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If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve spent countless hours creating Instagram content—only for it to flop. 

Your posts barely get likes, comments are sparse, and you can’t get any saves and shares. 

It’s extremely frustrating, and you don’t know why you barely get any form of engagement. 

Trust me, I get it. I’ve been where you are, as have many other creators and small businesses. 

But there are ways to fix your Instagram engagement. How else could I have been able to achieve this for my client?

 In this post, I will give you 14 tips on how to fix your Instagram engagement issues, and I promise they work.  

So, as always, have a pen and paper ready and take notes! 

What Counts as Engagement 

via GIPHY

First, let’s get into what engagement on Instagram means. 

Engagement on Instagram is any interaction your audience has with your content. It goes beyond just likes and includes a variety of actions that show how people are connecting with your posts.

Here’s what counts as engagement:

• Likes
• Comments
• Shares
• Saves
• Story interactions
• Reel metrics
• DMs

Each type of engagement plays a role in showing Instagram’s algorithm that your content is valuable and worth promoting.

What is Engagement Rate, and How do you Calculate it?

Engagement rate is a metric that tells you how actively your audience is interacting with your content. It’s one of the best ways to gauge the success of your posts and overall Instagram strategy.

To calculate your engagement rate, use this simple formula:

• Engagement Rate = (Likes + Comments + Saves) / Reach x 100
  
  

Alternatively, if you don’t want to calculate manually, there are other ways to determine your engagement rate. 

• Later has a free engagement rate calculator that you can use
• If you use a social media scheduler like Hootsuite, Later, or Buffer, it will give you the engagement rate of each of your posts. 
• You can also get your engagement info directly from Instagram’s professional dashboard if you have a business account (which you definitely should). 
  
  

Now that you know what engagement means and how to calculate your engagement rate, let’s get into the tips you need to know. 

How to Increase Your Instagram Engagement

Tip 1- Know your audience 

I’m sure you’re tired of hearing this, but the foundation of any good marketing strategy is knowing who you’re marketing your business to. 

This applies to all social media platforms. If you want to increase your engagement and connect more with your audience, you need to get to know them better. How else will you give them content they enjoy if you don’t even know what they enjoy in the first place? 

Spend some time getting to know them, such as what format of Instagram content they enjoy, what times they are most active on the platform, their pain points you can create content around, and whether they prefer educational posts, entertaining videos, or aesthetic photos. 

Once you have a clear picture of your audience, you’ll know the exact type of content they want and how to provide it. 

Tip 2 – Use Instagram SEO 

Your engagement rate is not what you need it to be because the right audience can’t find you. Did you know that you also need SEO for social media platforms? 

Instagram SEO helps make your content discoverable when users search for specific keywords on the platform.

If you can get the right audience to view your content, they are more likely to engage with it because it’s exactly what they want. 

How to incorporate SEO

• Do keyword research and find keywords relevant to your niche and industry. 
• Add these keywords to your Instagram bio and even username if you can
• Make sure you incorporate the keywords in all your captions so the algorithm knows who to show your content to
• Don’t forget hashtags. Use strategic hashtags to get a more targeted reach.
  
  

Tip 3- Use Instagram stories

Instagram stories are an amazing and effortless way to drive engagement. As a small business owner, how connected your audience feels to your business will set you apart from your competitors and give you an advantage.

 

So, you will use your stories to give people a closer look at who you are and your personality. The beautiful thing about stories is that they are very low effort. You don’t have to be as put together. You just have to show up. 

Showing up can look like; 

• A quick “good morning” picture showing your face
• A small chat while you’re making coffee or in your car running errands.
• A small behind-the-scenes look at your business process.
• A quick video of you and your team during lunch
  
  

You can even make a set routine of what you post on your stories to make things easier. 

For example, one of my clients wanted to prioritize showing up on their stories, so I made a schedule to make this easier for them. 

It looked like this; 

Mondays– they post motivational/inspirational stories about their business ( everyone loves a good inspirational quote or pep talk) 

Tuesdays– they would run fun quizzes to get their audience to interact more with them. 

