Hot off the Presses.

Figuring out how to actually increase social media engagement unfortunately takes more than just posting pretty pictures and hoping for the best. Social media is like an ecosystem, and engagement is part of the vibrant life that keeps it flourishing. Without it, your content is buried deeper than your 2nd-grade hamster, your audience forgets about you, and your efforts feel like a major waste of time.

So, how do you fix that?

Well, first you need to figure out why your Instagram engagement sucks. But most importantly, you need to get into action and build a social media engagement strategy that actually works — duh!

Build Social Media Engagement Strategies that Don’t Bore People

If your content doesn’t have enough variety, your audience will leave the chat — fast. Gone are the days of being able to post boring tips and tricks with a CTA to head to your website. A solid social media engagement strategy means having 3-5 content pillars that you rotate through.

These could be:

• 🤓 Educational: Teach your audience something valuable
• 📚 Storytelling: Share behind-the-scenes moments, testimonials or personal wins
• 💼 Sales: Promote your products or services while actually providing valuable content
• 🤝 Engagement-based: Polls, Q&A sessions, “this or that” posts
• 📈 Trending/Memes: Show that your brand has a personality

Mixing up your content makes your page feel alive rather than just a billboard for your business. Be unique. What makes YOU special? What about you or your biz makes you the no brainer choice? Start creating authentic content.

Get Creative with Engagement-Boosting Content

Hitting ‘post’ and closing the app won’t cut it in 2025. If you want people to engage with your Instagram, you need to give them a reason, first. People want to feel connected with a human. So, stop being shy and give them something to talk about.

• Memes & Relatable Posts: A funny, on-brand meme can skyrocket engagement.
• Polls & Quizzes: Give people an easy way to interact. Be VERY specific with your questions and think about potential audience pain points.
• Ask for Comments: Literally ask your audience a question and tell them to drop their answer in the comments.
• Giveaways: Require follows, shares and comments to enter.
• Interactive Stories: Use Instagram’s question box, slider or poll features.

The more interactive your content, the more you increase your social media engagement rate — which means better reach, better visibility and better results.

Engagement Goes Both Ways: Start Conversations

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: One of the biggest mistakes brands make?

Posting and ghosting.

If you’re not liking, commenting and engaging with your audience, they’re certainly not going to put in the effort to do the same for you.

Think about it. Have you ever messaged one of your favorite creators only to be left unread? Or worse, they hit you with a double tap acknowledging you exist but showing zero interest in chatting with you. It doesn’t feel great, does it?

Here’s a strategy that we swear by:

• Engage 30 minutes before and after you post. Like, comment and reply to DMs.
• Respond to every comment on your posts. Show people you genuinely care about what they think.
• DM new followers. Welcome them with a quick message or question. Be careful with this one. Do not — I repeat, DO NOT — be spammy. It doesn’t work.
• Comment on other accounts in your niche. Don’t wait for people to come to you — start a thoughtful conversation.

Spending just an hour a day engaging with your audience can teach you how to increase social media engagement faster than any weird “hack” you see out there.

Hashtags & SEO: Use Strategy, Not Spam

Random hashtags won’t get you anywhere. You need a strategy that works:

• Niche hashtags: Specific to your industry (e.g., #OrganicSkincareTips)
• Engagement hashtags: Designed to increase reach (e.g., #SmallBusinessLove)
• Local hashtags: If applicable, target your geographic audience (e.g., #NJBusiness)

And don’t forget SEO, because social platforms are basically search engines now.

• Use keywords in captions and bios.
• Add alt text to images.
• Name your video files with descriptive keywords before uploading.

Optimizing your content will get more visibility and better reach. Finding your sweet spot will take time, though. Don’t trip. We wrote a whole blog about social media and SEO packed with killer info.

Quality Over Quantity: Yes, Your Followers Matter

Back in the day, having a big follower count was everything. But you don’t necessarily need a massive following to get good social media engagement. You need quality followers — people who care about you and your brand.

Having 1,000 engaged followers is more valuable than 10,000 ghosts who never interact.

If your engagement is low, you’re either pushing content to the wrong audience or creating content that doesn’t resonate with the right audience. That’s why it’s important to:

• Attract the right people by using targeted hashtags, collaborations and niche-specific content. Market research is everything. Look at your market and your existing data and see where you can improve.
• Cut dead weight by removing fake or inactive followers that lower your engagement rate. Plus, it looks suspicious if you have 10k followers and only get 15 likes. Remember, quality > quantity.
• Focus on value instead of just pushing products or services. Do a deep dive on your customer avatar and figure out what type of content they want to consume and where they consume it.

Hook Your Audience from the Start

People scroll fast. If your content doesn’t grab attention in the first three seconds, you don’t get another shot. One of the best things you can do to boost social media engagement is to start layering hooks like:

• Bold text overlays on videos
• Controversial or thought-provoking statements
• Personal stories that make people stop and read
• Strong CTAs that tell people what to do next
• Moving around in your video and filming from different angles

When your content makes people pause, they engage. And when they engage, the algorithm rewards you with more visibility.

Ready to Turn Your Social Media into an Engagement Machine?

As far as I see it, you have two choices: Spend hours, days, and eventually months trying to do this yourself, or let the pros handle it. Social media isn’t just about posting anymore. We’ve long left that behind. It’s now about strategy, engagement and knowing what works.

It’s time to stop guessing and start using real social media engagement strategies. Let’s chat about how to make your brand stand out and actually get the results you want, without the fluff.

Click here to book our full management social media services!