Any individual or business that wants to reach more people must embrace social media. If you think about it, people spend a lot of time catching up with each other on social platforms and networking sites. By 2018, Instagram users averaged 53 minutes per day on the app. During the COVID 19 pandemic, this time only grew as people took to social media to follow up on global events. As a result, businesses and influencers more than doubled their following, and with this came more likes. If you want to increase your likes and other engagement on Instagram, it is not too late. However, you will need to carve out a new way of engaging followers because millions of other people are trying to do the same thing.
So, how can you get more likes on Instagram?
Growing Your Following
Instagram users generally gravitate to businesses or people with huge followings. It is much easier for an influencer or business with 10,000 followers to gain 10 more followers than a person with 100 followers. People relate a big following with trust and will trust big brands and names more. Of course, growing your following is not an easy task. If anything, users have become more reluctant to follow more people. So, the easy way to break through this barrier is to buy Instagram followers. It would help if you were careful, though, when buying followers. Only choose reputable companies and always start slow. Otherwise, Instagram will be on your case if your followers suddenly jump from 100 to 10,000 overnight.
Is buying followers a good idea? Yes, it increases your rankings, promotes trust within the Instagram community, and encourages more people to click on that ‘follow’ button. As your following grows, your engagement will also increase. But wait, not just yet. You must put in work to grow your Instagram page so let us look at how you can do this.
Using Hashtags
Have you ever seen people using hashtags on their feed and wondered why they did this? Hashtags make your posts searchable. For example, if you post a photo with #Monday, anyone who looks up that hashtag can find you. If they like what they see, they may not necessarily follow you but can like the post. As a result, more strangers will like your posts, increasing your likes count. If you look at your insights, you will see how many people interacted with your content, including those that do not follow you. It may surprise you how effective hashtags can be.
Here is a quick note- do not overoptimize. Usually, you should be good with anything from 5 to 15 hashtags. Most people promote 11 hashtags without making their posts too sales-like. Keep in mind that the number of hashtags should correspond with the caption. For example, having a two-word caption followed by 10 hashtags looks off. But if you write a 100-word caption and insert 10 hashtags, it blends well.
Captioning
With 2,200 characters at your disposal, you can engage your audience even more. People are no longer content with one or two sentences when viewing a post. Instead, they want a story. Why are you posting that photo? What were you thinking when you took it? Again, this depends on your brand. For example, if you are a travel blogger, you can talk about something special that happened that day. Maybe you could detail how you lost a suitcase and took a photo as you wandered around the airport wondering what was next. People do not only want the finished product; they also want to know how the sausage was made.
Do you have to work with long captions? Not necessarily. Short captions also work. After all, not all your posts can be novel-like. Some can be straight to the point. But now and then, try and engage your audience more to coax likes out of them. Also, do not forget to add some personality to your post rather than rumbling on and on.
Geotagging
Adding your location is also an easy way to help more people find and like your posts. For example, if you are a business, adding your location is always a good idea. Suppose you post a picture of a mouthwatering burger, a user may want to find you. However, they will not necessarily want to message you and ask for directions. Nowadays, people want to be relatively straightforward, and they embrace simplicity and convenience over everything else. So, such a user would use the geotag, show up, try the burger and leave.
But how does this work for influencers? The same way! You are selling your brand. So, adding a location will enable more people to find you. For example, suppose you go on a trip to Seychelles and tag this in your photo. Then, anyone looking up this location can find you, and if they like what they see, they will like the post.
Timing
Have you ever noticed that influencers and businesses tend to post at certain times of the day? You might have the same picture posted twice a day, yet the engagement rates are entirely different. You must understand when your audience is online and when they are most likely to engage with you. For example, Sunday nights are perfect posting times. People are home, lazing around and probably scrolling their feeds as they view what others were up to that weekend. This relaxed atmosphere is the best time to post a photo with a lengthy caption that exudes your personality. You will get more people interested, and besides, they have the time.
Understanding timing is more of a trial-and-error technique. Today, a post might get a high engagement at 5 pm, and tomorrow, your post may not do so well. Timing is unique to each profile, so it takes a while to get it right.
Prioritizing Quality
Overall, even with the perfect timing, hashtags, captions, and geotags, your posts must speak for themselves. People will not invest their time in poor-quality pictures and videos. They will instead shrug them off and move on to the next post. If you want people to like your photos, understand your angles, edit your photos, and make your content more engaging.
It takes hard work and consistency to maintain a good Instagram following and get likes on your posts. You will get there, but you must figure out what works for your brand in the meantime. All the best!
Namaste UI collaborates closely with clients to develop tailored guest posting strategies that align with their unique goals and target audiences. Their commitment to delivering high-quality, niche-specific content ensures that each guest post not only meets but exceeds the expectations of both clients and the hosting platforms. Connect with us on social media for the latest updates on guest posting trends, outreach strategies, and digital marketing tips. For any types of guest posting services, contact us on info[at]namasteui.com.