If you’ve ever envied companies with loyal Instagram followers who frequently comment, share, and sing the brand’s praises on Instagram, this article is for you.
We step you through the tips and tricks brands use to generate massive comment engagement by followers and new visitors.
Plus, we explain how to respond to comments (the good, the bad, and the ugly) in a way that builds a human connection and boosts your conversions.
And, if you’re wondering how you’ll manage all those comments and replies – we’ve included tips for that, too. We’ll show you several tips, tools, and tactics to help you monitor, organize, and collaborate on comment replies with your team members.
Ready to generate massive comment engagement and build a passionate following on Instagram? Let’s get started!
Table of Contents
Why Instagram Comments Matter
High engagement rates on social media help boost brand awareness, provide social proof that increases conversions, and generate traffic to your website that boosts sales and improves your SEO.
According to a 2019 study:
Consumers spend up to 75% more with brands they follow on social media.
If you don’t interact with commenters, though, chances are they’ll skip over your posts and forget about your brand altogether.
Responding to comments is a critical step toward continued engagement and customer loyalty!
Instagram is one of the best social media channels for brands looking to interact with followers – its average engagement rate is 17X higher than Facebook posts and 33X higher than a Tweet.
Yet, Instagram has no “share” button, and it’s like numbers may not always be visible.
So how does Instagram get sky-high engagement rates, despite the fact that followers can’t directly share or may not even see your like count?
Comments!
Engaging in the comments section of your posts and Stories is how Instagrammers and brands engage with each other.
Raise your hand if you just said “uh-oh.”
We know, it’s tough to keep up with all those Instagram comments – especially when not all the comments are nice.
We’ve got you covered, though.
Our tips below will show you how to easily manage Instagram comments in a way that’s effective, but less time-consuming. Plus, you’ll also discover:
- How to generate more comments on your posts and Stories
- How to to respond to follower comments
- How to win over new customers by engaging with your current followers
- How to handle comments that aren’t so nice
How To Respond To Instagram Comments Like A Pro
Consistency is the key to building trust and relationships with your Instagram followers. In this section, we share tips on how to generate more comment engagement with 5-star brand responses.
Tip #1 – Get your team on board with brand tone guidelines.
The tone and voice you use to communicate with followers represents your brand personality and values.
Create written guidelines for your brand’s tone and voice, share it with team members, and monitor your social media comments to ensure that the way you communicate in the comments system is consistent.
Tip #2 – Respond to comments in a timely manner.
Responding to questions and comments within 24 hours is critical to building trust with your Instagram followers.
80% of customers expect a response to social media comments within 24 hours.
How do you manage comments when you’re posting to Instagram multiple times a day?
Responding to multiple, or even massive amounts of, daily Instagram comments requires two things:
- Teamwork
- Comments management software.
With social media software like Sharelov, you can quickly organize follower comments with tags, then share them with your teammates. Plus, Sharelov lets you view and manage comments from your desktop for easier access.
Tip #3 – Prepare your team to handle trolls and haters.
No matter who you are or what social channel you use, you’re probably going to be faced with internet trolls or haters at some point. This is a natural part of dealing with the public, but how you handle negative comments can make or break people’s trust in your brand.
Learn when to respond, ignore, and delete comments on Instagram. Train your team and provide clear guidelines on how you want them to handle these types of posts.
Don’t confuse negative comments and product complaints with trolls and haters.
We share tips to help your team handle customer complaints and problems in the next section!
Tip #4 – Guide and monitor your team to ensure a positive experience.
Audit your team’s comment replies to ensure consistency, timeliness, and professionalism, providing tips and suggestions along the way.
How To Generate Comment Engagement Through 5-Star Customer Service
In this section, we share tips for responding to customer service inquiries – including the most difficult ones.
More than 20% of people use social media to contact companies with questions about their products and brand.
More and more, people turn to social media, including Instagram, for customer service.
Whether or not you provide full-scale customer service on Instagram, you’re bound to get customer service questions and comments.
Responding quickly and professionally to customer service inquiries, even the negative ones, wins repeat customers and provides social proof than increases your conversions.
Tip #5 – Handle customer complaints and problems with a positive attitude.
Then, another 40% share their positive experience with friends (Sprout Social Index Edition XII).
Go the extra mile to please your customers. If they’re unhappy with an experience or product performance, offer an apology and compensation to make things right.
Complaints are an opportunity to prove that you stand by your products and services.
Thank commenters for their input, apologize for their bad experience, and ask them to message you privately (if you need to) so you can help resolve the situation.
For example, when a customer mentioned a problem with one of her products, May Designs replied with “thank you and we got you!! shipping you a new one!! 💖”
Negative comments and complaints are an excellent public relations opportunity for your brand, if you handle them well.
Tip #6 – Use saved replies for Frequently Asked Questions.
When people ask common questions about your brand or products, provide them with a 5-star answer! Then, consider directing them to further resources such as videos, manuals, and blog posts.
How can you do all that in one Instagram comment?
