The key to success on Instagram in recent years has been not just gaining a large following, but keeping them interested and involved with your posts. Content that elicits a response from its readers is considered engaging. The bigger the group gets, the harder it is to keep people actively involved. However, the Instagram algorithm takes into account your engagement rate, which in turn increases your visibility.
Instagram’s engagement rate calculation
It’s vital to have the idea of involvement in mind before diving into the specifics of the maths. Likes, comments, shares, and new account signups are all considered engagement on Instagram. It’s the sum of everyone’s actions on a piece of media, like a photo or a movie. A community’s engagement rate is the gold standard for measuring the value of the information it disseminates.
Likes and comments will be the primary metrics used to determine the Instagram engagement rate.
The participation rate can be determined in a number of ways. Maintaining a consistent technique of calculation helps ensure that your analyses remain consistent throughout time.
Subscriber engagement rate
This is the share of Instagram users that engage with a brand’s profile or a publication on a daily basis after being exposed to it. The formula for this is the total number of interactions divided by the total number of followers. Numbers of followers and likes are public information, thus this feature is intriguing since it enables you to gauge your popularity relative to that of your rivals. It’s also a chance to gauge how much of an effect an Instagrammer actually has.
This may be summed up as: engagement rate per follower = (likes + comments) / (followers) x (100).
Per-contact engagement rate
The second technique requires access to reach, which is only available to verified business accounts on Instagram. The number of people who have viewed your post is factored into the calculation, giving you a more accurate engagement rate. Keep in mind that many Instagram users will never see your posts.
In a nutshell, the engagement rate per person reached is calculated as follows: (Likes + Comments) / Reach x 100.
Calculating your positive engagement rate, in which you are able to ignore any responses that are favourable to your business, can be a useful next step. The mood of the interactions, which can be either pleasant (during a good buzz), or negative (during a bad buzz), is ignored by the engagement rate.
Average Instagram engagement rate
Instagram is the most popular among influencers since it attracts the most followers and likes. When compared to Facebook (which has considerably more monthly active users), Instagram posts receive 23%(1) more likes, comments, and shares. Therefore, Instagram is also becoming the preferred social network for firms when they wish to interact with their audience.
Keep in mind that the quantity of followers you have will significantly affect your average engagement rate on Instagram (2.84%(2)). The average participation rate often decreases as the size of a community increases. The term “good” engagement rate is overused.
Consider the size of an Instagrammer’s network before making a decision on their engagement rate when planning a future influencer marketing campaign together.
While nano and micro-influencers may only have a small following, they are gaining attention from brands looking to launch Influence Marketing campaigns. In comparison to a macro-influencer, their engagement rate is far higher. In fact, one can more easily engage with a more intimate audience. Indirectly, your brand will profit from a responsive audience that is eager to like and spread your content.
The engagement rates generated by the various Instagram format options should also be considered when formulating an impact strategy.
Boost your Instagram followers’ interaction rate
The good news is that there are things you can do on Instagram to increase your engagement rate, and they won’t cost you anything in terms of advertising.
The success of your social media strategy depends on your familiarity with your target demographic. You need to know your audience before you can create content for them, either on your own or with the help of an influencer. It’s crucial to understand your audience’s wants, needs, habits, and lifestyle in order to provide them with useful material.
If you want more people to interact with your Instagram posts, you should assess your competitors’ strategies on a regular (daily) basis. Both the substance (what kinds of messages do my rivals on Instagram convey?) and the style (in what kinds of media formats (picture, video, live, etc.) do they express themselves) should be taken into account in this evaluation.
Hashtags are another engagement-driving lever. Use them carefully and sparingly to maximise their impact. You can get your publication seen by more people by using less popular, but more specific, hashtags. However, if a popular hashtag (like #food) already features millions of posts, it can be challenging to gain traction.
If you want more people to interact with your content on Instagram, video is a format you shouldn’t ignore. Videos’ average interaction rate rises more quickly than that of photographs. Including Instagram Reels or, at the very least, Stories in your content strategy is a smart move. Use the hashtags, polls, Shopping, questions, and live video tools available in the latter format to actively involve your community.
Last but not least, working with an Instagram influencer will boost your profile and readership. Instagram has the highest interaction rate of any social media platform, with 4.2 billion “Likes” being generated daily. You can’t undervalue the importance of taking your time when selecting an influencer for your campaign. Kolsquare will help you choose the best Instagram influencer for your product placement assignment based on your target audience and the values of your brand.