Blogging Heros
Instagram is among the most popular social media websites that are gaining immense popularity among the young generation and people of other age groups. It has been successful in bringing the attention of millions of users monthly across the world. The number of likes a post receives is one of the most crucial metrics that indicate the success of a post and an account on Instagram. Increasing Instagram likes is one of the best ways to bring more audience to your content and promote your business or personality online.
What are likes on Instagram and why do they matter?
As mentioned above, likes on Instagram are an important metric that shows how much appreciation your posts are receiving from audiences. A like is counted whenever any user hits the Like button. The more likes you receive, the more popular you are considered. For influencers and businesses having Instagram accounts, the number of likes helps in measuring the content success and engagement and the effectiveness of their overall social media marketing campaign.
Instagram’s algorithm also uses the number of likes a post has gained as an important factor when deciding which post must appear to which users. Content with a large number of likes is believed to be more engaging and tends to appear to more users.
Here are other reasons why likes matter on Instagram –
- Increase popularity
A post flooded with lots of likes seems to be more popular with users. More people are interested in engaging with posts having a good number of real likes.
- Boost web traffic
Most of the leading brands and companies use Instagram to improve their website traffic. Gaining a significant number of active likes is more likely to bring organic followers to your site.
- Enhance visibility
Since the algorithm considers the number of likes as an imperative metric to measure the post’s value and popularity, posts with more likes tend to appear in the feeds of users. Additionally, it improves the possibility of appearing in the Explore section, thereby expanding the audience base.
- Increase credibility
When your Instagram post receives more likes, it may show your content, Instagram account, or brand to be more credible. People are more likely to associate fame with quality.
- Standout among competitors
To stay ahead of the strong competitors on Instagram, it is important to increase Instagram comments, likes, and followers as the audience considers these factors as evidence of popular and valued posts. Therefore, having more likes might give you a strong edge over your competitors having comparatively lower engagement rates.
- Strengthen online presence
Receiving an increasing number of likes is helpful for brand promotion, developing strong connections with customers, and getting featured on the platform with more users.
Tips to increase likes on Instagram
Now you understand that increasing likes on Instagram is important for various reasons, let’s find out how you can maximize likes on your posts –
1) Ask people to like your post
There is nothing wrong with asking people in your contact or community to like your posts. Just like Twitter where asking people to retweet helps increase retweets, asking Instagram followers to engage with your posts helps a lot in boosting likes and overall engagement rate. Add straight call-to-action or CTA such as ‘like if you can relate to this content’, ‘like if you agree to it’, or ‘tag your friend who would like this’, etc.
2) Promote over all your social media platforms
If you are running active accounts on other social media platforms, then promote your Instagram posts over there. However, if you are not currently active on other social networking sites, you must create an account as over half of digital users are using social media. Instagram helps in automatically sharing the content to Tumblr, Facebook, and Twitter. Share only original posts to each platform and remind users of your other active social channels.
3) Engage
Engaging with your present followers, potential audience, influencers, and other popular accounts is beneficial to increase likes, followers, and engagement rates. If you like or respond to the content of other creators, they are likely to return the favor in numerous ways.
You can follow back your followers (avoiding the spam accounts) and reply to someone who comments on your posts by mentioning them in the comments. Use @ to mention someone. Comment on or like the post featuring the relevant hashtags. You can directly interact with users who provide you with great value or are interested in your posts by sending them direct messages.
Other ways to engage with others include asking for feedback, tagging loyal users, or asking questions in your posts. More engagement helps in bringing more followers which eventually helps in bringing more eyes to your content. As a result, you can receive a significant amount of likes without any investment.
4) Host a giveaway or contest
This is one of the simplest and most effective tips to increase likes and engagement on your Instagram posts. You can host contests or giveaways that require users to like the post to participate or win. You can also ask participants to follow you and tag their friends.
However, try to add a prize that is relevant to your target market and your brand, and can bring the attention of long-term and loyal followers. Be sure to read the Promotion Guidelines of Instagram carefully and thoroughly before organizing any contest or giveaway. It will keep you safe on the moderators of the platform.
5) Tag a location
Tagging is another proven trick that can get more likes on Instagram posts without consuming much time or effort. Alongside tagging your friends and asking friends to tag, you can tag the post’s location. This is highly important when you are uploading posts related to retail brands and/or travel. It helps in ensuring that your post appears when people perform location-based searches. If you are uploading quality and engaging content, you can generate more likes organically through location tags.
