Increase your reach on Instagram

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30 June 2021 | | Social Media

Wondering how to increase your reach and engagement on Instagram?

Instagram uses a complex algorithm to choose which posts are shown to each person. Factors include what kind of posts you like and interact with, your interaction history with the account posting content and information about the individual posts and how popular it is / what content it includes.

Here are a few ways you can improve your organic reach and engagement on Instagram:

 1. Use a range of post formats

Use a full range of post formats so that you can reach potential patients wherever they are on the platform.

2. Host contests or ask questions to encourage engagement

  • Asking questions is a fun way to encourage patients to interact with your Instagram posts.
  • Running Instagram giveaways that encourage patients to tag you in a post or use a dedicated hashtag is also great for engagement.

3. Accessibility

Instagram now offers several automatic features to help make content accessible for all.

  • You can enable automatic captions for IGTV (available in 16 different languages).
  • Use alt text for your images. This is a bit of text that describes the images for anyone who can’t view them. Instagram may also use it as a source of information about the post’s content, which feeds back into the algorithm.

4. Video content

By incorporating more video content into your profile you’re almost guaranteed to increase your engagement as people tend to look at videos longer than pictures. Videos can be used all over Instagram, in your feed, in your Instagram Stories, on IGTV and now also with Instagram Reels.

5. Start conversations with Instagram stories

  • Stories provide an authentic, speedy way to engage with your patients. Stories will consistently keep your profile popping up which is great for engagement as you post Stories that encourage patients to check out the rest of your content.
  • Instagram Stories stickers are another great way to encourage your patients to chat and share their opinions and experiences with you, which, in turn, will help create a loyal following that feels connected to your practice. Here are a few examples below:

– The Question Sticker
– The Quiz Sticker
– The Countdown Sticker

6. Turn on sharing for stories

You can enable options in your story settings to allow patients to share your stories, either on their own Stories feed or in a direct message.

7. Use Instagram highlights

Stories are great for your reach, however, the one major downside is that they only last for 24 hours. With highlights you can add any story to a highlight on your profile, pinning it to the top of your grid forever.

8. User-generated content

Research shows that user-generated content is 35% more memorable and 50% more trusted than traditional media and other non-user-generated content making it a valuable strategy to try. Ask your patients to post a review – This doesn’t have to be a review as such, they can use a branded hashtag, mention you in the post description, or tag you in an image.

9. Create “Saveable” content for your feed

“Saveable content” is anything you know your patients will want to revisit at a later time. Instagram comments, shares, and saves are more important than ever. Using carousel posts to share valuable tips and information can lead to more saves, as your patients can refer back to the post when they want to act on the tips.

10. Use relevant hashtags

Instagram tends to not like you posting the same group of hashtags every day, so rotate your hashtags. Relevant Hashtags are important because it puts your content in front of potential patients that want to see it. The more relevant your hashtags, the higher your chances will be for engagement.

11. Add location tags

By including your location in your posts, you are just adding another way for your Instagram posts to be found by potential patients. People will see your content when they search for local posts and accounts and is an easy way to expand your audience and organic reach locally.

12. Respond to comments

If you have comments under your posts, try to respond to them as fast as you can and try to engage as much as possible beyond a simple ‘thank you’.

13. Test post times

Instagram’s algorithm loves posts that generate a lot of engagement in a short period of time, and will often move that post to the top of your patients feeds. Generally, the posts with the best reach receive good amounts of engagement within the first 30 minutes after posting. To encourage this, spend some time monitoring and tracking your Instagram analytics to learn when the best time to post is for your audience.

If you would like any further advice then give the Dental Design team a call on 01202677277.

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