I believe that if you’re doing Instagram marketing, you want to increase your engagement rate. It leads to more growth and sales.
But I don’t mean doing it by removing followers. NEVER DO THAT. I mean by applying a secret strategy that no one is talking about.
The strategy that I am going to show you in this amazing article.
Now, what do I mean by that?
That means if you’ll read this blog post from the beginning to the end you’ll grow like crazy and explode your engagement rate forever.
So, get rid of all distractions, and let’s dive right into it…
Two Types Of Audiences
Before we are going to dive into the Instagram engagement routines that will explode your engagement rate to a whole new level, you have to understand two things.
There are 2 types of audiences. And in this article, I am going to show you how to appeal to both of them.
Why? Because it is necessary. However, let’s take a look at both of these types to make sure that you will apply the Instagram engagement strategy now.
Cold Audience
This is the type of audience that has no clue that you exist, or they know it but they don’t follow you.
You can find them everywhere.
You may use hashtags to reach the cold audience, you might go to the comment section of a post the leading account in your industry has posted and you will check the people there…
…you might go to the locations and you will check posts with geotags (if you’re a local business), etc.
Believe me, unless you are Dwayne Johnson you will not be able to miss it.
But why is it so important to engage with this type of audience? Well, engaging with the cold audience has 3 main benefits:
- Getting new followers
- Unveiling yourself to potential buyers
- Getting more engagement on your posts
Believe me, it is more than essential…especially in the beginning. You have to do engage with them. But there is also the second audience type…
Warm Audience
These are the people that are following you and even better are frequently engaging with your content.
You have to appeal to them as well as doing so will help you build better relationships which result in building a need inside them to engage with your content…and even better, buy what you are selling.
It is equally important to appealing to the cold audience even when it comes to Instagram growth. Why?
Because when your Instagram followers love your content, they will share it…which means more exposure.
And I also can’t forget to mention WOMM (Word Of Mouth Marketing).
When your audience loves your content, they talk about you with their friends which easily spreads the message.
It is really powerful and you will have to book some time for that as well.
But now that you know why it is so important to appeal to both types of audiences, why shouldn’t we take a look at the routines for engagement?
Well, I have no reason for that as well.
So, I am not going to make you wait any longer, and let’s do it…
Cold Engagement Routine
As I told you earlier engaging with the cold audience is essential for you to grow, get more likes, comments, saves, and shares…and also unveil your account to new customers.
But you have to follow the right engagement routine to maximize your chances of attracting them to your profile and making them engage with you.
Instagram is just about being social. And unless you engage with others, they are not going to come to you…
So, let’s take a look at the engagement routine:
50 Comments On Hashtags
If you want to start growing and getting more engagement, commenting on hashtags is one of the best things that you can do.
Gary Vee has promoted this a lot in his $1.80 strategy, and whether you like it or not, it works.
Just go to a relevant hashtag in your industry, check if there is some relevant and good quality content in there…
…and start commenting.
But there is one thing that you have to keep in mind. NOT EVERY comment counts. You have to be valuable in your comments.
Congratulate them, give them feedback, etc.
But make sure that you are valuable in some way.
Otherwise, the comments that you are going to post will not have any effect whatsoever.
50 Comments On Accounts From Comment Sections
This is something that you have to do because you will be able to drive people that ARE WILLING TO ENGAGE in your profile.
If you want you can even stop commenting on hashtags and instead of 50 comments here make 100 comments.
It is really powerful.
All you have to do is just visit the account of a leading account in your industry, go to the comment section of one of their posts, and start visiting the accounts of the people who have commented there and commented there.
It is amazing!
Engage Through DMs
Have you ever received a message from a person that was telling you that they love your content and that they could stay on your page for hours?
How did you feel at that moment?
I believe that you felt really good. It’s a great feeling and your mind instantly starts to tell you, “Well, let’s check their account as well.”
And once you do, there is a high chance that you will start following them and engage with them.
It is something that you should do because it is really powerful.
Engage Through Instagram Stories
This is a bit similar to the first one as everything that you send them when you watch their story goes to their DMs.
