Have you noticed that Instagram isn't about the most beautiful photo anymore? Doesn’t it seem like every other month there is a new feature they throw at you? And then the “social media experts” tell you the only way to improve your low engagement on Instagram is to include this fancy feature in all your content. *sighhhhh* How to keep up? Don’t! Focus on these 5 ways to improve your low engagement on Instagram. Remember, you got this!

1. Use Instagram's Built-In “Insights” Feature

One of the first reasons you might be having low engagement issues on Instagram is because you are doing something wrong…which means there is a fix! If your numbers are low, this is great news! Why? Now you know what not to do. 

If you don’t have an Instagram Business/Creator account, this is your chance. With a business account, you gain access to “Insights” and the strategic marketing side of Instagram, where you can see all the numbers and analyze your data. To start, find posts on your Instagram account with the lowest engagement and others with the highest, then compare the two. What is the image? When did you post it? What's the first sentence in your caption? After analyzing the data, take some notes and decide on how you are going to improve your low engagement on your Instagram posts.

Now take a look at your low engagement on your Instagram Stories. Are they not getting the views they used to? Check the insights on your Instagram Business Account to find out why. Which stories had low views and which were more popular? Does your audience like it when you are talking to them? Maybe when you show them how you work? Perhaps they like a quiz or “this-or-that” on your stories? Check your stats to see what your audience loves and what they don’t love. Low engagement is an opportunity to build better engagement.

2. What's That You Said? (Use captions!)

You might not be in a library, have a sleeping baby, or be hearing impaired…but your viewer might be!

Instagram has an ahhhmmazing caption creator. It's so good, in fact, instead of people making TikToks and bringing them into IG, they are grabbing those beautiful captions on IG and bringing them over to the Tok. Seriously!

So why add captions? Instagram captions have proven to be more accurate than other platforms such as TikTok and Youtube. Often you don't even have to go back and edit. By using Instagram captions, you save time from editing to focus on finding solutions to boost your low engagement. And BONUS, no worries about aesthetics because IG captions are also graphically on point! Move them around wherever you like them, and make those captions tiny or big with just the pinch of your fingers. People will have no reason to swipe past your stories because they can finally hear, ahem, see what you have to say. Now you are two steps closer to flipping that low engagement on Instagram!

3. Make it Accessible

Just like there are people watching stories who might be hearing impaired, there are people scrolling who might be visually impaired. By hopping into your advanced setting, you can add “alt text” to describe the photo to those using screen readers. Yes, it can be more time-consuming, but your awareness will not go unnoticed! Do you know who else will benefit from using alt text on your images? YOU!

When you add visual descriptions to your images, you are benefitting too! This act of kindness will grow your heart, a la The Grinch —it's true. But adding this text also improves your SEO. According to TailWind, a popular social media scheduling tool, “when you add relevant alt text to an Instagram post, it helps the Instagram algorithm understand what the image is all about. This, in turn, increases the chances of your post showing up in the “Explore” section of your target users’ Instagram accounts. This has become even more crucial with the latest changes in Instagram Search.”

Thinking through your Instagram engagement strategy, ensure that you are thinking through accessibility for the visually and hearing impaired. While the platform uses image recognition to analyze every post, the alt text ensures your content is shown to the right people. Also, it’ll help you to reach your target audience when they’re looking for posts related to your brand/niche/product.”

Alt text helps the visually impaired and gets your photo in front of your target audience—Yes, please! Say goodbye to low engagement on Instagram and hello to consistent growth!

4. Acknowledge People

It's so simple. If someone walked up to you in the supermarket and complimented you on your pants, wouldn't you at least say “thank you” to this random, kind stranger? It's the same for DMs. It's so easy to pop in, and see if anyone has tagged you or asked you a direct question. Answer them. 

The fourth not-so-secret way to turn around your low engagement on Instagram is by engaging. If you are so busy that you just-cannot-even, then why not hire someone? “Hiring” your teen niece to answer DMs would be better than nothing at all. Recently, we received a DM from someone with almost five million followers. Yes…millions of followers. We responded, and guess what? SHE RESPONDED BACK!!! It's still shocking. But seriously, practice good etiquette. It always pays off.

The moral of the Algorithm? If people engage with you, engage back. You are trying to win on social media—social media. The point is to be social. Instagram, just like every other social media platform, rewards you for being social. One of the main reasons people have low engagement on Instagram is due to not engaging. The words “engagement” and “social” are associated with the platform for a reason. It has to work both ways. You must get social with your audience to improve your engagement on Instagram.

5. Give everyone some space.

Adding space to your stories, images, and reels allows everyone's eyes to be on you!

The last tip to get your low engagement on Instagram (ahem) headed in the right direction: give everyone some space! Adding space to your stories, images, and reels allows everyone's eyes to be on you and what you are trying to say.

