How to get more Instagram Likes (and why they still matter)

‘Likes’ on Instagram hold a lot of importance, especially in analytics that helps measure the rate of engagement with the audience. 

When you double-tap any post on Instagram, it automatically records a “like” from your end. Earlier, acquiring likes on the social media platform was taken in a light and fun way.

But as time progressed, the role of social media platforms soon changed and evolved in shaping businesses and people’s lives. 

The race for likes and followers went so deep that it started affecting the mental health of users.

Therefore, in 2019 Instagram decided to hide public ‘Like’ counts from posts and kept it an internal metric for evaluating engagement.

This move was tested in certain countries with the intention that the focus should be on fostering friendship and sharing pictures and videos. 

The new feature was received with mixed reactions; hence it was decided to let users determine the likes on their feed or all posts.

A good score of likes is still relevant and can fetch you higher reach and engagement with the audience. So let’s try finding a way to get more ‘Likes’ on Instagram. 

Quality content always pays off

Be it images, videos, or text, everything on Instagram needs to be visually appealing. Users make opinions based on what they see and visualize things over the platform.

Brands that market over Instagram needs to pay close attention to their campaign and promotional activities.

Content that catches the attention of the user garners the utmost like. To make your content engaging, you need to take care of the following things-

• Lighting matters the most- you don’t want the image to be too bright or too dark. 
• Create layers to your pictures and videos- experiment with different textures, backgrounds, foregrounds, etc.
• Be creative when taking multiple shorts- you can use the option of the continuous burst.
• Make sure you incorporate the principle  of thirds (horizontal and vertical segments) and spaces
• Experiment with angles and focus-ensure that the pictures you take align with the gridlines of the camera
• For shooting good quality videos, a good quality smartphone and video editor can do wonders for you

Do In-Depth Research For Good Ideas

The source of your inspiration should be genuine and authentic. Spend your time researching and finding inspirational Instagram accounts to follow and take ideas from.

Follow these steps to get ideas for content-

• Analyze comments 
• Check your followers or users closely
• Learn from your opponents
• Utilize discussion forums to learn new concepts
• Analyze keywords
• Find out the latest trends

A well-researched curated content always fetches good results, be it likes, followers, etc. 

Use the Right Hashtags

Hashtags proved to be a significant game-changer in expanding your user base over Instagram.

Every time you use a hashtag on any content, it appears on the relevant pages for that hashtag.

For example, when users follow a hashtag, your page could show up on anyone’s news feed.  For finding the best hashtags, follow the following points:

• First, understand hashtags, and it’s strategies.
• Use Instagram analytic reports from platforms like Sprout Social to see hashtags receiving most engagements. 
• Use the social listening tool to hone your ability to use the right hashtags for relevant posts. 

Create Catchy Captions

One of the components of a good marketing policy for social media platforms is excellent media promotion.

The first thing that catches the eye of any user is visuals and captions.  Follow the tips listed below for creating captions that intrigue the audience-

• The tone and voice of your captions should complement your pictures
• Create captions out of the significant information 
• Captions in the form of questions encourage engagement
• Master the skill of storytelling
• The structure of your captions should be well-formed
• Using Emoticons adds personality to your captions
• You can also use relevant hashtags
• Using @ can increase your organic reach
• It is best to use a CTA (Call To Action)

When you build good captions, it automatically generates expectations among your audience.

If you are successful in catching their attention, they will be waiting for the next post eagerly. Writing engaging caption involves a skill that gets refined with time.

Create Capturing Stories

Instagram stories become viral, so both users and brands have started incorporating them in their feeds or brand campaigns. Why Instagram stories offer more likes is because:-

• Stories keep your current followers engaged with your brand and content in your feed. 
• The hashtags added to stories get discovered by new users to generate more likes.
• You can easily upload videos, reels, repurpose your Tik Tok content, Gifs, add stickers to help get your followers involved. 
• Instagram stories are a way to show that your profile is active and exciting. 

Since stories vanish after 24 hours, they make a refreshing source for engaging  Instagram users for a shorter period, and then you can post something interesting again to keep them hooked. In addition, you get the option of posting every day in case you don’t plan to post daily in your feed.

Know the Right Time to Post

The algorithm of Instagram displays posts based on the outcome of further analysis. It does not follow a sequential order but prefers to display posts that have been recently posted or shared. 

Therefore, knowing the time of the day when your user base is active most of the time will be pretty beneficial for you. 

Let us find out few tips to determine the right timing for posting over Instagram-

• Use Instagram’s Insights feature under the audience tab to get data of days and times when your audience was most active on the platform.
• Try out posting on new timings once a connection with your audience is established.
• Make use of Instagram Analytics to extract information on your viewer’s presence over the platform.
• Make use of scheduling software or Instagram’s scheduler to schedule your posts at specific timings.

Link and Promote Your Instagram on Other Social Media Platforms

You can link your Instagram account to other social platforms and share your post with users in different areas.

This helps in directing traffic and views generated on other platforms towards your Instagram profile. This results in gaining more likes and followers over time.

Steps to link your Instagram profile to other platforms-

• Select your profile picture located at the bottom right to lead to your profile
• Go to the top right, and hit the “Settings” tab
• Select the “Account” option
• Select “sharing to other Apps”
• Choose the platform and enter your login details
• Select “Continue,” followed by “Yes” and  “Finish Setup” option

Conclusion

The impact of Instagram’s fame in generating a groundbreaking marketing campaign cannot be overstated.

Popularity might not be the lead contributor in fetching direct sales, but it does play a critical role in building your brand and your business.

If you become the first choice of users, that is a positive sign that you will go in the right direction.

In addition, having a name and reputation on social media platforms helps optimize your search results and provides you better exposure.

Author Bio:

Bhavik Soni is a Creative Writer at Auto Monkey. We provide an original analysis of the latest happenings in the social media industry. Connect with Latest Social Media Trends and News plus tips on Twitter, Facebook and other social tools on the web.