Five Reasons Your Audience Did NOT Engage with Your Photo
SO… you just posted (what you thought) was a killer photo and it’s tanking. Ugh 10 likes in 10 minutes, how disappointing. I can’t tell you how many times this has happened to me. And while no one has it all figured out, through trial and error, I have a pretty good idea why certain pictures perform well and wanted to share it with you.
“10 likes in 10 minutes… ugh”
If you’re here, I’m guessing you’re pretty curious too. And before we dive in to the five reasons your audience did not engage with your photo, let me provide a little disclaimer. For starters, all posts aren’t created equal and every post will not “do well”. It’s less about the likes and more about the content itself. When growing your following, it’s important to understand this, accept it, and not let this deter you from continuing to post. Later this week, I’m releasing an eBook “The Beginner’s Guide to Influencing” which will be 24 pages of all the things I learned as a beginner. I’ve been writing it for a while and it’s made especially for Beginners because I know how hard it can during the first couple of years. Sign up for my mailing list HERE, to get the heads up email on the book and my monthly newsletter.
Ok, let’s get into it. Let’s discuss 5 reasons why that post is still sitting at 10 likes in 10 minutes.
Reason 1: Your audience didn’t engage with your photo because they didn’t see it. Wait?? Is that it? What do you mean, they didn’t see it? YUP, it’s that simple. According to Eva Chen the average person opens their Instagram app about 35 times a day. Once open, they spend a few minutes (probably somewhere between 5-10 minutes) scrolling their feed and/or watching IG stories. Unless someone regularly engages with your content, your new post will not appear on their timeline within those 5-10 minutes. How many times have you seen a birthday post on Instagram the day after the birthday has already passed? OFTEN…. How many times have one of your friends shared a picture and you missed it? OFTEN… In order to come up in your audiences timeline, you need to post more. Simple right? Well, maybe if that was all, but it’s not. Remember it’s not just about the photo. Which brings us to reason number two.
“It’s not just about the photo…”
Reason 2: Your audience didn’t engage with your photo because they don’t like it. The nerve of them! I mean… if they follow you, and see your picture, shouldn’t they just like it because they like you. NOPE, it’s not that simple. Just because they’re following you, doesn’t mean they like all of your content. Last week I wrote a blog post about learning why your audience follows you. I discussed breaking your audience into four categories in order to properly cater to them. While you might be a fashion influencer, someone may be following you for your witty captions or because you occasionally share your beautiful children. Learning your audience is key to ensuring your picture does well and you keep their attention. When you create content that matters to your audience, they will like, comment and save it. So now… I’m creating content they like, I’m posting it, but they’re still not engaging with my photo.. WHY is my photo still sitting at 10 likes?
Reason 3: Your audience didn’t engage with your photo because they thought they liked it already. Weird right? Well let me explain. You ever come across profiles with three of the same outfits in a row or multiple photos from the same event? We get it, you went to a party and loved your dress. Outside of looking tacky on your grid, multiple pictures in the same outfit back to back just floods the feed. I went as far as temporarily muting accounts that do that. But what if the picture does really well, why can’t I post it again? When you post a picture that does really well, that doesn’t mean post it again and again. Repeat photos usually don’t do as well as the first one, especially when posting them so closely together. If you have multiple pictures in the same outfit, try spreading them out a little further (like weeks apart) or maybe including them in a blog post.
Reason 4: I didn’t like your photo because it’s a video. Instagram showing views on videos has been a game changer in terms of insight. Now we know, you saw my video, you just didn’t double tap. I will watch a video and not double tap because I simply forgot to. Sometimes you comment and then forget to “like” the video, because you forget the likes are considered engagement and not the views. Most users think by watching the video YOU are still getting credit because that’s the only number they see.
“Longer captions are winning…”
Reason 5: Your caption. Keeping up on Instagram requires effort. Long gone are the days where you just throw a picture up and type “caption this” underneath. Longer authentic captions are winning. Your audience wants to get to know you, and this happens when you share more about yourself. Now, no one’s asking you to pour your heart out or put your personal business on every single post, but we are asking you to put in effort and be authentic. Through trial and error, I’ve realized when I put meaningful thought into my caption, my audience recognizes this. In turn, they show appreciation by liking and commenting on the photo.
Okay folks! There you have it. Five quick tips on why your audience didn’t engage with your photo. If you made it this far, I should secretly tell you my eBook is secretly on sale NOW.
If you enjoyed this post, and want to see more influencer tips please let me know in the comments below! Thank you so much for reading.