Space. It isn't just for astronauts. But we can take a tip from their book! 

• Step 1. Picture yourself with a space helmet on. Got it? Great! 
• Step 2. Now grab your phone. Flip it to selfie mode and get ready to smile!
• Step 3.  Move your camera up a bit and far enough away so your imaginary helmet can fit in the screen, too. There. Space.
• Step 4. Snap a photo of that beautiful mug! Do it for the ‘gram, or just send it to your biz bestie to share this tip!

Why all the space? Two reasons. First, it’s just plain ol’ good manners. Remember, you want to be on your best behavior for your business, even on Instagram, right?  Would you ever get up in someone's face so close they can see your hairline? Or worse, hold the camera so close, and at such an unfortunate angle they could see your nose hair?! Ew. People want to see your beautiful face and hear what you have to say. They just want to hear it from a normal, conversational length.

Ask the Experts!

Fun fact! The more space, or “negative space” you might call it—if you are the artsy-fartsy type, can at times make a more appealing image. This is the second reason you will want to keep some space in your frame. It’s a widely known fact in the visual arts that negative space gives the eye a chance to rest, relax, and stay awhile. We’re not the only ones who think so, either. Hear it from the experts over at Adobe:

“You always want the space to steal the show,” says photographer Petecia Le Fawnhawk-Maggiori. A good rule of thumb is that the amount of negative space should take up at least 50% of the photo to achieve the right effect. 

Adobe.com

So, take a deep breath, set your phone up at a distance, smile, and share your thoughts. Your audience wants to hear from you. And see you!

Keep it social to fix your low engagement on Instagram.

Take it or leave it. At the end of the day, this is your business, your brand, and your audience. If you are intentionally engaging and producing content that speaks to your target audience, bravo! Intentionality and consistency will win in the end. Just make sure you know who is on the other side of those engagement numbers. Hopefully, it’s your dream client on the other side, but regardless, remember behind every number is a real person. 

Your followers are humans like the ones you pass in a store, see at the gas station, or sit next to you at the doctor’s office. If you keep Instagram social and a part of your business and professional mindset, you will flip that low engagement in no time. If you want to know how to better engage with your clients offline, check out this great resource. But don't forget: You got this, and we are cheering you on!

We are so thankful that we were able to have a webinar hosted by the amazing Vanessa Kynes! Vanessa is a Pinterest marketing strategist, consultant and educator. She has worked with clients who have over 10 million views. And she is here to share some simple things that we can all be doing to improve our Pinterest strategies. Instead of randomly scrolling and pinning, to pinning with a plan and purpose! Use Pinterest for your business by following these simple tips and tricks!

Important Pinterest Facts

• People pin more during October and January! You will see a dip in your Pinterest views in the spring and summer months when people are not normally indoors as much.
• Pinterest does like for you to use hashtags that have important keywords! Only 2 or 3 will do. No need for 30 like on Instagram.
• Pinterest wants you to pin about 15-20 pins a day. This is very time consuming – unless you use an amazing app like Tailwind!
• Using keywords is so important, and Pinterest basically gives you hints on which keywords you should be using.
• DO NOT USE cute board names. ‘Yum' is not a good board title. Instead go for ‘Dinner Recipes'. Or instead of ‘Gorgeousness' try ‘Photoshoot ideas'.
• Switch to a business account if you haven't already! There are analytics and other free tools available for you!
• Use more videos and GIFs and movement on your pins, and in your header image. Canva is a great tool to help you do that.

Claim your website!

It is important to claim your website! This will help you to create rich pins. You will know if your website is claimed, because you will see a little icon with a checkmark under your profile name.

You can check out this helpful article that will describe how to do this in Showit. Vanessa also talked about it during her webinar.

Hidden Pins

From your own Pinterest searches, you know those pins with words really stand out! If it doesn't meet your blog aesthetics to include this type of image in your post, you can add a hidden pin! Here's the quick and easy way to add a hidden pin to help use Pinterest for Business.

Tailwind

Tailwind is the pinning tool that Vanessa mentioned is a game changer. She has a very thorough blog post about Tailwind here. You can use it to schedule your pins, and also repin other people's pins via specific Tailwind groups. You can pin manually, but that is much more time consuming. Use this tool to maximize your time and reach so you can really use Pinterest to propel your business forward.

Use Pinterest for your business to connect with others!

Find out more about Vanessa and the amazing resources she offers to creative business owners on her website. You should also definitely be following her on Pinterest!

You can find us on Pinterest as well! We have many boards for creative professionals like yourself. And we would love to see you and your beautiful work over there as well.

Pinterest is a search engine tool, and not a social media platform, which is the thing people confuse Pinterest for the most. Understanding the basics about Pinterest, and utilizing the powerful (and FREE!) tools they have created, will help your business!