Wednesdays– they would highlight features and benefits of their product/service ( a nice way to do promo without coming across as too “salesy”) 

Thursdays– they would host an Instagram live or do a Q&A session.

Fridays– they would post something fun. It could be a meme, a team picture, whatever. 

This was a rough schedule to get my client used to posting stories. 

Of course, everything is flexible and subject to change, but if you find you’re not very good at showing up on your Instagram stories, maybe try giving yourself a schedule to stick to and see how it works. 

Tip 4 – Use memes

Even though social media platforms like Instagram have become powerful for businesses in terms of sales and awareness, it is important to remember that that was not the original intention of social media. 

At its core, Instagram was meant to be entertaining—a way to be social in a digital age. I think it’s important to remember this and incorporate it into your business’s social media strategy. 

How do you do this? 

With memes, obviously! 

Nothing drives engagement like a funny or relatable meme. The problem I notice many people have is finding a way to add it to their content strategy seamlessly.

 

This is how you’re going to do it; 

• You’re not going to use every single meme you find
• You’re going to be picky and only use memes that fit your business brand and content pillars
• You’re going to credit original creators if you’re remixing a meme. 
  
  

Tip 5 – Use Instagram reels 

Instagram reels are incredibly important to reach the right audience and grow your brand. Unsurprisingly, brands posted 11% more reels this year than in 2023, which is set to increase even in 2025. 

That’s because research shows that Reels drive the most comments and tend to have the highest impression rate, which is what you need to improve your engagement rate. 

So, if reels aren’t a part of your social strategy, they should be. You can use reels to share customer experiences, before-and-after videos, how-to videos, and behind-the-scenes content. 

Maybe you already post reels but want to improve their performance. You can do that by; 

• Making sure the first 3 seconds hook and grab attention
• Using trending audios
• Improving your video editing style to make your videos more engaging ( Capcut has a huge library of video templates you can use) 
  
  

If you need inspiration on what type of reels to create, you can always scroll on the reels tab on Instagram to see what type of videos are performing well. 

P.S. If you generally struggle with coming up with content ideas for your business, you should read this post I made. It contains super helpful content hacks. 

Tip 6 – Shareable and Saveable content

As mentioned, likes and comments aren’t the only metrics that matter to your engagement rate. There are also saves and shares. 

There are two ways to get people to save and share your Instagram content: 

1. Create relatable content that people want to share with their friends 
2. Create helpful and educational content that people will want to save and use later. 
   
   

For the first way, content like memes or sharing a relatable, authentic, or funny story will work. 

Quotes and repurposed tweets are also great for getting shares. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Later (@latermedia)

For the second way, think about the types of content your audience would find valuable enough to want to save. It can be a video tutorial, a fact sheet, infographics, a step-by-step guide, a list, or a checklist. 

Having your audience save and share your content tells the algorithm that it is high-quality and valuable. This would push your content out to more people, increasing your reach and engagement. 

Tip 7 – Carousels 

Still on the topic of saves and shares, Instagram carousels are a great way to provide valuable information your audience will want to engage with. 

Carousel posts are a way for you to share up to 20 images or videos all at once. 

And that’s not the best thing about carousels. Did you know they appear on a user’s feed more than once? (showing different images). This allows your content to gather more likes, comments, saves, and shares. 

It’s no surprise that carousels drive the most engagement among the different Instagram content types.  

To make the most out of your carousels, focus on crafting content that keeps your audience swiping through all the slides. Here’s how:

• Start with a strong hook: The first image or slide should grab attention. Think of an intriguing question, bold statement, or visually striking design.
• Maintain consistency: Use cohesive branding and a logical flow between slides to keep the audience engaged.
• Deliver value: Each slide should provide meaningful information, tips, or insights to your audience.
• End with a call-to-action (CTA): Encourage your audience to save the post, leave a comment, or visit a link in your bio.
  
  

Experiment with different topics for your carousels, such as tutorials, step-by-step guides, or storytelling. Your goal is to educate, entertain, or inspire while giving your audience a reason to engage.

