Social media platforms are places of key interest for personal and business branding in today’s world. Among them, Instagram tends to hold its own as one of the best platforms for sharing visual content and interacting with an audience. As long as Instagram’s algorithm continues to change, there are ways to get more of something that tends to matter, be it as an influencer or a business for visibility.

Why? Because Instagram likes are way beyond vanity metrics; they’re social proof, and if people use it to validate your content to other people, you will have more of an opportunity for your content to reach more users through their Explore page and algorithmic feed. If you want to maximize your reach and engagement on Instagram, here’s a comprehensive guide on how to get more Instagram likes and why they still matter.

Why Instagram Likes Matter in 2024 and Beyond?

You may have heard that Instagram has tested concealing likes on its platform. While this may seem to render likes less valuable, likes are, in fact, a metric of engagement. Here’s why they are still so important.

Algorithm Boost: Instagram’s algorithm boosts the content with more engagements. The more likes your post gets in its initial hours of posting, the more likely it is to appear on the feeds of your followers and even on the Explore page, the gateway to a larger audience.

Social Proof: People are impressed by numbers, and a high number of likes on a post dictate quality content; hence, it builds the likelihood of users engaging with your post through liking, commenting, or sharing.

Brand Partnerships: If you are an influencer or business, more often than not, likes will be one of the main KPIs that brands look at when deciding to partner with you. More likes could very well equate to better deals.

Building Credibility: Whether one is promoting a personal brand or running a business, likes help establish credibility. A product or service will always command more trust when it boasts of a good social following and engagement rate.

With all the above benefits, one thing becomes crystal clear: more likes on Instagram are quite important even today. Coming up next are ways through which you can increase your likes and grow your presence on Instagram.

How to Get More Likes on Instagram: Tried and Tested Ways by: Team Sendible

1. Post High-Quality, Engaging Content

Quality of content is perhaps the most crucial factor behind doing well on Instagram. While likes may be important for brands, they come only when your content is well received by your target audience. Following are a few tips that make your content stand out from the rest:

• Aesthetic Appeal: Remember, Instagram is all about the art of looking good. It’s worth investing in good cameras or graphic designing tools to ensure whatever you post looks good. Bright and high-resolution images tend to perform better.
• Storytelling: Every post should tell some sort of story. Through the caption or image itself, evoke emotion or curiosity that encourages people to double-tap.
• Consistency: Posting regularly keeps you in the feed of your followers and top of mind. However, consistency doesn’t mean every day; it means having a predictable schedule, whether that’s twice a week or daily.

2. Use Trending Hashtags

Hashtags remain one of the most effective ways to expand your reach on Instagram. By using relevant and trending hashtags, you can make your content discoverable to users who don’t yet follow you.

To maximize your hashtag strategy:

• Use a mix of broad and niche hashtags. While broader hashtags-e.g., #travel-have more reach, niche hashtags-e.g., #wanderlustlife-tend to drive more engaged followers.
• Don’t overdo it. Yes, you can use up to 30, but studies have shown that 9-12 are the best for engagement.
• Keep your hashtags relevant. Using irrelevant hashtags just for visibility can make a post look spammy and decrease engagement.

3. Leverage Instagram Stories and Reels

Instagram Stories and Reels provide them with an avenue to interactively live with your content in real-time. Reels are touched by the algorithmic magic of Instagram, many times finding themselves at the top of the Explore pages. Here’s how to use these features effectively:

• Interactive Elements: Add polls, quizzes, and questions in your Stories so that people have many engaging things. The more people interact with your Stories, the more likely Instagram is to show your posts.
• Engaging Short Reels: Reels are very engaging, especially for new audiences. Make them short, funny, and to the point; relate to trends that are running in that particular moment.

4. Timing of Posting

The timing of a post can make all the difference in engagement. Times may be the best or really low. Posting at the right time means that it is most likely your followers will interact with your post the very second it hits the feed.

• Use Instagram Insights to understand when your audience is most active, then create a posting schedule that will run in conjunction with peak times within that data.
• Experiment with different times and days to understand which times work for your posts. Generally speaking, lunchtime and evening on weekdays create the most traction.

5. Influencer and Brand Collaboration

Again, it gives your account instant exposure with the help of influencers or other brands. That is because, by partnering with someone who already has a huge and engaged following, you get to tap into their audience base for increasing your likes and follower count.

Choose influencers or brands whose audience resonates with yours. A more targeted collaboration will likely yield more in followers who are genuinely interested in your content.

6. Engage with Your Audience

The more you engage your audience, the more they will engage with your content. So, take time to:

• Reply to comments: Sometimes it’s just that simple acknowledgement that goes a long way in creating a truly loyal community.
• Like and comment on posts of other people. It makes the connection with your currently existing followers strong, while also exposing your account to new, potential followers.
• Reply to direct messages and use Instagram’s features for engagement, such as polls and question stickers within Stories, to help build better relations.

7. Running Contests and Giveaways

One of the fastest ways to receive more likes is running a giveaway. People like stuff for free, and running a giveaway can certainly create a buzz around your account. For maximum participation, make sure to:

• Require participants to like the post, follow your account, and tag friends in the comments.
• Collaborate with other influencers or brands to increase your reach and engagement.

Feel Free to Boost Your Likes with Services

For many, it takes too much time to grow organically, and it is perfectly fine to purchase likes just to boost the account’s visibility in a very short period of time. You can activate real likes using services like Instant Famous that jumpstart your engagement. On the other hand, you could look into ways to Increase Instagram likes and further increase your growth.

Conclusion

While Instagram likes are among the many metrics for user engagement, it forms the basis of quite a few very crucial elements to survive in the platform-visibility, trust, and growth. Whether you opt for organic growth or leveraging tools to achieve better exposure, good content, efficient usage of hashtags, effective engagement, and collaboration will go a long distance in fetching you more likes and helping your strategy at Instagram.