Want to increase your Instagram engagement in 2022?
From creating memes to hosting giveaways — there are tons of tactics to engage with your community and see your metrics skyrocket.
Ready to get started? Here are 11 tried-and-tested ways to increase your Instagram engagement in 2022:
How to Increase Instagram Engagement in 2022
Engage With Your Audience Through Instagram Stories Stickers
Create and Share Relatable Memes
Create Saveable Graphics
Share Valuable Information in Carousel Posts
Include Call to Actions In Your Captions
Let Your Personality Shine Through on Instagram Stories
Host an Enticing Giveaway
Collab on Instagram Reels
Think About What Will Inspire Your Community With the Add Yours Sticker
Post When Your Audience Is Most Engaged
Use Relevant Hashtags
#1: Engage With Your Audience Through Instagram Stories Stickers
Instagram Stories stickers are a great way to encourage your followers to engage with you, which, in turn, helps create a loyal following that feels connected to your brand.
On stories, there are a number of quick and easy stickers to use like polls, questions, countdowns, quizzes, and emoji sliders to name a few.
One of the most engaging uses of Instagram Stories stickers is the question sticker.
The Instagram Stories questions sticker allows you to have direct conversations with your followers. You can prompt your followers to ask you questions on a certain topic or you can open the floor entirely.
One way you can use the sticker is by hosting an AMA (ask me anything).
The trend made popular on Reddit in the early 2000s has heavily made its way onto the Instagram Stories scene.
You’ll be surprised at how much engagement you’ll get from this simple little questions box. Instagram users like to feel like they’re part of something bigger. And opening up the floor to answering their questions is a great way to do that.
Once you’ve collected all of the questions, don’t forget to hop on your stories to answer them.
Each time one of your followers interacts with a sticker, it counts as engagement! So, why not tap on a sticker on your next Instagram story?
#2: Create and Share Relatable Memes
Memes are the way to every user's heart.
They're funny, creative, and relatable. And in 2022, relatability is where it's at.
Simply put: Instagram users want to feel seen and heard.
And with the right meme, your audience will be liking, commenting, and sharing your post with their friends.
Regardless of your niche or industry, the opportunity to create a meme is there.
You can use branded text and a trending photo that ties into your content pillars, like Melanie Laurene:
Or source on-brand user-generated content (UGC) and credit the original creator like Later:
Whether it's someone reposting the meme on their Instagram Story or sending it to a friend, the more people who share your post, the more engagement you'll see.
Start scheduling your Instagram memes with Later today!
#3: Create Saveable Graphics
Quotes, graphics, and repurposed tweets are everywhere on Instagram – and they're perfect for driving engagement.
You’ll find that Instagram users love to share quotes on their stories — especially if they’re both moving and aesthetically pleasing.
A recent trend is repurposing tweets into Instagram feed posts. This type of content is really engaging and popular on Instagram. Ironic, we know.
Similar to meme creation, these sorts of graphics don’t require many resources.
Even if you don’t have Twitter, there are many templates you can use to make it look like a tweet.
Designer or not, you’ve got this!
#4: Share Valuable Information in Carousel Posts
Carousel posts are an engagement gold mine.
Instagram carousels allow you to share up to 10 pictures, videos, and text graphics with your audience in one post.
Whether it's sharing educational content or supporting a social cause, carousel posts that offer some sort of value can help drive saves and shares.
Think about it: each slide in your carousel post is an opportunity to drive engagement – it's a 10-in-1 kind of deal.
#5: Include Call to Actions In Your Captions
Call to actions (CTAs) continue to stand the test of time.
Including a CTA, more specifically, a direct question, in your caption is a sure way to get more Instagram engagement:
But remember to ask a genuine question.
You don't want your audience to think it's simply an engagement tactic. That's a big no-no.
For example, if you share a selfie asking your followers what their favorite food is, it can look like you’re on the hunt for comments and comments alone.
Whereas if you share a genuine anecdote and follow it up with a relevant question, your community is more likely to respond in your comments.
You can be creative with your questions. You can ask for advice, recommendations (restaurants, vacation spots, books), or what type of content they want to see from you.
Another way to drive engagement with CTAs is by encouraging your audience to click the link in your Instagram bio.
Since you can’t include direct links in your Instagram feed post captions, using a link in bio tool, like Later’s Linkin.bio, is a great way to combat this.
