Growing Your Instagram Community and Engagement Rate

If you’ve been a regular reader of our blog then you’ll know just how proud Seek Social are of our Instagram page.  In short, we feel that if you like our Instagram page, you’ll like us. As a result, our Instagram community (and its engagement rate) are very important to the Seek Social team. We want both to be as big as we can make them. In making that effort we’ve found and developed a number of techniques that you too can use to boost your own Instagram community and client engagement on the platform, and we’re happy to share those with you now…

Firstly, reply to comments thoughtfully

The best way the Seek Social team have ever had client engagement explained to us involves seeing social media as a busy bar. Each of your prospective customers is that dusky, mysterious beauty in the corner that’s caught your eye. You want to go and introduce yourself, but say the wrong thing and it’s all over before it’s even begun. What would you do in that bar? Charge straight in LOL’ing like a madman? Or would you take a moment, think about what you could say that would get them to say something back (sparking a conversation), and THEN make your move? Exactly.

Ask questions

The best and easiest way to get client engagement is to ask for it! Think how many times you’ve been asked for directions, if you want a brew, what time it is etc. Now, how many times have you instinctively given an answer? Yup, us too, and people do the same thing on social media. All of those answers count as client engagement for you, and will boost your engagement rate! If you’re new to this then start small… Take a look at your Instagram community for designs or images you like and ask the creator simply ‘how did you do it?

Always include a call-to-action

The Seek Social team will all admit to ‘liking’ something once or twice purely because we were asked to. And that’s precisely WHY people ask! By using a call to action you’re not ‘begging’ your Instagram community to help you out… You’re reminding them that you value their opinion and that they have the option to provide it. In many cases they’ll be happy to as well. Remember, that communication – which counts as client engagement for you – is also a chance for them to interact with someone whose content they enjoy. Think of it as a scaled-down version of them meeting their favourite singer, or sports star…

Engage with your own Instagram community

Just like in business, it’s not enough to get people ‘through the door’, you need to give them a reason to come back time and again. Great content – such as the content Seek Social can provide – is part of that, but you won’t see much improvement in your engagement rate if that’s all you have to offer. You need to get out there, get to know your followers, and make time to talk to them. It’s about showing that you appreciate them as much as they do you, and appropriately, giving them the kind of posts and client engagement that you’re looking for can often lead to the favour being returned on your page, not only by your followers but by their followers too. Again, all of that will improve your client engagement, engagement rate, and very probably your Instagram community itself too! Speaking of which…

Recruit new community members

In order to continually grow your engagement rate you need to be continually recruiting new members to your Instagram community. The way to find new targets for client engagement is by using hashtags. Find out where your fans hang out and go there yourself, offering feedback and comments. Build conversations just as you would on your own page from there, and remember – you’re giving the other creators the exposure that they want on Instagram too, so don’t be shy! Whatever you put must appear ‘organic’ though – generic one- or two-word posts might give the reader the impression that you’re only after likes and follows, or worse, that you’re a bot – so be honest, offer insight where you can, and avoid posts that are easily replied to with likes or emojis.

So there you have it, Seek Social’s top five tips for client engagement, and growing your engagement rate on Instagram. Don’t forget though, if you want some more expert advice on all things social media, web design, SEO and more get in touch with the Seek Social team by calling 0161 761 1800, or visiting our office at 151 The Rock, in Bury!