You seem to be online all the time, you are posting things every day but you are not getting any engagement on your posts. Maybe you are a social media influencer or a marketer for a certain brand, either way, you need to get those posts engaged because this is an important step towards your success. Maybe you have tried every hack from the book, but nothing seems to be working. What to do then? Well, the first thing that you could do is not to lose hope.
There is always a way around everything on the internet. But, unfortunately, most of the marketers out there looking for the miracles or the secrets that could give them a lot of engagement at once, where the real thing to worry about is the content and the way we see and perceive visual information. Instagram has two basic components that make the post attractive. One is the visual that you are putting there and the second is the caption. So, let’s see how psychology feels about these two components playing a basic role in the engagement.
Instagram posts engagement and Psychology
Generally, everywhere you read about the right Instagram marketing, you will see two pieces of advice; Have a great caption and a high-quality photo/video. Where it is all great advice but it comes down to the question of which caption is appealing enough to be good and what is meant by high-quality photo/video.
You are already following the advice, but you don’t get to receive as much as you want. So, what would you be doing wrong with your Instagram posts? Let’s find out.
1. Colour Harmony matters
The human brain is attracted to the thing that seems different and unique. If you are putting pictures out there without any pattern or without taking care of the visual perception, you might not be getting people’s attention. You need to take care of the colour patterns in a picture, there needs to be harmony in it. There was research conducted that proved that people are attracted to photos where there are a pattern and harmony in colours. The more harmonious colours you use, the better your audience will remember it. You can also use the pictures with contrast in the background and the focal point.
2. Using scene gist
Are you using too many filters and editing to make your photos attractive and eye-catching? Well, this is where you are wrong. You need to look at your own Instagram and see what photos attract you. That would be those which seem somehow original and related. The more you post the pictures close to reality, the better are the chances for them to relate it to something of their own, and that way they would remember the picture immediately. So, make sure your photos are easy to recognise and not difficult to interpret. You can use editing tools and add a filter but keep it as close to reality as you can.
3. Embedding your brand in their minds
If you are marketing for your brand, try to relate each of your pictures with the brand. Use similar colours in every post and mention your brand. This way, whenever those colours will appear, the audience will stop and see and it will remind them of your brand. It doesn’t happen overnight, but with the right strategy, you can make this happen. You can use ads, blog posts, and other social media tactics to add to your marketing but incorporate the brand colours in them to show your brand everywhere. People learn very quickly when they are shown one thing again and again.
4. The Isolation Effect
If you want your photos to stand out, you can make it happen with the help of the isolation effect. You can make it work by making your product or the focal subject stand out in the middle with different backgrounds. The product should be in different colours and should stand out from the background. This way when people will see it, they will have their eyes on the product right away. You can also do a little research and see what other people are posting these days and how can you make your photos stand out in the feed.
5. Using persuasive words in the caption
When it comes to captions, we usually ignore this part as the photos are meant to play a basic role. But you are wrong here. As the pictures play with people’s minds, captions also appeal to them if written right. You must use persuasive words in your caption to make it stand out and attractive. For instance, you can make the use of words like these: ‘you’, ‘free’, ‘instantly’, ‘new’, and other related words. It is seen that people get attentive immediately when they read these words as these words make them read more.
6. Use the right order
Human psychology is a complicated one but it is simple as well. You want people to read what you have written, just pick the right order. The things that are happening right now should be written first and then there must be the things that happen later. The beginning matters the most because it is what keeps the reader reading. Think of it as a storey where you start with the basics and then lead to the end where you attract your customers.
Conclusion
Do you want to attract more people to your Instagram posts? Read about human psychology and know what attracts the people and how can you use it to get them to your Instagram posts. The more you know, the better you can design your posts and thus the engagement will increase. Know your audience and then work accordingly. There is nothing in this world that is unachievable. So, get to work and be smart when you do it.