In this day and age, social media is more important than ever before. This is especially true for companies, brands, and businesses. The way that your business or brand is portrayed on social media is the way that your audience will perceive you. Another part of social media, specifically Instagram, is that you have a possibility of having non-active Instagram followers.
While having a large following can look important, if you have low engagement, the number of followers that you have does not mean much. If your audience sees that you have a large following of over 10,000, but you only get 10 or 15 likes on a photo, that might look bad. People may perceive your brand as buying followers, which is something that is frowned upon. It is important to make sure that as many people as possible can and want to engage in your content.
In this article, you will learn about ways to engage non-active followers, what non-active followers are, and more.
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What Are Non-Active Instagram Followers?
Non-active Instagram followers, also sometimes known as “ghost followers” are inactive accounts that don’t engage with your profile and posts. They are also known as fake followers because the likelihood that these users are not real people are high. This is not always a bad thing depending on the purpose you see followers serving in your Instagram marketing strategy. If you don’t mind lower engagement and just want a higher follower number, then having these ghost accounts following you isn’t such a bad thing.
The most common way for ghost followers to appear is when someone decides to buy Instagram followers. It’s become a common practice in the industry to purchase thousands of followers cheaply. One of the most common means of doing this is buying a bunch of inactive followers, commonly called bots. Another common way to do this is to pay for a service to follow other users in hopes that they follow you back. Both of these strategies are unreliable in their own ways. Followers that are bought will not engage with your content, and followed accounts have a chance of engaging, but may not follow back.
Engagement on Instagram
In today’s day and age, social media has become an integral part of any business’s marketing strategy. One of the biggest social media platforms is Instagram. Having a successful Instagram account for your business includes beating the algorithm, posting meaningful content, and interacting with your audience. By using Instagram at a consistent and engaging rate, you will be able to engage your non-active followers. On Instagram, engagement is measured by a range of metrics that include:
- Comments
- Shares
- Likes
- Saves
- Followers and growth
- Mentions (tagged or untagged)
- Branded hashtags
- Click-throughs
- Direct messages
Actions such as these are evidence that people aren’t just seeing your content, but they are actively interested in what you have to say. Engagement means that your content is making an impact on your audience. Secondly, strong engagement is a key factor in Instagram‘s algorithm. The higher the engagement, the more likely it is that your post will be boosted in the user’s feed, attracting more eyes and attention from your audience.
Increasing Instagram Engagement
Having your audience engage with your content is the most integral part of growing your Instagram account and ensuring that your audience keeps your business in mind. If your business’s Instagram presence needs improvement and you are trying to engage with non-active Instagram followers, here are some tips to increase your following, up your engagement, and grow.
Be Authentic
On social media, especially on Instagram, it is better to be honest and relatable rather than perfectly polished. This may mean sharing behind-the-scenes footage in Instagram stories, writing a caption that reveals a sense of humor, or taking ownership of any mistakes. Audiences appreciate honesty more than perfection. This also builds a level of trust between your audience and you as a business. If your audience believes that you are authentic and genuine as a company, they are more likely to purchase a product or service from you.
Share Great Images
Instagram is a primarily visual social media platform. While you don’t need to be a professional photographer to thrive on this platform, it is important to create images that stand out from others. Even if you’re not a great photographer or graphic designer, there are many tools to help you give your pictures moments in which they can capture your audience’s attention. On websites like HootSuite, you can edit photos and add text and filters to your photos. Using images like these that will capture the audience’s attention will lead to them more likely wanting to continue to look through your profile or read the caption or give you a follow. Having great photos on your Instagram is the first impression that your audience receives about your brand or business. This first impression could lead to having a new loyal customer. It’s important to put your best foot forward on social media, and a large part of that is ensuring that your content stands out.
Post Video Content
As said before, Instagram is primarily a visual social media platform. As well as photos, Instagram supports posting videos. Videos can be more engaging than image posts, and they can allow your brand to stand out from the crowd. Video content doesn’t have to be overly polished or perfectly edited. You just need to make sure that it authentically shares your brand on the app to your audience. There are many tools that can help you combine scenes, add music, add in text, and more. You can download a free or paid video editing app. If you have any Apple products, you can use iMovie. InShot and Magisto are great options for video editing, and it’s important to remember that it doesn’t have to be anything crazy fancy. As long as it’s authentic and true to your brand, the right audience will come to you.
Keep a Content Calendar
When you’re trying to get followers on Instagram and keep your followers engaged with your content, the worst thing that you can do is post your content at random times and not consistently. It is very important to keep a regular posting schedule. Typically, brands should post at least once a day to avoid spamming their followers. However, whatever schedule you do decide on, the best thing is to just stay consistent. Sticking to your schedule can help you build a consistent experience for your followers and keep them in the know of your brand. If you’re wondering how you’re going to remember to publish content at these different times of the day, you can use different websites and apps, such as Sprout or Buffer.
Schedule Posts in Advance
In the past few years, the Instagram algorithm has been changed to show users more content that they like. However, posting at the right times can still give your posts more visibility. Using a website like Sprout, you can schedule your content in advance. This allows your entire team to see your campaigns and posting schedules in a more efficient manner. It is always smart to build out your content in advance. With Sprout’s Instagram scheduling tools, you can reach your audience and maintain a consistent flow of content at the same time.
Post Content Your Audience Wants to See
While this can be easier said than done, it is important to learn what content your followers want to see. The more that you post on your Instagram, the more that you will see what content performs better than others. Whether it’s filters, captions, content types or post times, the smallest details can make all of the difference. It is also important to keep up with new Instagram trends so you know that you’re posting content that is relevant, popular, and more likely to be pushed to your audience. It is also important to be confident in your content strategy by analyzing different filters, captions, and more to see what works best with your audience. If you’re unsure where to start, try analyzing your competitors.
Create More Engagement on Instagram Today
As a business, increasing Instagram engagement is extremely important. If you want to learn more about how to best take advantage of Instagram for your marketing, reach out to us today!
FAQ:
- What factors go into Instagram engagement?
- How do people buy Instagram followers?
- What is a content calendar?
- How do I know what my followers want to see?
- Why is being authentic important?
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