Why is engagement so important for the Instagram algorithm?

You may be a bit sick of hearing people tell you to engage with other users on Instagram, but really it’s the best shot you’ve got at building up a community and follower base. In this blog post, I will tell you exactly why engagement is Queen when it comes to Instagram. And yes. Queen is the best.

What does engagement mean on Instagram?

Engagement on a social platform doesn’t mean asking for a lifetime commitment, a ceremony and expensive rings. It means commenting, liking, saving, messaging. When you have a conversation in person with someone, you engage in said conversation, you make contributions, acknowledge what they’ve said, your face reacts in the appropriate way. You are engaged in what they are saying and so the conversation continues to take place.

When on Instagram, apply the same rules, and you’re engaging.

• Like photos
• Comment on photos
• Save photos
• Send photos to friends
• Follow users
• Message users

These are all methods of engagement.

Why is engagement actually important?

For one of two reasons:

• Instagram as a platform rewards those who spend more time on their platform. If you really love BookLover12345’s account and you spend all day looking at their content, commenting on it, liking it, you are going to be telling Instagram you are an active account, you like BookLover12345’s content and you are actively using the platform. The algorithm is a clever beast and is hard to understand, but from various pieces of research, we can see Instagram is more likely to show your content to a wider audience if you yourself are engaging more in the community.
• It helps you build a community on Instagram. The more you like and comment on other user’s photos/reply to said comments on your own, the more likely you are to get involved in their conversations, to meet new users, to be seen as one of the community. Just make sure your engagement is genuine.

What is the best method for engaging on Instagram?

• Most captions include questions, specifically designed to encourage users to engage on posts. You should a) include questons on your own posts b) respond to questions on posts you like.
• There is a lot of umming and ahhing in the community about Comment Pods on Instagram, I think they’re a good thing and help you to regularly engage with accounts you enjoy. For more details on what a comment pod is, check out my blog post here.
• Look at hashtags you like e.g. #Bookstagram or #BookLover, go down the posts and find new accounts to follow and engage with.
• Save photos you liked, this will benefit the other user and show Instagram that their content is performing well. This doesn’t overly benefit you, but it is kindness in turn in the hope that other users do the same for your content.
• Ask your followers to engage on your Instagram Story posts, include question boxes, polls etc. This creates a form of communication between you and your followers and makes you seem more personable.

But why does any of this matter to Instagram’s algorithm?

As I said before, it’s plain and simple. Instagram wants you to use it’s platform, not scroll blindly through photos. It wants to generate conversation and a buzz for content. If you engage on Instagram, it will reward you and it as simple as that.

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