Social media and social media marketing can be a very time consuming and tedious task. It was the belief that the more consistently you post the more engagement you will receive. That is simply not the case anymore. Social media platforms such as Instagram, use an algorithm that decides who will most likely see your content. There are many factors that are involved with this always-changing algorithm but we are going to focus on three components that will help boost your engagement on social media.

Establishing a relationship with the user.

When a user interacts with your content frequently they are most likely to see your content again and again. It creates continual engagement and builds loyalty among your audience. There are a few ways you can establish a relationship with your audience

• Responding to comments. By engaging with other users you build a relationship outside of your own content. It shows interest in potential customers, influencers, and related businesses. Focus on accounts that your target audience follows, follow them and jump into the conversation.
• Use your story. Instagram stories are a great way to get a lot of attention from your audience because it won’t get pushed down deep into their feed where they would be less likely to find it. Using hashtags, sharing other users stories that are relevant to your company, and utilizing a call to action with interactive stickers you can increase your brand awareness among your audience.
• Direct Message. The private messaging tool on Instagram is an easy and great way to personally reach your audience. More users are using this tool to private message businesses with questions or to send interest in their product or service. There is a fine line of being engaging and being creepy so when using this tool think about the message you want the user to receive.

Interests of each user.

Instagram notices what each user is interested in and will push those posts to the top of the feed where the user is most likely going to see it. These interests are formed through the posts they like and content they follow.

How long ago you posted.

While some of the posts on Instagram create a scattered timeline it still reigns true that the most recent posts will be moved to the top. So you don’t have to worry about your post being lost in the news feed rabbit hole when you post it.