It is really powerful because it guarantees that you are going to be seen by a cold audience, and you show them real support as almost nobody is doing it.
And that makes them so impressed that they will visit your Instagram page and they will start engaging with you as well.
Believe me, you should try it out.
But engaging with the cold audience is just one part of the equation.
If you want to get a hell of a lot of Instagram engagement, you should start engaging with the warm Instagram audience as well…
Warm Audience Engagement Routine
Now that you know how to engage with the cold Instagram audience you also have to start engaging with the warm Instagram audience.
Building relationships with your Instagram followers is one of the most powerful things that you can do to increase your engagement rate.
Why?
Well, do you have a favorite account that you follow? They are valuable, they consistently engage with you, and they always respond.
What happens when you see a post from them? YOU WANT TO INSTANTLY ENGAGE! And that’s what your followers are going to do if you will build strong relationships with them.
But now, let’s take a look at each of the steps in this routine:
Start Commenting On Their Instagram Posts
As you probably know, commenting works everywhere and that’s why I include it in this warm engagement routine as well.
I have not specified the number of comments that you are going to make because this depends on the size of your audience, and on how much time you will have left.
However, you should try to do as much as you can.
And remember, the comments have to be valuable. If your comments are not valuable, your audience is not going to care about them at all.
They will recognize it is just a “He/She wants to get me to engage with them!” comment. And if you will make these comments, they will stop caring about you.
So, no matter what profile you’re commenting on, show that you care. If you will, they will care and engage with you as well.
Respond To All Comments
When somebody comments on your posts, you want to show appreciation and respond to it.
It has a simple consequence…
The followers that have commented on your posts will want to comment again as they know you will pay attention to the stuff that they have taken the time to write.
I believe that you follow somebody who is responding to all of the comments, and I know that you love to engage with them.
That’s the power of responding to comments.
Reply To All Of Their DMs
This is something that you should do.
First of all, you will find that there can be a ton of money waiting for you in the DMs (as a lot of people are asking there to buy your stuff), and second, it is a great place to build relationships.
Direct messages are way more personal than comments, and when you will take the time to reply to them, it has a 20 times bigger impact than comments.
Personality is important…especially on social media.
Respond To Questions On Stories
When you post a question on your stories, you want to make sure that you respond to all of the answers.
It doesn’t matter if you share the answer or if you respond privately in DMs, but do it!
It matters.
All right, now you know how to engage, but you also need to make sure that you will have the time to engage. And for that reason, you have to create an Instagram engagement schedule…
Building The Right Engagement Schedule
As I said earlier, even though you now know the routines that you can use, you have to understand that you also need the time to engage.
And that’s the reason you have to create an engagement schedule.
But the question you might have right now is, ”How the hell can I do that?“
That’s the problem. It depends. It depends on your day. This has to be individual.
But, if you want to I can give you an example of my engagement schedule that fits me and I can easily stick to it:
6:00 – 6:30 Engaging With Cold Audience
10:45 – 11:00 – Cold Audience Engagement
15:00 – 15:30 – Warm Audience Engagement
19:30 – 20:00 – Cold Audience Engagement
22:00 – 22:30 – Warm Audience Engagement
This Instagram engagement schedule has worked for me over time but that doesn’t mean you should copy it.
YOU NEED YOUR OWN SCHEDULE.
Remember that.
Your day looks different than mine.
You do different things than I do, and that is why you have to make sure that you are going to make your own DIFFERENT schedule (unless this one fits you, which would be a huge coincidence.)
However, we are not ending here, I have a little bonus tip for you that can EXPLODE your Instagram engagement rate…with no extra work.
Bonus: Share Your Latest Post On Pinterest
Yes, you’ve heard me right! Sharing your posts to Pinterest is a great way to get some free exposure. Why?
Because Pinterest acts as a search engine.
When people want to see something, they go there type in a keyword, and find what they are looking for.
But when you share your posts through Instagram there, the pin is going to be linking back to the Instagram post and that simply means more free exposure and more engagement.
It works well.
You should try it out.
Filip Konecny 