If you’re worried about your reach dropping down, good news: you’re not alone. We’re getting many messages that it’s happening to many of you, and you keep on wondering: why is it so, what can you do about it, and how can you get your reach back or make it even higher than it was before? 

Actually, it’s not only about the numbers or how many new followers you could attract – your priority should be focusing on serving and building an authentic community. While it may be tempting to look for different ways to attract new readers, new audiences, keep in mind that it’s also essential to focus on the followers you already have! You don’t want to lose them, right? And with that being said: low reach means that your posts don’t hit your current audience’s feeds. You need to fix it – don’t stress, we’re going to give you the best solutions! 

Most of us dream about our posts going viral. We hear all the time that social media is made for that kind of magic, but then real life happens: lower stats, low reach, and all that kind of demotivating stuff. What should you do?

The critical question you have to ask is: how to engage with my followers? How to overcome lower reach?

If you’re posting and then ghosting (it isn’t dating advice, anyway, yep, presence on social media works exactly like relationships: it demands attention and a proactive approach), you’ll definitely not see the results that you’d love to see.

What is crucial – you need to understand that Instagram is a SOCIAL media app, which means you have to be social and friendly on it. 

Decide if your content is valuable

Take a deep breath and give the most honest answer: would you follow yourself if you were somebody else? Would you want to consume this content? Take a look at your account from this perspective. You may be already bored with social media strategists saying “offer value to others, offer value to others” without explaining what it means indeed. So let’s reveal what it means and elaborate on that. 

Ideally, you should produce 4 types of content:

1. Content that entertains
2. Content that educates
3. Content that inspires
4. Content that convinces (or converts if you’re a business account owner)

If you don’t know what kind of value could you offer, take a look, there are many educational forms: carousels with advice, tips, tricks, how-tos, motivation. 

Your followers are selfish because it’s human nature always to want what’s best for yourself. 

Keep in mind that people follow you only if they feel like it will benefit them.

There are two simple ways to figure out what kind of valuable content you could give to your audience:

1. Ask your best friends, your boyfriend/girlfriend, your family!

Literally, go and ask: “if you have to come to me for advice on ANYTHING, what topic would you choose?”

We’re often too close to ourselves and can’t see what value we offer to our circle, so it’s always beneficial to ask the people who know us best. 

1. Ask yourself: what do I want to be known for? 

Note these things down; surely, one of these ideas will resonate with you the most – that is the thing your educational content should be based on. It’s worth it. 

Reply to comments 

It’s the basics of Instagram etiquette: you need to respond to comments below your posts. It’s necessary when you want to grow and maintain an authentic relationship with your audience – otherwise, people will think that you’re too busy to care.  

You can also show some love to accounts that followed you – either by liking their photos or commenting. 

Comment on photos of your favorite Instagrammers 

It may sound time-consuming, and probably you want to shout: what if I don’t have time for this kind of activity? Well, it can be less time-consuming than you think.

Set realistic goals that won’t ruin your daily schedule: for example, 20-30 minutes of engaging with your favorite creators’ content a day. 

Just make sure that the goals you set for yourself are entirely realistic and within your control. 

If you really want to take a step further on engagement: engage with two types of creators.

1. Your role-models, people who do exactly what you want to do (or what you’re doing)
2. People who are your target audience (or your ideal client, if you have a business account, selling some products or services). 

And last but not least…

Use the right hashtags to gain more exposure 

Hashtags are still a priority, and they play a leading role in promoting your content and reaching new people. Once you start digging into using them, you may feel a little bit frustrated or lost: how do I know which ones work for me? How do I know if they’re attracting followers to my profile? Luckily, you don’t have to answer those questions on your own: the best solution is to use IQ Hashtags Tool – it will analyze your profile and your hashtags for you. Benefits? You’ll know precisely who your followers are, and you’ll instantly know which hashtag size is the best fit for you. Those are the things you have to learn to make your reach higher.

Stay tuned for upcoming posts – they will save your time (so you won’t be glued to your phone 24/7), and we’ll discuss all the efficient ways to grow your Instagram account without burnout. So many tips and tricks coming this way!