With Linkin.bio by Later, you can build a clickable version of your Instagram feed, along with the option to add customizable button links:
When your followers click the link in your bio, they’ll be able to tap on any image or button and be directed straight to the links you’ve added.
This can be a landing page for a product launch, a blog post, your YouTube channel, and so much more.
Ready to drive more traffic from Instagram? Join Later today to turn your Instagram feed into a clickable landing page!
#6: Let Your Personality Shine Through on Instagram Stories
If you want to drive engagement with your community, bringing your personality to Instagram is a great place to start.
Stories are the perfect format for chatty, informal interactions – share a personal anecdote, ask questions, and show your face!
The popular podcaster and influencer @lexniko frequently jumps on her Instagram Stories to talk with her community directly:
Likewise, as a brand account, Later’s social team shows up on stories with tips or behind-the-scenes content:
As a brand, it’s important to show your face every once in a while. Your followers want to see that you’re more than a logo.
People tend to be more engaged when they see a face pop up on a brand account’s stories.
If you want to take your Instagram Stories strategy to the next level, try planning them out in advance.
With Later’s Instagram Stories scheduler, you can prep a whole week’s worth of stories in one go.
Set aside time in your day to batch film stories content — maybe that’s you talking to the camera about an upcoming sale or an upcoming project.
Next, upload your stories into Later’s Media Library. You can quickly drag and drop your videos into the right order, resize them, add links, and set a time for posting.
It really is as simple as it sounds.
Storyboard, plan, and schedule your Instagram Stories with Later today — available on all paid plans.
#7: Host an Enticing Giveaway
Everyone loves free stuff. We don’t make the rules.
And with this knowledge, it only makes sense to include giveaways in your Instagram strategy.
But, not just any giveaway.
In 2022, giveaways need to be intentional, enticing to both your existing and target audience, and authentic to your brand.
Whether it’s a product, service, or experience, with the right prize up for grabs, you’ll be racking up the engagement.
If the goal for your giveaway is to increase engagement, the tag/follow/share entry requirement format may be best.
It’s a straightforward and clear way to gain tons of engagement on a single post.
#8: Collab on Your Instagram Reels
Instagram Collabs are a new way to boost engagement on Instagram — especially on Reels.
The feature allows you to invite someone to collaborate on a Feed post or Reel, so they can share the content with their followers.
Essentially, you can co-author content with a fellow Instagram user, and the post will show up on both of your profiles.
This way, you’ll be able to share views, likes, and comments – allowing you to leverage and engage with each other’s communities.
#9: Think About What Will Inspire Your Community With the Add Yours Sticker
With the introduction of the Add Yours sticker it’s now easier than ever to create a viral challenge with your audience and beyond.
From the recent tree planting fiasco to creators encouraging users to share embarrassing childhood pictures, the Add Yours sticker has already made big waves.
Even Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, is taking part:
If you’re a lifestyle brand, you can ask your audience to share their favorite home decor trend. If you’re a skincare company, you can ask your followers to share their morning routine.
Or if you’re a photographer, you can ask your audience to share their favorite photos.
The sky’s the limit with this new trendy feature – you could reach hundreds of new accounts from one single sticker. Talk about engagement.
#10: Post When Your Audience Is Most Engaged
Posting when your audience is most engaged is a great tactic for boosting engagement.
So, how do you know when your audience is most engaged?
You could manually track when you post on Instagram, and see how your content performs over time in an Excel sheet or Google Doc.
However, if you want to skip the experiments you can make life easier with Later’s Best Time to Post feature:
It automatically calculates your top posting times based on your best performing posts from the recent month – game-changer!
Later’s Best Time to Post feature is available on all paid plans. Upgrade now to find the best days and times to post on Instagram for maximum engagement.
#11: Use Relevant Hashtags
Hashtags are, first and foremost, a reach tactic – but greater reach typically equals higher engagement levels.
Without a doubt, hashtags should be part of your strategy.
In a recent Later study, results showed that posts with 30 Instagram hashtags received the highest engagement rates, on average.
The trick to encouraging the most engagement possible? Make sure your hashtags are tapping into niche communities that resonate with you content.
TIP: Use Later’s Hashtag Suggestion tool to help find relevant hashtags.
There it is — 11 ways you can creatively increase your Instagram engagement.
Next time you’re planning and strategizing your content, try to incorporate these tips and watch the engagement roll in!
Sign up to Later and start scheduling your Instagram posts today! Your Instagram engagement will grow in no time.
