Turn it up loud! Which metrics should I analyze to speed up my account’s growth? We receive this question quite often, and let us tell you: one of our top tips is to focus on engagement rate if you really want to dig deeper into the things that matter. It’s the choice that serves you for a long haul, so DON’T YOU EVER UNDERESTIMATE IT. 

Whether you’re a start-up founder, a small company, solopreneur/freelancer, an artist, or an aspiring influencer – engagement rate is a metric you definitely should track to keep an eye on the effectiveness of your activities. The truth is, tracking your ER will help you adjust and improve your content strategy to build a tribe interacting with you on a daily basis without losing momentum. It sounds revolutionary, right? In fact, it isn’t. It’s neither revolutionary nor complicated – it’s really simple, yet so many creators tend to forget about it! 

 

 

As a content creator, you only have a limited amount of time every day to accomplish everything on your to-do list, and that includes taking care of your posts’ engagement as well. Never-ending effort and checking the stats of your posts. Worrying about them. The endless fatigue. We know: being an Instagram creator can feel a looot like that. That’s why today we’ll discuss in detail why if you want to make the most of your profile, you need to focus on key engagement tactics and why they’re always worth the effort. So you don’t waste your time anymore, and you’re able to make the most of it. We’ve got you covered!

In this guide, you’ll discover why a high Instagram engagement rate can skyrocket your growth, despite such fierce competition as we have now, in 2021. Engagement rate is a crucial metric to track for many reasons – are you ready to dive in much deeper? Let’s go! 

 

What the heck is the engagement rate? 

If you’re not familiar with this metric, it may sound a little bit mysterious, we get it! Put simply: it’s a metric that tells you how much people interact with the things you post on your feed. It gauges audience interest and allows you to set a quantitative goal that, ideally, moves in parallel with your efforts and leveling up your content creation process.

How can you calculate it?

Actually, there are two solutions. You can do the math on your own, or you can make your life easier and do it much quicker by using an online tool like IQ Hashtags that calculates your engagement rate day by day, which means you can track it all the time – without having to do ANY complicated calculations. 

 

Engagement rate is typically calculated by dividing your account’s engagement (likes, comments, and sometimes saves and shares as well) by the number of followers you currently have. Then multiplying the result by 100 so that it turns into a final percentage.  

Now you know what the ER is and how you can check yours – so let’s go further and discuss why it matters way more than a big follower base. 

1 // It helps you determine whether your strategy is paying off or not 

The more your followers relate to your content, the higher your engagement rate will be – that’s obvious. This is just a clear sign that your efforts are appreciated, and the content you’ve prepared is warmly approved. Content creation takes a ton of work (and time!), so no wonder it would be best if these efforts PAID BACK. That’s why you need to be strategic with what you’re creating: not just create new content for the sake of creating. It needs to serve your audience, so you need to analyze what types of content your community likes the most because, let’s say it out loud: our worst nightmare is creating time-consuming posts and then seeing that absolutely nobody likes it. Nobody says “wow, good job” and it just goes unheeded. 

 

2 // Listening to your followers is the key to high sales in the future

 

When your audience truly loves what you’re doing for them, because you show up as a bottomless pool of inspiration, insights, tips, and resources, they’re authentically intrigued by everything (or almost everything) you produce. How is it possible? Simple logic! They just see value in the steps you take. That’s why it’s much easier for profiles with high ER to sell their own products or services – because they already have a tribe of “advocates” who are willing to become brand ambassadors. Trust fuels sales. A good content strategy can lead to a ton of sales when done right. People don’t buy the best, most innovative products – they buy the products from the brands they like. 

 

 

3 // Higher ER = bigger chances for a loyal audience 

Have you ever noticed that some profiles have outrageously loyal followers who seem to comment on everything while also praising these creators? When your tribe consists of people who really care, you don’t have to try so hard to become appreciated. That’s precisely why you should produce more niched down content, to serve people who need your expertise and who aren’t there “just for the pretty photos,” but they know who you’re, what you’re doing, and they’ll stay with you because you seem like a person or a brand they need it their life.

 

4 // Instagram algorithms love profiles with high engagement

We’re willing to bet you’ve heard it, and more than once. High engagement shows the Instagram algorithm that your posts are relevant, giving your content a better chance to show up in the newsfeed of your followers (and to being featured on the Explore Page as well). Let’s take it seriously because that’s how it works. 

 

5 //It’s actually not so difficult to make your ER higher

If you’re a little bit bothered that you’ll have to join “engagement pods,” pay for bots creating false engagement, ask people to “see my new post and let’s do comment for comment!” or join a comment/like chains, you can gasp with relief.

No.

To make your ER higher, you don’t have to choose any of these awkward tactics. Hell no. It’s much simpler than this: you need to show up and respond to your followers’ needs. Only authentic engagement grows your Instagram community (and your current or future business). 

You need to remember that your engagement rate is FAR more than just a number – it’s an honest indicator of how effective your content strategy is. 

 

Anyhoo, it’s all up there for today – save it for later and DM us on Instagram (right here) if you have any questions!