Real talk: I hate hashtags. They’re so finicky and so unreliable. Yes, they are great for some people, don’t get me wrong! But they won’t work if you just fill your posts with hashtags, post them and then ghost your own posts. To use hashtags, you really need to make the best use out of them. You can’t expect high engagement based on the hashtags you use. I can guarantee that nobody is going to look through the hashtag #businesscoach to find their next business coach. 

So, I had my first 25k month with only 1700 followers. Note that I didn’t have a big Facebook group or a big e-mail list either ( I probably had around 200 people in each). I made 25k all through building a loyal audience and having amazing Instagram engagement. Here are five tips that you can implement right away:

Tip #1: Utilize other people’s audiences

This method is so powerful but unfortunately, too many are too scared to do this. So, how to use other people’s audiences to get more engagement on instagram? Do Story shares! This is how it works: 

1. Approach people that you know within your community who you already have a connection with. This can be a common coach, a common friend or maybe just a common group chat. You can also approach people who might be influential for your audience (and where it’s possible for you to give a lot of value to their audience). 
2. Dm them and  say: “Hey xxx, I noticed that you have this offer. Oh my gosh, it’s so amazing! Since we have a very similar ideal client, I would love to provide value for your community, and I would love for you to give some value for my community as well with doing a story share.”
3. Record instagram stories on your own phone (don’t forget to write all the captions) and share your instagram stories with your story share partner over Instagram, Google Drive or Dropbox. They should do the same. Have a set for when you’re going to share each other’s stories. This is amazing exposure for both!
4. Give some kind of value with CTA to be
   1. To follow you on Instagram and DM you with a specific word just to show that they have watched your stories so you two can connect and bond over that.
   2. A free resource that you want to give them access to.

Keep in mind that these people in their community are cold to you or maybe even lukewarm at best. They don’t know who you are or what you’re about. They don’t know and trust you yet. If you were going to sell, it probably won’t go well because trust is the key to sell. 

Tip #2: Comment on industry giant’s posts

Do you follow any celebrities like Kylie Jenner or Ariana Grande? Have you noticed that when your friends comment on their posts, you will see their comment first? So, when you scroll through your Instagram feed, you’d usually see your friends’ comments without even clicking on specific posts! This gives you more engagement because people will keep seeing your name when they scroll through their instagram feed plus people from their comment section are typically likely to click on your profile (and follow you!). Make sure to find giants in YOUR industry though. 

Tip #3: 3-2-1 Engagement Strategy

How does the 3-2-1 Engagement Strategy work? 

1. Find an ideal client (through hashtags or through industry giant’s posts). 
2. Like three pictures. 
3. Comment on two posts. 
4. Reply to one story. If they don’t have a story up, comment on their highlights or respond to a post in their DMs. 

This works because your ideal client will notice you but you won’t appear as a spammy bot. Since you got into their DMs, you can start a genuine conversation and build up trust. 

Tip #4: Highlight user experience

Try to create a binge-worthy experience with your highlights! Organize your highlights in such a way that they flow and people can easily binge watch all of your highlights. On my Instagram profile page, visitors will first binge watch the Black Friday Sales highlights, then continue with Skyrocket To Profit, then Stickers, then Results, then Tips for Business Growth, then People loving me on social media and then end with Podcasts. This makes it easy for people to binge watch all your highlights. You want them to DM you saying “Wow, I literally watched all of your highlights, so much good information!!”. 

Tip #5: Shareable content in your content strategy

Heads up, if you don’t have a content strategy yet, DM me right now saying “Content Strategy” and I will help you out. You should have a content strategy if you want to be successful on Instagram. Now, make sure to have shareable content in your content strategy. Shareable content will improve your reach as well as get you high engagement rates. Make sure to create content that your audience can relate to. For example, I uploaded a TikTok about how I wake up in the morning and go on social media to update content and ended up watching 200 TikToks. A lot of people could relate to this (I mean who can resist TikTok??) and shared my TikTok across TikTok and Instagram! 

Now, if you have Reels, make sure to upload on Reels too! Pro Tip: Upload a video on TikTok, save and then upload on Reels. Two pieces of content in one go, you’re welcome!

Bonus Tip

Before you go to implement all these tips, make sure to check out Haro. With Haro you Help A Reporter. They will send you three emails daily full of categories of reporters looking for different pieces of information from experts. When you help a reporter out, you could get free press! This is also a great way to get more eyes on you and your content, so make sure to check it out. 

Don’t forget to grab my free guide on how to monetize your audience! Once you have a loyal audience, you might want to reap the results. I’ve got you covered with 21 ways to monetize your audience. Head over here to grab your guide!