Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri shares 4 key strategies for boosting engagement on the platform. Videos

Adam Mosseri has some advice on how boosting engagement on Instagram.

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri has revealed four critical strategies to help users maximise their engagement on the popular social media platform. Through a series of videos speaking to followers or on podcasts, Mosseri revealed key insights into how users can better understand and improve their content performance on Instagram.

1. Respond to Comments

Mosseri emphasised the importance of monitoring engagement beyond the initial days after posting. "When you're evaluating how something you post on Instagram does, make sure you keep track of how it's doing, not only over the first two days but over the first week or two," he advised. While most posts garner the bulk of their reach within the first 48 hours, some content remains relevant and engaging for weeks.

“And a lot of what people consume on Instagram is from accounts they don't follow. We call those recommendations. And most recommendations are actually more than two days old. So keep an eye on engagement on those play counts, like counts, etc., not only over those first two days, but over the first week, two, or even three,” he added.

Mosseri also said interacting with comments for up to a week helps to boost long-term engagement.

2. Shares Are the Most Important Metric

According to Mosseri, the most critical metric for evaluating the success of content is the number of shares. This metric indicates how many people who viewed the content shared it with others, which tends to correlate with higher overall engagement and value to the community.

“So of the people who saw it, how many of them sent it to a friend? Because that tends to be the kind that does the best, because it tends to drive the most value for the overall community to look at,” Mosseri said.

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3. Carousels Offer Multiple Opportunities for Visibility

Mosseri addressed a common question about why carousels often outperform reels despite the latter's popularity. He explained that carousels have the advantage of appearing multiple times in a user's feed. "We might show the first post in the carousel to someone, and if they don't swipe to the second or the third, we might show it again automatically swiped to the second or the third post," he noted. This repeated exposure can lead to higher engagement.

4. Engagement Rate Over Follower Count

Finally, Mosseri stressed that engagement rate is a more significant indicator of success than follower count. "The engagement rate on your content is more important than your follower count," he said.

High engagement rates suggest that more people are actively interacting with content, which is a better measure of success than merely growing follower numbers. Mosseri advised users to focus on likes, views, and re-shares to assess their performance effectively.

“If your followers are going down but your engagement is going up, that's actually good. That means more people are seeing your stuff. Whereas if your follower count is going up and your engagement is going down, that's much more concerning. So please, care about your follower counts, yes, but focus more on your engagement rates. It will really help out for the long run,” Mosseri said.

By following these four strategies, Mosseri believes Instagram content creators can enhance their content's reach and engagement.