Now that you have your WHY, your WHO, and your HOW… let’s talk strategy. YAYYY! For the next two weeks, I’m gonna share some of my super trusted tips to increasing engagement on your content and your overall profile.

For years, a lot of people complained about the algorithm, including me. People still do. People always blame their lack of performance on the algorithm like it’s the enemy. It was actually one of the reasons why I took a step back from Instagram in 2015. There’s definitely some regret, but I taught myself how to love the ever-changing algorithm. I learned that I just needed to understand its behavior.

For the next 2 weeks, I’m gonna teach you to learn to love it, move with the algorithm, and make it work for you.

So let’s start small: your posts.

1. Utilize EVERY OPTION Instagram provides for you to get your post discovered.

Here are just 51 ways:
a. Always tag a location, even if you’re just at home.
b. Utilize all 20 profile tags, but don’t be creepy. Tag any appropriate brands, travel accounts and repost accounts.
c. Utilize all 30 hashtags. It gives you 30 more chances to get discovered.

2. Respond to every comment and engage in a conversation.

Like the comment. Respond back with “thank you”s or emojis, but take it another notch. Start a conversation by asking a question. If they respond, repeat the cycle. Keep it going as long as it makes sense. Your followers will love the one-to-one time!

3. Join engagement pods.

They’re great to boost up a post in the algorithm and a wonderful way to network with other influencers in your niche. It’s an easy way to drive engagement, but here’s a warning for ya: it shouldn’t be your sole source of engagement. It’s only meant to be a booster, and IG has rules of conduct to follow to avoid getting flagged.

Think of it like you’re just telling your friends to check out your new post in case it got lost on their feed. It helps if you’re in a pod with people in the same niche, if it’s tight-knit and closed, and you all follow each other.

4. Find a way to keep the user on your post as long as possible.

Screen time is the name of the game. The longer people are on your post, the more the algorithm bumps your posts and shows it to more of your followers, and to people who likes similar things.

Have you ever liked a photo of a dog, and then all of a sudden see the same breed on your explore page every day? SAME THING.

Here are suggestions you can try:
a. Microblogging. Quirky, clever, punny one-liners are so 2018. They are, unfortunately, a thing of the past. Keep your audience reading for more. The more value and inspiration they get out of it, the more likely they’ll come back to reading another caption.
b. Utilize the carousel. The more you get people to swipe, the higher your engagement becomes.
c. Try video or IGTV. It’s a no-brainer. Automatic screen time.

5. Do your hashtag research.

Like I said earlier, utilize all 30 hashtags. It gives you 30 chances to get discovered. But here’s the most important thing about hashtags: they have to be RELEVANT to your post or your post won’t perform. Try to get a variety of audience numbers on hashtags. Here’s usually how I break it down:

• 10 hashtags with 10k to 99k
• 10 hashtags with 100k to 500k
• and 10 hashtags with 500k to just under 1M

If you’re stumped using the search engine on Instagram, try these:
a. Look at what influencers in your niche are using and apply them as long as they’re relevant
b. Try a third party hashtag search engine. Display Purposes is a free one that I used to use. But the one I use personally is Flick, it’s a paid service, but so worth the investment!

There is NO extra credit this week besides trying these strategies for yourself. You can choose to give me some feedback if you’d like, I’d love to hear how they work for you.

Next week, I’ll go over some tips on how to organically grow your following with more strategy tips. I’m also MAKING AN EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT that y’all will absolutely love! See ya back here next week!