Tip 8 – Use Trends When Relevant

Trends are great for boosting engagement because they’re already popular and familiar to users. However, knowing what works and doesn’t work for your business is the key to using trends effectively. 

Like the meme point I mentioned earlier, don’t jump on every trend you find because it won’t always be relevant to your business or audience. 

Be selective and strategic with the trends you participate in. 

Tip 9 – Host Giveaways

Giveaways are one of the fastest ways to increase engagement and attract new followers. 

Because who doesn’t love free stuff?

To give you a peak at the power of giveaways, I recently hosted a giveaway on Instagram for one of my clients. It was their very first giveaway; it ran for about a week, and these were the results. 

Pretty good, right? 

To run a successful giveaway:

1. Set clear goals: Are you looking to gain followers, increase engagement, or promote a product?
2. Pick an enticing prize: Choose something your target audience values—ideally, a product or service your business offers. It doesn’t have to be super expensive. As long as it’s free, people will want it.  
3. Make participation easy: For example, ask followers to like the post, tag a friend, and follow your account.
4. Promote the giveaway: Use stories, posts, and collaborations to maximize reach.
   
   

Make sure you follow Instagram’s contest guidelines to keep everything compliant.

Tip 10 – Respond to Comments

Engagement isn’t just about what your audience does—it’s also about how you interact with them. When followers comment on your posts, take the time to reply.

Why it matters:

• Builds relationships: Responding to comments shows your audience that you value their input.
• Encourages more interaction: When people see you’re responsive, they’re more likely to engage.
• Boosts visibility: Instagram’s algorithm favors posts with active discussions.
  
  

Even simple replies like “Thank you!” or “Great point!” can make a difference. For more in-depth comments, take the opportunity to start a conversation.

Tip 11 – User-Generated Content (UGC) & Other Creators

User-generated content is gold for engagement. When your followers create content featuring your brand, it strengthens loyalty and serves as an authentic promotion.

Here’s how to use UGC:

• Encourage it: Ask your followers to tag you in posts or use a branded hashtag for a chance to be featured.
• Share it: Repost UGC on your stories or feed (with credit).
• Collaborate with creators: Partner with influencers or creators who align with your brand to reach a wider audience.
  
  

UGC fosters community, trust, and a sense of belonging among your followers.

Tip 12 – Strong Captions and CTAs

Your captions are just as important as your visuals. They provide context, add personality, and encourage action.

Here’s how to write compelling captions:

• Start strong: The first sentence should grab attention—think questions, bold statements, or humor.
• Tell a story: Share behind-the-scenes details, personal anecdotes, or insights about your brand.
• Use a clear CTA: Ask followers to comment, tag a friend, save the post, or click the link in your bio.
  
  

A well-crafted caption with an engaging CTA can dramatically improve interaction on your posts.

Tip 13 – Don’t Post and Ghost

You need to be social on social media. In this post, I talked about how one of the mistakes I made in my earlier days on Instagram was not engaging enough with others. 

Don’t make the same mistakes I once did. 

Consistency and engagement go hand in hand. Don’t just post your content and disappear from the platform.

Instead:

• Be present: Spend time engaging with your followers after posting. Reply to comments and DMs.
• Interact with others: Like, comment on, and share posts from your audience or other accounts in your niche.
• Stay active: Regular engagement signals to the algorithm that you’re an active user, which can improve your visibility.
  
  

Tip 14 – When in Doubt, Replicate What Works

Not every post will be a hit, and that’s okay. The key is to learn from your successes and replicate what works.

To do this:

• Analyze your analytics: Identify the types of content that drive the most engagement.
• Double down: If your audience loves how-to reels or inspirational quotes, create more of those.
• Experiment: While sticking to what works, don’t be afraid to test new ideas occasionally.
  
  

Success on Instagram is often about fine-tuning your strategy and leaning into what resonates with your audience.

Okay, that’s all I have for you. 

Think of Instagram as playing the long game. Try these tips and commit to them for a few months, and I know you’ll start seeing an increase in your engagement. 

Let me know in the comments if you’ve used any other tips to increase your Instagram engagement rate; your input is appreciated!