As social media becomes more and more “crowded”, engagement can easily decline. When your engagement (likes, comments, shares, saves, and even one-on-one conversations in the DMs) declines, it can be frustrating, to say the least. But I’ve seen WAY TOO MANY people let that frustration get the best of them, causing them to throw in the towel instead of persevering and trying some new things to grab the attention of their ideal customer and increase their social media engagement. I don’t want to let that happen to you! So, here are 3 VERY SIMPLE ideas I personally recommend to all clients when engagement may be down:

*and by the way, these 3 ideas do not take much extra effort AT ALL. If you take your business seriously, you’ll prioritize these 3 ideas right away!*

IDEA 1: Focus on storytelling content. Tell a story about how you got started in your business, why you got started in your business, or tell a story about an employee or long-term customer. As humans, we’re drawn to stories. Storytelling content will create an emotional connection that normal sales/promotional/informational posts do not. Draw that human connection to your brand and watch your business grow.

IDEA 2: Try a CAROUSEL post, album post, or video. If you’ve been focusing on standalone, one-photo posts, try posting 2-3 photos that go along with the story you’re telling! Or, maybe try a photo and a short video clip that goes with the original photo. I know this sounds basic, but I’ve SEEN it work. Also, carousel posts can typically pop up in your follower’s newsfeed 2-3 more times if you didn’t engage with it the first time you saw it. This is Instagram’s way of making sure you saw each photo/video in the carousel, so the second time it pops up in a follower’s newsfeed, it may preview your 2nd or 3rd image first. Another perk of the carousel or album posts: anytime you get your viewer to make an engagement (click or swipe), the better. Every time a follower engages with you (likes, comments, clicks, swipes, etc.), they are subconsciously connecting with you.

 

IDEA 3: Try a totally different style of creative. If you normally post super high-quality, professional images, try posting a basic iPhone selfie or something that’s much more casual than your normal style. This can make your audience STOP their scroll and grab their attention if it’s something totally different from what they’re used to from you. And that’s the thing: people are scrolling SO FAST these days. It’s more important than EVER to grab their attention fast and stop their scroll. So, if you’ve NEVER posted a video on your feed before, now is the time. If you’ve NEVER posted a good ol’ selfie, now is the time. If you’ve NEVER posted a carousel post, a quote image, a photo of your family, or a photo of your team, now is the time to try something DIFFERENT to grab your ideal customer’s attention.

I know these are basic ideas but I’ve SEEN them work.

REMINDER: “Likes” on Instagram are less relevant than they used to be. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t continue recognizing the people/businesses that “like” your content, or that you should stop “liking” content in your own newsfeed. But I challenge you to focus more on the true engagement that the algorithm is favoring right now: shares and saves (on Instagram).

Ask yourself… what can I share today that my ideal customer/audience member would want to SHARE or SAVE?!

Note: You can pin the graphic below so you can easily come back to this blog post when you need a reminder!