How to Get More Comments on Instagram

The online public was anxious to know more about the plans Instagram had to improve user experience, and in June 2016 Instagram announced that there would be modifications made in its current algorithm, the new changes were made to ensure that users only see their preferred content first irrespective of the date it was posted. This also meant that users would experience less disruption from advertisements created by social media marketers which prevent users from viewing 70% of the content on their pages.

Here’s what matters regarding ranking on the Instagram page of online users:

• The number of likes and comments for a post
• If the user has previously interacted with content, you have posted on your page
• Your recent activity on the platform

It is essential that you have the information stated above, now it is time to discuss the strategies you can use to make your posts go viral to get hundreds of likes and comments on Instagram.

1) Organize a contest or a give away.

This is one of the common ways of encouraging interaction with your posts. You can post a contest and inform your audience that they can be part of the contest by commenting on your post. You could also add a user-generated content (UGC) strategy where you ask your audience to post their pictures, and tag/ mentions your brand in the post.

2) Organize an Instagram takeover.

You can achieve a high level of interaction with your posts by organizing a takeover; this can be done within your team of social media influencers or colleagues at work.

During a takeover, you hand over your social media account to another user for one day. They will post new content different from what your users are already too familiar with, this way; you can get fresh content on your page. Takeovers can happen between you and:

• A colleague
• An Influencer
• Another organization in your industry

3) Encourage user interaction in your comment section.

Rather than hope for your audience to make comments on your posts you can ask them directly.

This strategy is easy to implement when you ask questions, and your audience provides their answers in the comment section. This also leads to interaction among your audience who can discuss answers other users have provided. This way you can be sure that custom comments will send are relevant to your posts.

For example, we posted an opinion once and at the end we added the question “Agree or Disagree?” other options can be “what do you think?” or “What would you do in this situation?” these questions encourage user interaction with your posts.

4) Post funny, controversial or provocative texts or pictures.

Studies have shown that online content that goes viral contain details that provoked high-arousal emotions. These include posts that made the followers curious surprised or emotionally driven to express themselves by posting their comments. People also feel compelled to make comments when your posts make them feel very happy. These are the considerations that should guide you when making posts you want to go viral.

5) Post videos.

Many surveys have shown that there is increasing interaction with videos posted on social media. In 2016, the interaction with the videos posted on Instagram increased 40%. It is even more encouraging to post videos now because the length of videos has been increased to one minute.  Videos are engaging, and your followers will appreciate more video content – and on the social media, it is convenient to view these videos quickly. Don’t fail to ask your followers to comment on the videos you post in view of gathering more comments on Instagram.

6) Learn how to use the right hashtags.         

Hashtags make it easy for other users to find your posts on Instagram when they initiate searches related to your content. On Instagram, posts with at least one hashtag have been known to have over 12% more engagement. By posting content with hashtags, you can also get more comments on Instagram when other users find these posts, and they like the content, your friends and colleagues can also post comments on particular posts you have made to start a discussion which can attract more comments from other users.

A good way to use hashtags is to make inquiries such as – how do you plan to celebrate Sunday Funday,  post and make a comment about a Throwback Thursday,  you could also create hashtags for the latest trends and developments in your industry to attract new followers who will be making searches regarding the new trends because they want to stay updated. When these new followers realize that your Instagram page is a source of fresh information, they will rather become your followers than frequently searching for the information they need on Instagram.