The time when people have only cared about getting big numbers of likes and followers on Insta is over. Modern marketers already know that engagement rate is a primary metric to consider on this network. Even 20 Instagram followers are a tool for gaining popularity on this platform, if they are active and interested in watching your content.
Of course one of the main questions that may concern bloggers is why the engagement is dropping low, and how to avoid that. We have asked our strategic marketing expert Ronald A. Harris to help us out and he has provided 9 reasons why your engagement rate can be lower. Ronald also has shared useful tips for getting back on track.
You have chosen the wrong platform
This is the primary reason why your content has no success on Instagram. Although the variety of niches and blogs is huge on this platform, it still has its limits and specifics. Being incredibly dependent on visuals, IG is a perfect place for brands that are involved in:
- travel,
- cooking,
- fashion,
- beauty products.
For other industries, it can be hard to compete for popularity with the instruments that Instagram offers. Also, if you rely a lot on affiliate links, this platform won’t fulfill your goals, because the range of options for placing such links is very narrow – promoted posts and bio.
Ronald A. Harris: Surely, any brand has to analyze deeply, what are their points of power, and choose the platform for promotion accordingly. The same goes for influencer marketing, as most celebrities from IG are focused on lifestyle content – this makes promoting certain products with their help irrelevant and thus not effective at all.
You don’t motivate your audience
Along with compelling visuals and texts, it is vital for bloggers and brands to use CTA’s to improve their Instagram engagement. When your texts and visuals leave no encouragement for followers to comment or like your post, you inevitably lose engagement rate and visibility on the platform.
Never underestimate the power of a call to action. Some entrepreneurs think that encouraging viewers directly to do something is too annoying and even rude. Well, there is a portion of truth in this statement. When you add CTA to your content, make sure you are not overdoing it, and your motivation remains subtle.
You are pushing too hard
Speaking about overdoing it. There is nothing more annoying than aggressive marketing on social media. Times of TV-style classic advertising is over, and brands and nonprofits have to think in other categories to make use of their Instagram. When your promotion campaign is very pushy, it drives users away instead of attracting and motivating them to act somehow on your page.
Ronald A. Harris: This is a common mistake that results in low engagement rates. Promotion on Instagram has to be delicate and very well explained to users. Nowadays, followers have a wide variety of options to choose from, and when many similar brands attack them with the “Pick me! Pick me!” strategy, they won’t pick you. They will instead prefer someone who doesn’t stick in their eye like an annoying fly.
Monotonous content type
This is also one of the most popular reasons why you lose your engagement on Instagram. However valuable and interesting your content is, people lose interest and become less and less active on your profile when there is no range of formats to watch. They are bored, and they don’t want to react to the same post again and again.
Indeed, being monotonous in your content is boring. This matter concerns Stories especially. When you are using the “talking head” style on and on and on, people get tired of listening to your monologue and watching your face in the center of the screen. Variety is the key to success because when you interchange different styles and formats, you are able to keep up the interest of your audience.
Inconsistency
Even the most patient followers will abandon you if you don’t have an established schedule. Users like:
- getting their content in regular doses,
- appearing in their feeds constantly,
- materials are visible and accessible for the audience.
The specific Instagram algorithm that forms the feed will watch out for engagement a lot, and being constantly within the range of users’ attention can guarantee that your posts will be seen.
Ronald A. Harris: Establishing a schedule for posting is vital for getting more engagement. It doesn’t have to be too often – keep up with the rhythm that suits you and doesn’t harm your life. The frequency of uploading new posts can only be increased with time, so I always recommend starting with the minimum that you can afford without affecting your daily life and then gradually increase uploading as your blog grows.
Exploiting paid services
Using bot farms and relying on purchased stats will bring you to failure. Buying metrics for your blog on Instagram has to be a mindful and strategic decision, but many people see the instant success and begin overdoing it with paid services. As a result – they miss the moment when they have to stop and focus on the quality of their content and their followers as well. The organic public feels fake and leaves very soon, and your account stays dead.
Purchased statistics can be a great help, but they also are a big temptation. People forget that the security systems that track bots have become more complex and intelligent. And people aren’t stupid too. They will discover your machinations easily when you are buying too much. Purchased stats are good for accentuating specific posts and boosting your profile at the beginning of your career, but as your profile or brand grows, you have to rely on the organic audience.
You neglect analytics
Yes, one of the reasons why your engagement rate is low is that you don’t track it:
- To make an Instagram account successful, you must keep your hand on the pulse of it all the time.
- When you forget or don’t mind checking your progress, it is easy to miss the moment when it all went wrong.
For what it’s worth, analytics is the main instrument that helps to discover what is wrong with your IG profile. Developing a blog and followers numbers is a tough job that requires patience. But I have seen many people who were relying on luck in this question.
You lack personality
Instagram is a social media, and people want to interact with other people and see shared content as funny, engaging, informative, educational, etc. This reason is especially common within brands on IG. Turning the profile page into a mindless online catalog won’t work, considering the modern Insta algorithm.
There’s not much to say about it. People love knowing more about the brands they choose. And to make some use of IG, brands need to share their values and inspiration, humanize the product and make the connection between them and consumers more profound and intimate.
Your content isn’t interesting or useful
Quite enough said in the name of this paragraph. In this case, there is only one way out – changing the manner and style of your content, deeply digging into the reasons for this.
Probably this reason is the saddest and disturbing for any blogger on Insta. But nothing is impossible here – if you analyze and make adjustments to your strategy and communicate openly with your followers – everything will be fine.