If your Instagram engagement rate has dropped recently. You’re not alone. But it could be down to having the wrong Instagram marketing strategy and focussing on the wrong types of posts.
I’ve heard from a lot of people that they’ve all noticed a drop in their engagement rate recently. This can be attributed to the changes that Instagram has made in response to the explosive growth of TikTok.
Social media scheduling tool Later recently did a study and found that the average engagement rate for feed posts has decreased by 44% since 2019. Now 44% is a large drop on a platform that over the last few years has been slowly reducing organic reach anyway.
What Is The Average Engagement Rate For Instagram?
This huge drop in engagement over the last three years has seen engagement rates fall across the board for feed posts. Down from 5.16% in 2019 to 2.88% by the end of 2021.
This isn’t just for images, which Instagram has said it will be placing less focus on, but also carousel posts and videos too. This has raised the question of what can you do to stay ahead of the algorithm changes that are coming and keep growing your presence on Instagram.
Why Has The Engagement Rate Dropped?
This downward trend for most types of Instagram posts brings up the question of what in the world happened. To answer that, we have to look back to August 2020. This is when Instagram decided to launch Reels, its own direct competitor to TikTok which had seen huge growth in the first half of the year.
Now Instagram hasn’t exactly been quiet about prioritising Reels. In fact, the head of Instagram, Adam Missouri even announced in July 2021 that Instagram was no longer a photo-sharing app. So, if you haven’t yet embraced reels or more video-focused content in your strategy then this might be one of the main reasons why you’re seeing a drop in your engagement.
What Does This Mean For Your Instagram Strategy in 2022?
Embrace and share more reels. They really can make all the difference. I’ve seen a huge increase in engagement rate since posting almost daily Reels. This increase is can be nailed on to incorporating reals into my strategy.
You’ve probably heard this a million times by now. But Reels really are the best way to reach new audiences and continue to grow your channel.
And the best part. You don’t even need to be in front of the camera or be a professional video editor. For example, you can feature your product, do text-only videos, can share tweets with the video background. You can try to use Reels templates to a beat or even just make a vlog of your daily life. Another key reals tip is to use trending audio. This is another great way to get your reels in front of new audiences.
So first things first, do not panic Instagram is not over as a channel and you aren’t doing anything wrong. This is the platform changing and it’s a matter of adjusting your strategy to move with these changes. The best way to get started with Reels is to jump in and just get started. So while it is best to have a strategy, make sure that the strategy has some wiggle room for your team to be creative and get the most out of the content you create.