Instagram is one of our favorite social media platforms. We spend a ton of time researching and working to grow our Insta game. These days it has become clear that to excel on Instagram you have to have a strategy. We have worked with multiple clients to help them develop a strategy and I wanted to share four commonly asked questions that we receive. 

1. Why are my posts not getting any engagement?  
   
   This is a bit of a loaded question as there are a number of factors that play into the engagement game. The first thing to note here is that when Instagram was bought by Facebook one of the first things that they did was to incorporate a "Facebook Like" algorithm to Instagram. What this means is that instead of your feed being chronological it is now based on the posts that Instagram thinks you will want to engage with based on factors like: the posts you comment on or like the most and the amount of engagement a post receives.
   
   Posts that you comment on or like frequently will begin appearing at the top of your feed. The other aspect that Instagram weighs heavily is the amount of engagement a post has received. The more engagement a post receives the more likely that it is that more of your followers will see it.
   
   This means that as a business you want to make sure you are posting content that your audience will want to engage with. If your posts continually receive low engagement then part of your issue is that is it highly likely that only about 10 - 25% of your followers are even seeing your posts. If the people that do see your post do not engage with it then it will not "beat" the algorithm.
   
   
2. Should I have a Business or Personal Instagram Account?  
   
   Generally speaking if you are a business you need to have a business account. Business accounts have a ton of features that personal accounts do not get access to. These features include: Swipe up feature (10,000 followers +), Running ads, the ability for a user to click a button to contact you, and more! Instagram is constantly rolling out new features for business accounts.
   
   There have been rumblings that Instagram weighs personal accounts higher in the newsfeed and thus they may receive higher engagement but we have not experienced this. Business accounts in our experience seem to get just as much engagement as personal accounts. If you are a business then I would convert create an Instagram business account.
   
   It is obviously completely up to you and your personal preference as to which avenue you want to do. If you are an individual then a personal account may be your best bet but it really all comes down to preference and what your social media goals are.
   
   
3. How often should I post? 
   
   Ah yes, the frequency question. This is something that we honestly have developed our own opinion on based primarily out of our experience from working with clients. You will hear plenty of people that are passionate about businesses posting at least once a day. They usually use phrases like "you need to be in front of your audience as often as possible." While we agree that you do need to be posting regularly, we do not agree that you necessarily should be posting daily. 
   
   The issue with daily posting: 
   
   The issue with daily posting stems from the fact that the Instagram algorithm favors posts that receive high engagement. While you could be one of the extremely rare accounts that receives outstanding engagement on every post when posting daily, the majority of business accounts usually fluctuate on engagement. This means that if you post daily you run the risk of losing engagement due to the fact that your followers may not like the content or may get tired of the content. If you begin to receive low engagement on multiple posts when posting daily then you should consider slowing it done and posting less often to really get an idea of what your audience wants to see. 
   
   
   Our Recommendation:
   
   We recommend that you value quality over quantity. We have found the sweet spot to be about 3-4 posts per week. Make those 3-4 posts count by merging engaging copy with beautiful on-brand photography. This allows you to focus each week on putting out the best content possible which will increase your ability to beat the algorithm and receive higher engagement.
    
4. How do I use Hashtags effectively?
   
   Hashtags are a lot more powerful when used correctly. The number one first step in using hashtags effectively is to do your research. When we take on a client for our Social Media Management Package we spend time researching and coming up with strategic hashtags. This involves: 
   
   
• Looking for hashtags that are relevant to the specific target audience for the product/service 
  
• Looking for hashtags that are used frequently but not TOO frequently. 
• Looking at what hashtags competitor companies/services are using

   Let's take the first one. Looking for hashtags that are relevant for your specific audience looks like opening Instagram and searching for hashtags that fit your target audience. You only want to use hashtags that are relevant for your brand. One of the worst things you can do as a brand is constantly posts things and use hashtags that are "off brand." Always stay on brand. 

Then look for hashtags that are used frequently.

One of the major pitfalls that people fall into when they use a hashtag is they pick the one that has the largest audience. While, this sounds great it actually isn't great. The second you post there will be about 100 - 1000 posts using that hashtag posting at the same time as you when will drive your post further and further down. Honestly, it's possible it may not even get viewed and if it does it will be by a small number of people. The key is to find hashtags that are not the biggest but still have a relevant audience size. We would consider a relevant audience size anywhere from about 100,000 posts and up. These are the best ones to use. 

The last thing you want to keep in mind is that your company has competitors. These competitors are probably using Instagram and hopefully are also using hashtags. One of the best things to do is look at your competition and see what hashtags they are using. This will give you clues as to the ones you probably need to include in your list. 

One last thing. Instagram only allows 30 hashtags so our advice would be to create multiple lists with 30 hashtags and use both lists. 

Instagram is a fantastic social media tool and is honestly my favorite for posting. I would love to answer any and all questions you have regarding Instagram and remember that we offer strategy sessions if you want an in-depth look and personal one-on-one coaching. 

Cheers!