Are you tired of inauthentic and non ethical social media engagement that don’t align with your values?

If you’re looking for a few simple ways you can engage on social media authentically and honestly, you’re in the right place.

Engaging with others on social media is so crucial for building a community, relationships, and growing your audience.

But, engagement can also feel a little overwhelming if you aren’t doing it strategically.

Whether you’re just starting out on Instagram or are looking for ways to improve your current strategy, keep reading for some tips that will help you build lasting relationships with your followers while staying true to your principles.

Follow accounts that are actually relevant to your niche

An important note: do not follow and unfollow as a gimmick; that’s just icky and will not help you grow an actual audience of dream clients or customers.

When I say follow relevant accounts, you need to spend some time researching your ideal audience and find them on Instagram.

Follow them if their account resonates with you, and you want to engage with them regularly.

We want to be mindful about who we follow, too. Don’t just follow everyone.

Be more intentional with who you follow and engage with regularly.

Follow relevant hashtags that your ideal clients or customers are using

Hashtags are a great way to find new users to engage with on Instagram.

Follow hashtags that your ideal audience is using so you can always have new posts from new people showing up in your Instagram feed.

Top tip: avoid following hashtags with over 300k+ posts, or your feed will end up getting overrun with content.

Instead, find relevant hashtags that have under 300k posts, but ideally under 100k, and follow the hashtags so you can find new people to engage with.

Like and comment on your ideal customers posts

This might be obvious, but it’s amazing how many people forget that social media is social, first and foremost.

If you struggle with to actually be social and engage, then set yourself a block of time to engage intentionally.

Think of this time as for building connections, rather than scrolling and consuming. It’s a much better use of your time in the long run.

Spend those however many minutes with the intention of commenting and liking on posts that you genuinely like and resonate with.

You don’t need to force yourself to write comments if you have nothing to add, but being more intentional with your time can make all the difference – especially if you are someone who gets ‘lost in the Instagram scroll.’

Use your Stories and engage with other people’s Stories too

Stories are a great way to engage with your followers in a more personal way.

Showcase who you are behind the scenes and give people a little taste of what it’s like to be you. If you haven’t used any of the stickers before (or if it’s been a while) then try them out – a poll sticker or Q&A is a great way to start conversations.

As they only last 24 hours (unless you save them to a highlight) they’re a great place to experiment and get chatty – without the overthinking that comes with your main content.

You can also engage with other people’s stories by watching them and commenting on them.

This is a great way to show that you’re paying attention, and it allows you to get into their DM’s and start a conversation more easily than commenting on posts.

Engagement on Instagram is important, but it’s also essential to do it in a way that feels authentic and natural.

Follow these tips, and you’ll be well on your way to building relationships with your followers and getting more engagement on your posts!