3 Daily Habits to Increase Your Instagram Engagement

Everyone out there is talking about 'how to grow your Instagram following' and 'how to get more followers fast on Instagram'; but what about the engagement that you have with those followers once you find them? A high number of followers means nothing if you don't have the engagement to back it up.

Brands and sponsors are starting to see that high engagement beats high following, which is great for bloggers, entrepreneurs, or brands who are just starting out or are already established. Work with what you already have and get people excited about your brand so you can continue to grow your business.

Luckily there are little things you can do every day to start boosting those engagement numbers to get more of your community responding. Here are 3 daily habits you can implement to increase your Instagram engagement.

*PS: You can watch my FREE INSTAGRAM TRAINING by clicking RIGHT HERE!

1. Consistently upload amazing content

Possibly the easiest and most important thing for you to do every day on Instagram is consistently upload stellar content. Doing this will do 3 things: It will allow you to continue to build your profile, attract new followers, and keep existing followers.

When potential new followers come to your account for the first time, they will judge your profile in less than 2 seconds to decide if they want to follow you or not. If you are constantly putting out great photos that look consistent (similar color schemes, common themes, same layouts, consistent posting schedule, etc.) it will entice people to hit that "Follow" button. People love consistency, so make sure you stick to it.

On the other side of that, you need to make sure you are uploading interesting photos to keep your current followers engaged as well. Give them the types of photos that made them excited to join your community in the first place. All it takes is 1 bad or annoying photo for people to hit "Unfollow."

If you're stuck on what types of photos receive the best engagement, take cues from the pros (I'm serious!). Look on popular accounts and see what's working for them. It's perfectly fine to seek out inspiration and get ideas for what you want to create. I do this every single day. I'll give you a couple hints: lighter photos outperform darker ones; selfies typically get 38% higher engagement; and popular landmarks and cityscapes typically get very high engagement.

Be consistent. Put out amazing content.

2. Find new accounts to connect with

People need to think of Instagram like it's a giant networking event. How do you expect to get noticed if you're sitting in the corner by yourself and not getting out into the room and meeting other people? The best way to grow your engagement (and your account) is by finding new accounts to connect with every day.

If you haven't already, figure out what niche your account fits into and then look for other people in your space to connect with. You can do this by searching hashtags, geotags, utilizing the IG Explore tab, or simply doing a Google search (ex: "best travel instagram accounts"). You can even look on your favorite accounts and see who they are following or who their followers are and connect with them.

Once you find these other accounts, be the first to engage with them. Follow them, like their pictures, comment on their pictures, share their pictures, tell them you love their feed, visit their blogs... You get the point. What you are ultimately doing is creating a community of people who have the same interests as you.

After you connect with new accounts every day, you will start to see the growth happening. Those same people who you reached out to will come back to your profile when they see your activity. They might also follow you, like your pictures, comment on your pictures, etc. It is an amazing chain reaction of networking that you can practice each day! Try connecting with a few more accounts each day and see where it gets you.

3. Respond to every comment

Nurturing your existing community is one of the biggest ways to increase your Instagram engagement. Something as simple as responding to comments left by your followers can make a huge difference in the long run.

Responding to comments humanizes you instead of making your followers feel like they are following someone they will never get in touch with. It makes them feel like they are part of the community and that you appreciate their support. There is something so special about a simple "Thanks!" (or any kind of acknowledgment) that makes your followers feel valued and keeps them around.

I understand that as your account grows, responding to every comment could take a lot of time and not be as productive (I sometimes only respond to comments every few days). Luckily there are plenty of other ways to engage with your current followers that don't include responding to comments. You can like their photos in return, feature their photos, leave nice comments on their account, etc. Remember: You're trying to build a community here, so make sure you're tending to it every day.

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The ultimate key to making these things successful is consistency.

You will only be able to build a strong and engaged Instagram community if you are consistent with these habits every day.

Put out great content, connect with new people, and engage with your existing followers. It takes a bit of time, but the results will be magnificent!