Instagram can be a powerful platform for content creators to showcase work, build a personal brand, connect with audiences and industry professionals, and potentially even find UGC casting calls.
According to Sprout Social, actor influencers have an average post engagement rate of 5.4%, while model influencers achieve around 2.5% to 3%. There’s real scope to boost your own brand and visibility as a content creator through Instagram.
JUMP TO
Engagement is a metric that reveals how audiences interact with your content and whether it resonates with them. It looks at aspects such as likes, comments, shares, saves, and even direct messages. Those statistics provide evidence about how engaged followers are with your brand and content.
A high level of engagement suggests your content is relevant and people enjoy interacting with it. Instagram’s algorithm tends to favour content with high engagement, which makes it more visible and, in turn, increases the chances of it being shared more widely and attracting new followers.
Engagement, and engaging with engagement as a creator, helps build a loyal, trusted following that is more likely to respond to future calls to action and view your content as credible.
A general calculation you can use to find your engagement rate is: (total interactions/total followers) x 100.
Head to your Instagram Insights page to find the number of post engagements your account has received. You can select by a particular date range to compare your engagement rate across a specific period.
Key post engagements to look at include comments, saves, likes, reshares, and views. Those metrics, calculated with your follower count, determine the engagement rate.
As a guide, aim for an engagement rate of at least 2%. If you can achieve 3% or more, that would be considered a strong engagement rate.
It’s less about luck or simply posting more, and more about posting with a smart, solid strategy.
1. Post consistently and schedule content.
Use Instagram Insights to see when your followers are most active, and continually test the best days and times to post to see what works. Social media management tool Buffer suggests between 2 and 5 p.m. on weekdays is the best time to post a Reel, while influencer agency Later recommends evenings or even late at night, when followers will likely have more time to seek out entertaining content.
Scheduling a batch of content in advance and using a few handy reusable templates will also save you time and effort.
You don’t have to post every day, but aim for three to five times a week to get the algorithm to notice.
2. Create a variety of content and use all IG features.
Post a mix of high-quality photos and carousel posts, which will keep people interacting longer. Also post Reels, which tend to get reach. Make use of all available features, including in-feed posts, Stories, Lives, IGTVs, and Reels, to engage your audience in different ways and show the algorithm that you are actively engaging on the platform.
Instagram Reels have the highest reach rate of all forms of content on the platform, so make short-form video a key part of your engagement strategy. Aim to keep reels under 90 seconds and mix in features such as stickers, cuts, filters, music, voice-overs, and transitions to keep your content interesting.
3. Polish your profile and switch to a business account.
First impressions count. Your IG profile communicates who you are and why people should follow you.
Use a clear headshot for your profile picture, write an engaging bio optimised with keywords relevant to your industry or area of interest, include useful links such as profiles and websites, and keep your username simple and searchable.
Switch to a business account for free (you only have to pay if you want to boost posts) to gain access to various tools and functions, such as analytics, Instagram Ads, and buttons that can be added to your profile to allow people to easily contact or find you.
4. Create value-driven content and be yourself.
Focus less on making lots of content every day and more on connecting with followers through consistent, high-quality content. Develop your own personal style that reflects who you are and what you want to share with the world. Focus on a few niche areas rather than random posts to attract genuine followers.
Instagram is a visual platform, but what increasingly attracts audience engagement is being relatable, meaningful, and personal rather than perfectly curated.
Instagram posts that feature a human face are 38% more likely to receive likes. You don’t have to get completely vulnerable online if you don’t feel comfortable. Consider humour, day-in-the-life stories, advice, or raising awareness of issues to encourage users to save and share (two of the most valuable types of engagement on Instagram) your content.
5. Use hashtags and geotags.
Use a combination of general hashtags and niche ones relevant to your brand or industry. Actors may use hashtags such as #ActorsofInstagram, #FilmIndustry, #OnSet, and #CastingCall, for example. There is a 30-hashtag limit on Instagram, but that doesn’t mean you should max it out. Recommendations vary for the number of hashtags that work best, from 11 to 20 to just three. Rather than focusing on how many to use, it’s better to make sure that what you include is relevant to your content.
Use the Instagram search bar to research hashtags. Aim for ones that have between 5,000 and 500,000 associated posts to attract strong interest without getting lost in the crowd.
Similarly, use geotagging (adding a location) to attract local followers through city or community tags.
6. Interact with your community.
Active community management is important, so respond to DMs and comments soon after posting to show you’re present. Encourage interaction through features such as stickers, polls, and Q&A sessions to spark a conversation, get insights from users, and drive traffic.
If any content happens to go viral, keep up the momentum by posting soon after.
7. Collaborate and engage with other influencers.
Partnering with other creators in your industry or brands that align with your values can be a great way to cross-promote your content and attract new audiences. It could be through creating or co-hosting content such as Reels or Q&A sessions.
Do your research to avoid the bots (fake accounts) that may appear to be real humans. They can sometimes be used as an effective automation tool to increase follower numbers, but the bots won’t engage with your content – not authentically anyway – which could see your future posts penalised. Instead, look for influencers in your niche with small but highly engaged followings who could help amplify your reach and visibility. Or look at brand partnerships that may be relevant to your audience’s wider interests.
While seeking collaborators, engage with other content creators by shouting out their work, commenting, sharing, or doing a remix (a feature that lets any user repost someone else’s content, so long as their account is public). It shows audiences that you are willing to support others.
8. Visuals are everything.
Instagram users want aesthetically pleasing content on their feeds – and to know what they’re getting from the accounts they follow. Make sure your images or graphics are eye-catching and interesting – as well as consistent in terms of colour, formatting, imagery, and fonts – so your content is recognisable to audiences.
Don’t forget to cross-promote on other platforms, such as by adding a social media icon on your website and email signature or reposting content from platforms such as YouTube or TikTok.
9. Use trends wisely.
Trends come and go, so stay updated on what’s currently circulating. Only jump on those that feel authentic to your brand and can be naturally woven into your content.
10. Keep experimenting.
What works for some content creators won’t work for others, and the algorithm (or algorithms, since each part of the IG app – Feed, Reels, Stories, and Explore – actually has its own algorithm) is constantly changing. That means consistently testing and staying on top of what is and isn’t working.
Track your insights regularly to see what’s getting lots of likes and shares. Once a week is ideal for a check, and once a month for a more in-depth look. Experiment with different filters, captions, content types, and times to post.
Remember: It will take time to see which engagement strategy works for you, but the more people engage, the higher Instagram will rank your content.