You searched “Instagram engagement down” because you’re feeling frustrated, disappointed, and sick of trying to figure it out.
Well, here’s the thing: social media marketing is like anything else. If you don’t fully commit to the platforms where you’re active, you’ll struggle to see engagement (and results). The good news is, you don’t have to post every single day to fix this. What you do need to do is engage consistently.
Think about it: you’re cultivating a community. You want people to connect with you. Posting here and there, not sharing, and not connecting with others is not going to drive that engagement you want. The only way to drive interaction is to get in front of them.
Plus, this allows you to work with the Instagram algorithm. In Shedding More Light on How Instagram Works, Instagram explains: “We look at things like which Reels you’ve liked, commented on, and engaged with recently. These signals help us to understand what content might be relevant to you.”
So if you think about this in reverse—the more people engage with your content, the more likely they are to see it, and the higher your engagement will grow. Spend 30 minutes (or less!) each day engaging in these simple ways—and learning about what’s driving engagement already—so you never have to search “Instagram engagement down” again. Let’s do this!
Create an Authentic and Effective Marketing Strategy
First: Do Less
Before we go any further, I’m going to share my number one client tip with you. This is the first thing I tell every single client I coach: do less.
You’re more likely to see your Instagram engagement down if you’re trying to be active on a ton of platforms—that’s a lot of work to create content, engage, share—and do all the things needed to see results. That’s why I want you to start by pulling back and choosing just one social media platform as your primary place to share content.
In this case, we’re focused on Instagram, which is an ideal platform for most coaches and service providers right now. However, you can use most of these engagement tactics on any social media platform.
Keep Reading: How to Beat Social Media Fatigue as an Entrepreneur
Instagram Engagement Down: 10 Daily Tasks to Turn it Around
Once you choose a primary platform, you can do each of these social media tasks, from sharing fresh content from other people to planning future content for yourself, in just 30 minutes/per day. Let’s dive in.
1. Comment on 2-3 Posts and Reply to 2-3 Other Comments
5 minutes
Commenting takes the most time of all the social media tasks because it’s important that you do this authentically. Plus, this is one of the best things to do if you see your Instagram engagement down. Don’t just respond to a post with a few emojis. Share a genuine response, thoughtful question, or sincere thanks. You’ll stand out more if you actually make an effort rather than simply doing the bare minimum.
In addition, make a point to reply to other commenters on the post. Again, the goal is to be genuine and authentic. This can help spark conversation and get you in front of more potential followers and/or clients.
2. Welcome New Followers (If Applicable)
3 minutes
Take time to send a brief welcome message to any new followers. Do NOT send a sales pitch. Like with your comments, this should be authentic and genuine. Share your gratitude and then end with a simple question to get a conversation started. For example:
“Hey [name], thanks so much for joining our community! I’m so grateful to have you here. How has your business been doing so far this year?”
3. Share 2-3 Other Posts to Your Stories (And Tag the Creator)
As you go
As you see posts you love, share the posts to your stories, and make sure to tag the account. This ensures that they see you’ve shared the content. This is also the only way they can re-share it to their account, which is a great way to get in front of another audience of people you wouldn’t have otherwise been able to reach.
4. Create 1 Engaging Story Post
3 minutes
Get people to engage using the many features available to you within Instagram/Facebook stories if this is your main platform. For example, ask a question, do a poll, or post a simple photo with a prompt for the viewer to slide their response using the slider feature (see screenshot below.)
5. Reply to 2-3 Stories
As you go
As you’re engaging and connecting, reply to peoples’ stories. This is an easy way to engage, start conversations, and get in front of your followers or potential clients. Again, the goal is to be authentic and genuine, not to sell.
6. Make Note of Potential Content Ideas
As you go
As you scroll and engage, take note of posts that have a lot of comments, shares, and overall engagement. This is a clue to you about what’s working and getting people to engage. This might give you ideas for a new type of carousel, a different design style, or a fun Reel format that could help you boost engagement.
7. Add Potential Clients to a Collection
As you go
This is a great way to keep track of potential clients and engage with them regularly. Once you hit the Save option at the bottom of a post in your feed, you’ll be prompted to “Save to Collection” (see screenshot below).
Do this with content from people who may qualify as a client and then go into that collection a few times each week and engage (I.E. authentically comment) on their content and stories to get in front of them.
8. Post Your Content and Share to Stories (If Applicable)
5 minutes
Ideally, this content is already written, the Reel is already made, and all you have to do is add it all to the platform. If you don’t plan ahead, it may feel like you’re always scrambling, which leads to that anxiety and burnout.
Now is the time to start planning your content ahead of time so you can take a few minutes to refine it, upload it to the platform, and then hit publish. Once shared, post it to your stories with a “New Reel” or another relevant sticker to encourage followers to check it out.
9. Follow Relevant Accounts/People/Potential Clients
As you go
As you’re commenting, sharing, and scrolling, follow accounts that are relevant to you. Keep in mind, this can include accounts that simply add joy or support to your feed. For example, I follow a lot of body-positive accounts—they may not be potential clients, but this content makes me happy when I scroll my feed so I like to follow the ones that create content I love.
If you’re going to be active on social media, you might as well be supported by what’s in your feed.
10. Check Metrics From Your Last Post
4 minutes
Click “View Insights” underneath your post and take a look at how your last post performed, keeping in mind the metrics and benchmarks that are relevant and important for you. This is not an opportunity to criticize yourself. Instead, it’s a chance to get curious about how much engagement you saw, whether you got a lot of impressions from hashtags, and how many followers vs. non-followers saw your content.
Turn Your Instagram Engagement Around in 30 Minutes or Less per Day
These social media content tasks might seem simple—and that’s the whole point. It doesn’t take a lot to boost engagement and get in front of potential clients. You can do this all at once, or split it up throughout the day. And remember: you don’t have to do all these things each and every day. We’re human, our energy ebbs and flows. Focus on doing what feels good and know that if you want to see growth, you need to show up for yourself, your business, and your followers but you can do that even if you’re not feeling inspired. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be done.
