WHAT TO DO IF YOUR INSTAGRAM ENGAGAMENT DROPS?

26 October 2022

With ever changing features, constantly updating algorithms, and a growing number of competitors, the world of engagement on social media can be a tricky one to navigate, especially on Instagram.

Having loads of followers shouldn’t be your number one priority, and please, we beg you, never buy followers to ‘make your page look more popular’. A small, highly engaged following trumps having loads of followers who don’t care about your content any day of the week.

You might notice drops in your engagement or you may go through phases where your posts don’t seem to be taking off. It can be easy to blame the system, and, although this may sometimes be justified, there are some steps you can follow to try and beat it.

This blog post will help you calculate your current engagement rate, identify reasons for those drops you’re seeing, and provide some tips to pick it back up.

What is engagement?

Engagement is the metric that tracks how much your followers are interacting with your content. 

It wears a number of different hats and includes likes, comments, shares, saves, direct messages, interaction with stories, and more.

Having a good level of engagement is important as it has a direct influence on Instagram's algorithm. If you can get on its good side, you’re laughing. As your posts start to get more engagement, Instagram will show it to more people. Win-win.

How do I find out my engagement rate?

Finding out a general engagement rate for your profile is useful.

How do I do that? We hear you ask.

The magic formula is: Total number of likes and comments/follower count*100

Do this calculation for a range of posts to see what kind of content works best for your page. You can also apply this formula periodically over time to see if your engagement is increasing. This is particularly useful when implementing a new strategy.

Why might my engagement be dropping and what can I do to combat that?

We’ve all been there. Things were going so well, your content was raking in likes and comments and people were showing an active interest in your page and product. Then something changed. Dips in engagement can be natural and are often seen after Instagram updates its algorithm. But, there are other reasons you might notice a drop, and, fortunately, these instances can be combated. 

You’ve stopped posting consistently.

Building a successful profile is going to take time. Having a schedule and sticking to it makes you reliable and means your followers know what to expect from you and when. This doesn’t mean you need to be posting on the hour, every hour. Simply choosing a few days a week and making sure you have something high quality, informative, and entertaining to post on your set days, is a great start.

You’re shying away from video.

Instagram has made it no secret that they’re favouring video on the platform, particularly the use of Reels. People are engaging with them too. A recent survey on Instagram found that 91% of active respondents say they watch videos on Instagram weekly. Reels will boost your engagement as they reach a wider audience outside your immediate followers than standard grid posts. They’re also generally more fun and engaging, meaning you’ll naturally see an organic increase in likes and comments. 

Your content is unoriginal.

Posting content that’s either the same or very similar to something posted by another account is going to do you no favours in trying to beat the algorithm. Not only will Instagram see right through you, so will your followers. They expect innovative, creative, informative, and personalised content that embodies you or your brand’s voice and personality. 

You’re falling behind on the newest features and trends.

Social media, especially Instagram, is constantly evolving. In August 2022 alone, a bunch of new features launched from “Reels Play” to Reactive Audio. Learning about, and using new features is going to put you one step ahead of your competitors and will boost you to the top of your followers’ feeds.

You’re not using Instagram Stories to your advantage.

Stories are both instant and temporary, and they also get seen by more people. Use this to your advantage. Stories are a great place to build rapport with your followers as you can use a more informal tone. If you feel confident, record some chatty videos about your business and make them interactive. Try to post at least 2 stories a day.

You’re not in tune with your profile.

Spend some time analysing your profile. Find out what kinds of posts perform well on your page and keep making them. Use in app analytics to find out your optimum time for posting and incorporate this data into your consistent posting schedule. See if you have any inactive followers and clear them out. Make sure you’re using hashtags that are buzzy and relevant. Take some time to view your profile from the outside. Is there ample opportunity for your followers to engage with your account? Are your posts likeable? Are you encouraging conversation in the comments? Is your content high quality and shareable?

You’re not adding alt text to your posts.

You should be adding photo descriptions to make your content more accessible and inclusive. Adding alt text is also an easy way to boost the SEO of your profile helping to drive traffic to your page. Making sure the text is full of keywords will help Instagram’s algorithm fully understand what your post is about, which can eventually increase your chances of getting on that valuable explore page feature.

Your content strategy is stale.

If your content isn’t hitting, maybe it’s time to switch it up. See this as an exciting opportunity, plan ahead, and make an effort to let your voice shine through. Try posting images of your team, day in the life content and behind the scenes insights, rather than just infographics, for example. Try posting a meme, if that’s appropriate for your vision. Have fun with it and see how your audience responds. Lots of this is trial and error, which doesn’t have to be a bad thing.

You need to be creating high quality, shareable and saveable content. Shares widen your reach, giving you the potential for more followers and customers. Saves encourage people to return to your page and increase brand familiarity. 

Don’t give up if you start to see your Instagram engagement dropping. See it as an opportunity to refresh your approach and improve your presence on the app. Trial new features and ideas, be consistent, and ride the crazy algorithm wave.