your ideal client?

If you know who your target audience is it means you can focus all your content on connecting with them. They will instantly feel like the content you create is meant for them and so they will take action on your content and engage with it.

Don’t fall pray to fast tactics

Long gone are the days where using the follow/unfollow method was a ‘good’ way of growing (note: it was never a good way of growing but back when people where less wise to it, it obviously worked but you would never get true engagement from those followers).

Several other more modern tactics have taken it’s place like the ‘story viewer tactic’ but none of these will bring you a following of your ideal client these followers will merely be vanity metrics and can actually harm your engagement.

Use #allthefeatures Instagram offers

Every time Instagram releases new features it obviously wants its users to try them. It gives those using the new features a bit of a boost in the algorithm as it wants to show the rest of the platform how to use those features.

So always use #AllTheFeatures, everytime Instagram releases an update make sure you try it as soon as possible.

Instagram stories

Hands down one of the best ways to get engagement from your audience is to use Instagram Stories – as I said above, humans seek connection through. storytelling and if you use Instagram stories correctly you can do just that.

The point isn’t to just upload content randomly think about what it does to serve your audience.

Instagram Story Highlights

Your instagram story highlights sit underneath your bio and are a great way to save your best Instagram Stories since they only last 24 hours.

But some of the more brand building Instagram stories can live on beyond the 24 hours in your Highlights which means if someone really connect with your account they can head down the rabbit hole and consume more content that you have designed and chosen that helps build that like, know and trust factor far better.

Instagram analytics

And I have saved the best till last. Often one of the most overlooked areas of our accounts but the analytics are a goldmine of information. It tell’s us exactly what content our audience engages with the most.

Take a look at the analytics (you must have a business or creator account to do this) and have a look at your most liked content, your most commented on and your most saved content. This gives you a very good indication of what your audience wants to see more of from you.

Knowing this you can plan your content to create more of what your audience wants to see which means they will engage with it more. This creates a more engaged account which then snowballs into the algorithm sharing your content and account further.