Webinar on How to Use Pinterest for Your Business

Check out this amazing webinar that we hosted with Vanessa Kynes! It is packed to the brim with helpful information, and actionable tools! Your Pinterest presence will improve, and you will attract more clients once you start using Pinterest for your business – properly!

Everyone is looking for social media, and especially Instagram tips. And we've got some for you! But first, we have a question for you: Have you ever been in a really demanding relationship, that required a lot of your attention, free time, and mental space? When you are with them, you are wondering if you are doing the right things. And when you aren't with them, you overthink whether you should be doing more for your relationship. Does this not remind you a little of your relationship with Instagram?

There is a famous relationship book called The 5 Love Languages. It talks about the 5 main ways we receive and give love. These love languages actually apply really well to Instagram as well! To be successful on the ‘Gram, you need to give it all the love in all the love languages.

Things to keep in mind

To be successful on Instagram, there are a couple of key things to keep in mind. Make a check list to make sure all of these things are in order:

• What does your bio look like? Do you have your name, location, and important facts? Make sure the most important facts are displayed above the fold (above the “read more”).
• Show up in your feed! Smiling face, and eye contact are key.
• Think about who you want to talk to, and what you want to say. Other photographers, creatives, designers, potential clients? 
• Don’t be as concerned with getting new followers, be more concerned with engaging the followers you have NOW.
• Other people in the same industry are not your competition, they should be your allies, so collaborate and encourage each other!
• People will usually only do 1 thing – like, comment, or click extra. So be wise about what you are asking them to do.
• Ask questions to get convo started “What’s your favorite snack?” “What gear can you not live without?” “Where are my introverts?”
• Pay to play – stroke Instagram’s ego. Use all the cool tools they give you. 
• Sharing about a negative experience – aka failure, is very different than BEING negative. People want to learn from you, not feel depressed that they follow you.
• Later analyzed 12 million Instagram posts and found that the best time to post on Instagram is between 9am-11am EST.
• Post CONSISTENTLY – whatever that means for YOU. Twice a week, every day, set boundaries that work for you, and stick to those. Your followers will appreciate that they know what to expect from you.
• NO MATTER WHAT, RESPOND TO EVERY COMMENT. In DMS, on your post, in your stories.

Hashtags:

• Make a NOTE in your phone to copy and paste, since you can post 30 hashtags. Change these up every once in awhile.
• Make sure you are using hashtags so that people can find you – geographic tags, the niche market you are serving: Examples: #phoenixweddingphotographer #dogphotography #wanderingweddings
• But also use hashtags to find your ideal clients. For example, if you are a maternity photographer, you are going to want to look up: #week40 #pregnancyannouncement #momof2 etc. You don’t want to prey on these people – but you can speak to them, and encourage them, especially if you were in that season before, show them that you can capture the season that they are in

Use major holidays, and random national days (like Donut Day, Bring your dog to work day) to help with ideas to create content, and to connect with others. When doing the big holidays – #halloween #veteransday – post something that makes you stand out from the crowd!

Instagram Stories

Instagram Stories can be seen as great opportunities for you to create little commercials for your business. This is a fun way to help your followers to learn more about YOU, your business, your family, your struggles, your victories, your amazing sense of humor, your amazing taste in home decor. It only lasts for 24 hours, so your stories don't have to be as ‘perfectly curated' as your feed!

Make sure you use ALL the features! Instagram has created SO MANY TOOLS for you to create interesting and fun stories. Use these. Stroke Instagram's ego! Remember – she is your needy girlfriend! She has given you gifts (or speficially GIFs), so use them, and she will reward you with exposure!

And as always, engagement is KEY! If someone responds to your story, and they send you a DM – keep the conversation going. Thank them for their response. Ask them another question. This is how you make friends online – by engaging in conversation!

Some simple marketing principles to remember:

• The customer is the hero, not you! How can you show up on Instagram as a knowledgeable guide to the people who follow you?

When we position our customer as the hero and ourselves as the guide, we will be recognized as a trusted resource to help them overcome their challenges. Positioning the customer as the hero in the story is more than just good manners; it’s also good business.”

Donald Miller, StoryBrand CEO

• People want to support and help their friends. So it's our job to turn strangers into friends. Because we know we can trust our friends, and we want to support our friends – how can you become a friend to your Instagram followers?

“Turn strangers into friends, and friends into customers.”

Seth Godin, Permission Marketing

• You have to give value, give value, give value. Then ask for something. When you all you do is ask people to buy stuff from you, and you provide no reason for them to do business with you, people will choose to ignore you – or even worse – BLOCK YOU! Give people a reason to follow you, and eventually do business with you!

“Jab, jab, jab, right hook.”

– Gary Vee

Are you answering the question: “Can you do THAT for someone like ME?” People are looking for help – they want amazing pictures taken of them, their families, their dogs. They see the pictures you are taking, but can you reassure them that you can do THAT for someone like THEM? You can read more about how to accomplish this in this blogpost.

