Instagram engagement trends businesses need to know for 2019

Mention and HubSpot’s latest Instagram Engagement report finds that marketers should still focus on engagement, but must ensure they’re delivering relevant and high-quality content.

Instagram has grown to be one of the biggest social networks with over one billion active monthly users. Mention, who was acquired by Mynewsdesk in August 2018, teamed up with HubSpot and researched and analysed nearly 48 million Instagram posts to better understand the key drivers of what makes branded content stand out.

Throughout Instagram’s inception, the platform has evolved its user experience and in tandem become a hub of insights and data that marketers can action to deliver better customer service, better storytelling, and even more selling.

The Instagram Engagement Report evaluates Instagram highlights, engagement, hashtags, tagging, and influencers to identify key insights for businesses to action in 2019.

Findings

● Video posts receive the most engagement (comments and likes) than any other type of post, in the form of permanent videos, Instagram Stories, and Highlights

● The average Instagram post contains one hashtag, and it’s recommended to use no more than five in a single post for maximum engagement

● 47% of Instagram users have less than 1,000 followers, making up the largest segment of users on the platform

Monitoring engagement on Instagram in 2019 is merely checking the pulse of your brand

Instagram is arguably one of the most powerful marketing channels of our time. With the capacity to drive great engagement for marketers, brands and agencies it’s not a surprise that 80% of users on Instagram are following a business, according to Later. The problem facing marketers now is that while Instagram harbours a vast range of capabilities to improve selling and customer experience, they don’t quite know how to leverage it all yet.

“Unlike other social platforms, its growth and expansion weren’t paced and they never meant to be. Instagram is a trendsetting platform that’s functionality is developing quickly, making it hard to keep up with,” said Joël Gaudeul, Chief Marketing Officer at Mention

“It’s becoming increasingly difficult for organisations to learn and adapt to updates and changes on the platform. Businesses that are selling their brand stories today must understand that Instagram goes beyond engagement, it’s just the tip of the iceberg.”

Generating new followers is harder in 2019 than ever before and that’s okay

Engagement is still an important metric for marketers to pay attention to, but only in an active community. Businesses are having a tough time generating new followers, and it’s partly due to Instagram’s strategic algorithm, according to Later.

What’s more, the average Instagram user can be just as “savvy” as marketers when it comes to choosing how they interact on Instagram. The report found a shift in the mindset of businesses is essential to increased visibility and growth. Investing in building a smaller community and maintaining high engagement is arguably more valuable than trying to get more followers.

Staying relevant when Instagram is oversaturated and over-branded

Since last year, there has been a massive decrease in posts that tag a user, which is likely due to users being desensitised to receiving many tags – marketers must surpass this hurdle and find new and innovative ways to gain engagement on Instagram.

The report concludes that adopting an insights-driven approach to social media strategy will equip businesses to keep up with the pace of Instagram and remain competitive in the content creation game.