Claire, what should I post on Instagram? How do I get the engagement up? What really works?
The answer isn’t a simple one because we all use the ‘gram for different purposes. If you’re using it to showcase your work and that’s it, great! It’s definitely there for that and there’s nothing wrong with doing so, especially if you’re pulling your Instagram feed to your website. However, if you’re looking to get some level of engagement on a really busy, noisy platform, the following is what may help you increase your social media engagement.
Top tips for engaging Instagram posts.
Educate about your service/product/industry but keep it fresh. Don’t forget that Instagram is all about the eye candy – so show them the tips, tricks, hacks and give out that solid advice to show you know what you’re talking about but make sure your images are representing.
Get inspirational: Share quotes, facts or stories of success. These could be from your clients or the wider community. If you’re looking to post about a trending topic, make sure you’re reading the room properly and you’re actually adding to the conversation. Do not do token gestures about the big issues. If you’re not sure what the deal is with a topic, educate yourself or share content from others who do.
Conversation: Yep, get the chat going. Ask your audience questions (and reply) use polls or your feed. They ask, you answer* is a well know marketing approach. Don’t be scared to say it how it is – people don’t want fluff, they want honest communication which will, in turn, build trust. People see through the BS pretty quickly.
Lift the mood. It’s so meh at the moment. Politics. Covid. Then there’s all the sh*t going on that really should not be going on. So if you can, do lift the mood. Get real, comical, behind the scenes humour – basically have some fun but stay to true to you. Don’t force this stuff.
It’s all connection. The most popular brands I work who get a lot of engagement are the ones where the face or tone of the brand connects with the audience. Don’t be shy. Put yourself out there. Jump on stories. Explain what’s going on. Introduce yourself. And ten reintroduce yourself to your new followers. I know that’s hard and can make us feel uncomfortable, because I also cringe at the thought of putting myself out there, but connection is everything.
Promo: Of course. That’s the bottom line but keep it subtle and keep it fresh. People do not want to login to your sales patter. If you do all of the above well, you won’t need to do too much hard sell. You’ll build rapport, loyalty and a community and then you’ll just need to let people know what’s new and why they’ll love it. I think the 80/20 rule is a food one – 80% content to 20% sell.
Be authentically and unapologetically you. It’s so easy to get sucked into comparison, thinking that so and so is so good I need to do the same. But if you’re trying to be someone else, you’re not going to be authentically you. Building an audience, and a brand, is about finding your voice and it’s true what they say….. comparison really is the thief of joy.
* They Ask You Answer: A Revolutionary Approach to Inbound Sales, Content Marketing, and Today’s Digital Consumer by Marcus Sheridan
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