Can you answer the questions – Are you good at what you do, and Can you do that, for someone like me?

Davey Jones, Brand that Book Podcast

We hope that you have found these tips helpful in increasing your engagement, and eventually your ability to sell your services and products on Instagram. Social media is such a powerful tool, but it's all the more helpful when you are able to understand how those tools work, and how to make those tools work for you. As in all good relationships – make sure you create some boundaries with Instagram, and make sure you control it, and that it doesn't control you.

Additional Resources:

Check out the Demographics per Social Media Platform

Later and Planoly , are both great scheduling options for Instagram and other social media platforms

Jasmine Star Show Great podcast for social media, and connecting with your ideal clients

The Anchored Business Podcast, This episode specifically talks about Instagram

Brands That Book Podcast, Great podcast for business, marketing, social media

National Random Days Calendar for ideas on what to post, and when

Canva.com to create your own branded graphics

Some days you have the image but not the words. Some days the words flow, and then you can't find the image that you had in your head! And then there's those ‘other days'. Those other days when you know you should post but your social media well is as dry as that unused gym outfit at the bottom of your drawer. (No judgement, we speak from experience.) It's time for an easy social media calendar that will keep you from non-exercise induced sweating.

Don't sweat it, Plan it!

What do you need besides a gym membership? Motivation? True. But you are here, so you have that. How about a plan? Yes! A plan for those days when you just can't think about social media for one. more. second. Because, you know, life.

Although it takes a little forethought, planning always pays off. It saves brain space and time. Loads of time.  And did we mention brain space?

An Easy Social Media Schedule

Here are some prompts for your April social media calendar. We have added some tips, special dates for this month, as well as a space for important dates for you. Like your significant other's birthday. (We are with you with needing help with brain space!) You have worked hard to get to where you are. Keep it moving forward with a great social media plan.

Click here to save the PDF to save or print out.

As you implement your new, super-easy social media calendar, let us cheer you on! Use the hashtag #Showiteer on Instagram so we can encourage one another! Let's plan to succeed together, friends!

August. Can you believe it? The last month of summer. Did you check off everything on your summer bucket list? No. Not your summer “to do” list like “Make a Summer Social Media Plan.” We are talking about your bucket list.

In other words, did you do all the fun things you were planning to do at the beginning of summer?

No? Not yet? Well, you do have one last month of summer to squeeze it in. But, first things first, it's time to focus on getting work scheduled out to fully enjoy the last month of summer fun!

I want to plan my social media but how?

By focusing on a few dates to work around, you can have a social media schedule all worked out. Mainly you will want to have a plan for each platform. Facebook and Twitter have scheduling bits right inside their platform. For Instagram, it's great to use an app that you can copy and paste to your platform. This way you can plan ahead but stay within the rules Instagram has asked it's users to adhere to.

What should I post in August?

In this last month of summer, your audience is mainly thinking about vacation and back to school. Whether you have kids or cats, everyone can relate to the feelings of school starting and summer ending. Think about your target audience and how this change applies to them.

But wait, there's more!

It's impossible to talk about yourself all the time. So how about talking about your clients. More importantly, their stories as it relates to your product. And yes, you can throw an accolade in there or two! Toot your own horn. Future clients will appreciate knowing other's have found value in you. So share and create you social media plan for August around you and your client.

Write your social media plan down.

Now that you have the base of what you are going to put on your “To Do List” for the last month of summer, write it down. Write down and plan out the dates you are posting and what to post. Where there are holes, fill them in with national holidays! There are also some notable dates you can use to help you guide you plan through the month. As we do every month, we have your plan and some fun dates in pdf form for you. Grab the PDF, print it, and fill it out here. This way you can get your work out of the way to focus on the list that matters in these last weeks of summer. Yes, time to put a big check next to “August social media plan” and move on to the fun list, your bucket list! Have fun, friends!

Featured Image by:

Ethan Robertson

Have you be able to step away from your computer long enough to notice it's July already? If you have to edit photos, you have to edit photos. However, there is no reason to add to your time indoors and becoming a slave to social media. This month you have to promise yourself that you will enjoy so fun July day trips without starting at your social media feed, waiting for inspiration to strike! You can change your ways this July by planning ahead and using the simple tool of a social media calendar. (Download your July social media calendar now.)

Social Media growth can be as easy as showing up.

It's far too hard to show up on social media to support your Friend Followers when all you can think about it is, “I haven't posted today! What should I post today?” Instead, use this time to knock out your July social media calendar and get planning. It won't take long because the goal of social media calendar is not to fill up everyday. You will eventually have all your days planned for social media. For now, you just need to plan a portion of days so you can engage others on your chosen platform, but most of all, to take a mid-summer break from overthinking your social media.