DIVING IN: The 2021 Instagram Engagement Report
Instagram isn’t just our go-to simple photo-sharing app anymore. Instagram has grown into so much more. It’s a place that people can come together to build their business, to find work, and to showcase all the different ways to create. Ultimately, it has become a key platform that helps brands, influencers, businesses, and entrepreneurs grow and achieve goals. As Instagram continues to evolve, we (as users) need to evolve with it in order to continue our growth.
Some of the key factors that determine your growth on Instagram are engagement, your location, the community you have built, and the time of day you post. Mention and Hubspot have teamed up to produce an annual Instagram report that delivers incredible insights to help users improve their social media strategy.
Our team at Sokos Solutions took the time to analyze the report, so you didn’t have to!
Here's what we learned...
1. Take a ride on the Carousel
Carousel posts overtook both single image and video posts this year as the most engaging type of post so why not join in on the fun! The “norm” across 50% of users was 62 likes and 5 comments. Have you noticed an increase in engagement when you post a carousel rather than a single image?
2. Talk about noisy competition
As long as more brands and influencers are entering Instagram, competition will continue to heat up. 50% of Instagram users have an engagement rate of less than 1% per post. That’s some crazy competition right there. But we believe in you. 😏
3. You thought you wouldn’t have to use math…
Get your calculators out, it’s time for a math lesson on how to calculate your engagement rate! Ready? Add the average likes and comments that you receive per post, then divide by the total number of people who follow you. And there ya have it! Easy enough right?
4. Small but mighty 💪🏽
Good news! Smaller Instagram accounts are seeing steady growth and finding new ways to reach audiences. The majority of accounts on Instagram have less than 1,000 followers (53.6% to be exact). One of the fastest ways for you to prove to the algorithm just how mighty you really are is to use every feature Instagram has to offer. This means video features, story posts, highlights, hashtags, location pins, and even ALT text.
5. Long captions reign supreme 👑
You may have thought "the shorter, the better," but think again. The best caption length for most engagement is in the 1,000-2,000 character range, meaning that story-telling and educational content can help drive more engagement and display authenticity on posts.
6. Clawing their way to the top...
Out of the top 50 accounts on Instagram, most are not actually brands. Along with Instagram, there are only 4 other influential brands that made the top 50 list. In case you were curious, it’s Lamborghini, Netflix Brazil, Anastasia Beverly Hills, and Givenchy Official. 👀
7. Who runs the world?
This might be a surprise to you: from Instagram’s Top 50 list, the gender ratio for the most influential personalities on Instagram is 40% female and 60% male. BUT 84% of Instagram influencers are female!
8. Oh that’s right… Girls run the world!
Beauty and cosmetic industry-related accounts received the most engagement which makes sense when you take a look at the statistics of Instagram users. 52% of Instagram users are female and 42% are male.
9. California [posts] are undeniable
Beverly Hills and LA hold the top two spots when looking at Top 50 cities for engagement based on a location tag. LA is also the most tagged city in the world for the second year in a row! And yes, before you ask, that means LA had more location tags than NYC, Paris, and London!
10. Just like you should have done before you developed that plant obsession…
Do your research! Plan the best time to post based on where the majority of your followers are located, what days of the week and times your followers are most active, and who your target audience is.
Always remember that growing your profile's engagement rate will take time and lots of patience. What works for someone else's profile might not work for you. Do your research on your audience, and take note of what does best for your brand. It won’t happen overnight, but the more you experiment with strategies, the more results you’ll start to notice.
Want to know how you can apply this to your account? Let’s connect to discuss how we can improve your social strategy and increase your engagement! Drop us a line at sokossolutions.com/contact.