How to Boost Your Instagram Engagement and Beat the Algorithm

Have you noticed a decline in your Instagram engagement?  No, you’re not crazy, and you’re not the only one — brands and individuals alike have been affected by low engagement rates on Instagram. Keep reading the blog to find out why your engagement is affected and what you can do to fight the Instagram algorithm. 

Instagram Engagement Rates Have Declined Since January 2019

Trust Insights conducted a study comparing the engagement rates of over three thousand Instagram accounts from January to June 2019. Here’s what they found: the maximum average engagement rate for those accounts was 1.54% in April and the minimum engagement rate was 0.8% in June. But why the drastic drop? There really isn’t an answer — there hasn’t been an official explanation from Instagram HQ  about an algorithm change since January earlier this year, where they stated that there wasn’t a drastic update to their algorithm. 

Here’s something else to keep in mind: last June, Instagram surpassed one billion active monthly users. Though there hasn’t been a report from Instagram since then, it is safe to assume that that number of active users has exponentially grown over a year. Could that mean an influx in users is to blame for the drop in engagement? We think so! Ponder this: if more and more people are using Instagram, that means there are more posts to engage with — how could we possibly see all of that content if Instagram prioritizes “family and friends?” 

Here are Three Ways to Beat the Algorithm and Increase Your Instagram Engagement Rate

It’s frustrating, we get that! We have also noticed a decline in not only engagement, but organic reach. Here’s our first suggestion: share your posts to your Instagram Story.  Though engagement rates of Instagram posts have been declining Instagram Stories have seen a steady increase in daily users, growing from 150 million to 500 million users in a one year time frame. You may notice that more and more people see your Instagram Story than your actual post! Here’s a tip: don’t just share it, add a call to action. For example, if you post photos of your listing, ask your followers to comment which room is their favorite. 

Our second suggestion is to take a look at your audience, and find a niche. You may think your goal is to reach as many people as possible, but we disagree. Your goal should be to reach a specific group of people. For example, Realtors should be aware that Millennials are the biggest group of American users on Instagram, amounting to a whopping 59% of the American population. Guess what? Millennials are also breaking into the real estate market. So, your content should be tailored to appeal to Millennial homebuyers. 

Here’s our last suggestion: experiment with Instagram ads. Of course, we encourage and prefer organic growth, but if you do not see a growth in your followers or engagement rate after a couple of months and after testing different strategies, try running an ad or two to see how they work for you. There are many types of ads you can run, like ads that increase brand awareness, boost engagement on a specific post, video views ads and more–  it all depends on what your content and goals are. Try running a brand awareness ad to your niche audience first which will help grow your following, and then see if your engagement follows suit. 

Wow, that’s a lot of info in one blog! If you still feel lost when it comes to increasing your Instagram followers and engagement, we can take care of it for you. Contact us today and let us take the reigns!