Widely abbreviated as IG or Insta, Instagram is an American photo and video sharing social networking service created by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. Owned by Facebook, it was originally launched on iOS in October 2010. The Android version was released in April 2012, succeeded by a feature-limited desktop interface in November 2012, a Fire OS app in June 2014, and an app for Windows 10 in October 2016.
Instagram is a social media space that grants its users to upload media, in the form of photos and videos that can be organized by hashtags, edited with filters, and assembled by geographical tagging. The profile address of Instagram users are characterized by a username often referred to as handle, which could either be any configuration that does not relate to your actual name, or your name itself.
The main form of currency on Instagram is “likes” and has been the driving force for all the users putting out splendid content for a very long time. More like can dispense an array of other interests – more followers and considerable traffic – as people will show more engagement if they like what you share. Gaining more likes ensures more exposure for your future posts. Inconsolably, with the shift to an algorithm led feed, the way one gets likes on Instagram has changed.
Considerable numbers of Instagram users buy Instagram likes and there are number of sites that provide these services you can check the list of these sites at The Verified List, however, it is one of the strategies one would like to steer clear from as it does not provide benefit in the long run.
Here is a tour of a number of ways that will skyrocket your profile engagement and get you more likes ethically:
Epic content
Above every other strategy, it is fundamental to produce high quality content that will engage your audience, inherently landing you up in gaining likes, if they fancy what you show them. What makes a great content cannot be condensed with a one-size-fits-all answer. However, you can stick to your own brand and style of content which could be adhering to a certain color scheme and feed aesthetics.
Having a unique type of content will make your profile impressive. Professional looking content always stands out. You can use a variety of apps available to click your pictures and videos, and edit them to appeal to your audience.
Use right hashtags
Hashtags are the pixie dust that will help you reach more people in your target audience, boost your engagement, therefore, and get you more likes. Instagram is annulling on spam and the algorithm is more developed that ever, thus making the use of generic hashtags obsolete. You need to invest some time in researching relevant hashtags to gain likes. Explore Instagram’s ‘related’ hashtag suggestions to find the best one to use.
Fortunately, this is where Instagram algorithm comes handy; as you can make certain that you are choosing the right and niche hashtags to reach your audience. Similarly, keep a lookout on what hashtags your competitors are using. You can also resort to choosing third party tools to help your find relevant hashtags.
Understand the recent trend
When we discuss Instagram algorithm, do not think of outsmarting it or making your way out of it. Instead, bring it to your use and abide by it so that you can benefit the most out of it. By figuring out what kind of content Instagram favors and comparing the performance of your recent posts on the basis on likes, comments, saves, and engagement rate, you can understand what kinds of posts do well with your audience.
Once you notice these trends, you can produce your content that will cater to what your audience wishes to see.
Hold their attention and interact
Instagram algorithm keeps a tab on how much time people are spending on your posts. Thus, consider using videos as your content strategy to grab the attention of your audience. Likewise, carousel post – a feature that enables you to upload up to 10 photos and videos in one post – could increase the engagement of your audience and compel them to spend more time on your post. Use engaging captions reminding people to ‘swipe to see more’.
Instagram stories are fundamentally significant and a great way to interact with your audience and engage with them. With a rat-race for faster and better engagement out there, the “New Post” trend very cleverly lures your audience to engage in your profile and your recent post by directly directing them to your profile. Since Instagram algorithm tracks user behavior on IG stories as well, your content will be highly ranked if people have clicked through from the story and then engaged with your post.
Interact with your audience by replying to their comments on your posts and replying to their messages in your DMs. Use IG stories to ask questions to your audience, make a poll, and to simply have a subtle conversation with them, perhaps by sharing valuable information about your next post idea, talking about your behind-the-scenes and likewise.
Post when audience is active
As a consequence of the developments to the Instagram algorithm, one of the keys factors in greater post engagement and getting more likes is posting at the best hour of the day when your audience is most active. When your posts get quick engagement, it notifies the algorithm that it is a good piece of content and thus likely to be shown on the Explore Page.
Use Instagram Insights to measure the time of the day when majority of your followers use Instagram. You must strongly evade posting when your followers are inactive as it will not cater to your audience and show a slow-paced interaction.
Using the aforementioned suggestions will boost your Instagram; shower your posts with quicker and better engagement, thus delivering a good number of likes.