How to Grow Instagram Engagement on a Budget

Many business owners who are technologically savvy, know that having an Instagram account for their business is a great way to promote their products and services at a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising. But even so, Instagram (…and Facebook) likes to play with their algorithm to reward users who spend money on paid and promoted content as opposed to those who want to grow Instagram engagement on a budget organically.

This can be demoralizing if you’re not in a position to spend big on your social media marketing campaigns yet, but don’t sweat it! At K2 Analytics, we’re experts at helping our clients grow their Instagram engagement organically! Here’s how you can grow yours!

Be Consistent With Your Brand

The most important thing to remember about trying to grow your Instagram engagement on a budget is that you need to be consistent with your brand every single time that you post on social media.

When it comes to growing an organic following on Instagram (or any social media for that matter) you want to be as consistent as possible.

Your Instagram feed will tell the story of who you are as a brand, who the people behind the account are, and what you have to offer. If your followers can come to expect consistency from you then you will earn and keep their attention.

Have a Solid Posting Schedule and Stick to It

Part of being consistent with your social media requires you to create posts and stories at a consistent rate. Not only will posting frequently enlarge your digital footprint which spreads brand awareness, but it will also allow your followers to get used to seeing your posts on their social media feeds.

If stopping what you’re doing at work to make a social media post for Instagram feels like a distraction, you can always set aside a block of time to schedule all of your posts ahead of time with a social media planning tool.

There are plenty of tools out there that allow you to plan and schedule your posts ahead of time for this very reason. These tools will save you time and money.

Creating Your Posts Ahead of Time

Creating a post and sending it off while you’re in the middle of the workday might be a nice little distraction from your day-to-day tasks, but it’s not a very effective or efficient way to increase your Instagram engagement.

A great way to increase your efficiency and consistency is to again, block out a little bit of time to create multiple Instagram posts ahead of time so that you have a pool of posts to choose from.

Not only is this efficient with your time (time is money, right?) but it will also allow you to create posts that follow themes and align with upcoming events and holidays. This is good for your engagement because overall, your Instagram grid will look cohesive and aesthetically pleasing which is great for your brand.

The Value of a Great Social Media Manager

While paying a social media manager (or team for that matter) when you are working with a shoestring budget may seem counterintuitive, you should do a cost-benefit analysis of what you gain from having one.

According to a survey conducted on Forbes, Chief Marketing Offers have reported a 95% return on investment and higher. While this number may sound inflated, it’s actually on the low end as those in the 88th percentile have reported 200% ROI. Those in the 98th percentile reported 1000% and higher ROIs.

The ROI is so good because a great social media marketing team will be able to create and optimize your social media strategy to make sure that every penny that you spend on social media brings an excellent return on your investment. It’s a no-brainer, for businesses large and small alike.