Anyone noticed a drop in your Instagram engagement lately? Or perhaps, you’ve even seen a drop in the number of your followers. The culprit … The Instagram Algorithm! The IG-rithm just had some pretty big and mysterious changes. Engagement rates have dropped to an all-time low due to the way Instagram prioritizes the content you see.

BUT…Don’t get discouraged! I’ve put together a list of tips to keep you on the Insta-Good list.

1. Don't post and ghost! It’s all about engagement and it’s all about your response time! Whether you post on the fly or schedule your content out make sure you stay on IG or periodically check your notifications for at least 30 minutes after you post. Why? So you can engage with your followers who comment on your post which plays to the algorithm. Let them know you appreciate their feedback and/or available to answer their questions. I usually take this time to also like and comment on other brand pages I follow. Not only will your followers and the brands you follow appreciate the love but it will boost your engagement. Remember you’ve got to GIVE LOVE, TO GET LOVE!

2. Don't edit your post's caption or location tag right away. I know this is hard to do when you see an error but for whatever reason (unknown by me) doing so will significantly lower your chances for it to be seen. So double check, or better yet, triple check your caption content before you post.

3. Even though you can add up to 30 hashtags in a post, this can now be picked up as spam. I would suggest keeping it between 12-20 hashtags and make sure they are specific and unique to your posts content. You can also post these hashtags as a comment instead of including it in your caption.

4. Geotag popular locations. When traveling to popular locations be sure to take photos that can be used (now or later) to create content and tag that destination. You can come up with some pretty cool ways to use geotags even after the trip is over. I do it all the time! Remember, even though it's called Instagram, it doesn't mean your content always has to be instant.

The next two tips get a little confusing but just stay with me.

5. Post more to gain more followers. Your engagement may be lower per post but you will reach a higher percentage of people daily. When you post frequently more people will have a chance to see your posts and the more times they see you, the more chances they have to follow you…resulting in more chances to gain more followers.

6. Post less for better engagement. I know this sounds weird since I just said post more to gain followers but from my experience the reach of my overall post is higher when I post less. The reason being is your post has time to circulate. Because of the algorithm, our feeds are no longer in chronological order but instead catered to what Instagram thinks we want to see. When people follow you, Instagram thinks they would like to view your content. So even if Instagram doesn’t show your posts to a majority of your followers at first, it may get picked up by the algorithm and end up on your followers’ feed later on.

7. Utilize new features like story highlights, polls, music, follow hashtags, use videos…etc!

I hope these tips help! Just remember to STAY SOCIAL, BE AUTHENTIC and remember you and your brand are INSTA-WORTHY!

If you need help devising a plan of action for your social media feel free to contact me. www.gab4you.com/contact 

Much LOVE ~ Cheryl