Create saved replies with Sharelov’s Community Manager Tool. Then, when people ask about a product or service, you can share well-thought out answers that tell customers where they can find more information.
You may hope to send your customer service issues to your website or chat, but many will contact you using Instagram comments instead.
Don’t back away from providing customer service via Instagram comments — they provide you with a unique opportunity to prove that your brand cares about serving its customers.
How To Increase Comment Engagement With Social Media Job Recruiting
Using Instagram to recruit job candidates is one of the best ways to build brand awareness and boost comment engagement. In this section, we offer tips to help you attract and engage followers through job recruiting.
Using Instagram for social media job recruitment helps raise brand awareness, increase engagement, and connect with potential employees.
Tip #7 – Announce your job openings with Instagram posts.
Encourage comment engagement by asking interested candidates to request more information in the comments section!
Tip #8 – Share your company culture in Instagram posts.
Post behind-the-scenes videos and images with captions that prompt your followers to ask questions about your company and its culture.
Tip #9 – Encourage your fans to come and work for you.
Ask followers to consider working for you!
For example, Salesforce shares an image of its team with a comment that reads “Come work with us and help make a difference in the world.”
Source: Instagram
Consider allowing your employees to respond directly to followers’ questions or set up a live Ask Me Anything session to encourage engagement.
Tip #10 – Show off your company perks.
Use Instagram posts to show off some of the perks your company gives its employees.
For example, @mountainamericalife posted an image of a gift basket it sent to employees, then prompted comment engagement with the question “Which item from the box has been your favorite?”
Source: Instagram
Tip #11 – Encourage your employees to share job openings to their Instagram accounts.
Get your employees in on the fun by asking them to share job openings on their Instagram accounts.
Many companies offer incentives such as cash bonuses to employees who refer candidates.
Rallying your employees to promote your brand on social media is an excellent way to reach new audiences and add new followers!
How To Boost Comment Engagement And Brand Awareness Through Strategic Marketing
Discover the best tools and tips for boosting comment engagement and gaining new followers on Instagram.
Instagram provides brands with several built-in tools and features to help you gain more followers and increase comment interactions.
Tip #12 – Add well-researched hashtags to your posts to reach new followers.
Sharelov’s Hashtag Idea tool gives you instant hashtag suggestions for your posts. Just enter a keyword and get instant access to hashtag ideas!
Use Instagram videos to generate double the engagement of your image posts.
Tip #13 – Monitor Instagram for brand mentions.
By monitoring your brand mentions across all of Instagram, you can identify and interact with a wider audience.
For example, if one of your followers recommends your products with a @mention, you can thank them with a reply. Or, you may even offer a special discount code that their audience can use.
Monitoring your brand mentions is easier and quicker when you use monitoring software like Sharelov. You can easily track mentions and respond to comments from your Sharelov dashboard!
Try Sharelov free today, and never miss another brand mention on Instagram!
Tip #14 – Participate in social causes or social justice campaigns.
Participating in social causes that align with your audience is an excellent way to start conversations and increase engagement on Instagram.
For example, many businesses participated in supporting Black Lives Matter protests in June 2020. Brands that expressed support appropriately were able to start meaningful conversations with their followers.
Tip #15 – Post your Corporate Social Responsibility policies.
Share your company’s commitment to social responsibility by letting your audience know where you stand. Publish your corporate social responsibility policies in Instagram posts.
Asking followers what they’d like to see you do next is an excellent way to prompt interaction in the comments section of your Instagram posts!
Tip #16 – Encourage user-generated content.
Use prizes, sweepstakes, and competitions to encourage your audience to share images of your products, brand, or services – and require a brand mention in the post!
UGC promotes your brand and helps you gain access to new audiences.
It’s easy to share user-generated content to your Instagram account with Sharelov’s reposting tool.
Tip #17 – Include questions in your captions.
When you write post captions, include questions and prompts that encourage viewers to engage. Adding a simple line such as “What do you think?” or “How can we help” encourages your audience to add comments to your posts.
Tip #18 – Post when your audience is online.
Publish posts when your audience is online — it will encourage more interaction!
Increase Instagram Engagement And Followers With A New Comment Strategy
Getting your entire team on board with an Instagram comment strategy can have a significant effect on the success of your brand’s page.
Respond to comments professionally and consistently, use Instagram for customer service and job recruiting, and make the most of marketing tactics and tools to increase comment engagement and gain new followers.
Not only should you share content from different businesses in the industry, it’s important you share your followers and customers posts too.
really a great post thanks for sharing such informative content it is also looking such great content about social media networks and social media marketing it is difficult to search this type of content that will give you exact information
Great write-up with some striking tips here. I’ve picked a handful of information from this post. One thing I will do in 2021 is to begin storytelling to engage my customers. I will also include different contests to get audiences excited. I think the future is bright for social media marketing as long as it does seem overbearing to the users.
These tips to increase engagement on Instagram comment are excellent. And these tips help me a lot to improve my Instagram profile.