How to Effectively Boost Instagram Posts & Engagement

Your Instagram reach went down because the platform updated its algorithm — again. Or, maybe you’re an IG newbie. Either way, you’re competing with accounts that have the advantage of time and experience in your industry and the platform. What’s the secret ingredient needed to boost Instagram posts for higher engagement?

What Does “Boost Post” Mean on Instagram

Social media opened the content floodgates and inundated news feeds with a deluge of posts. Even on Instagram, which has 2 billion active monthly users, there’s an oversupply of content. This means tons of posts are not getting the attention they deserve or need. If you want to increase your post’s visibility, you can effectively do so by using the boost Instagram post feature. 

The Instagram boosting feature is the quickest way to turn any post into an ad to reach more people. But first, you need an Instagram business account. Once you’ve converted your account into a business profile, you can boost any of your previous posts. You can also create a new post for boosting, boost posts that contain product tags, or boost a Story.

What To Consider Before Boosting a Post on Instagram

So, what should you consider when you boost an Instagram post? These are the things you need to think about before you give your post an Instagram boost:

• Specify a goal. Do you want more profile visits to increase brand awareness? Want to drive traffic to your website to increase sales, or encourage people to book an appointment? 
• Identify your audience. Who do you want to reach with your ad? You can create your own audience or choose automatic audiences.
• Specify your budget. How much do you want to spend daily on your ad? Keep in mind that your budget will determine how many people will see your ad. 
• Specify the ad duration. How long do you want your ad to run? Instagram recommends starting with at least 7 days. This gives the platform’s delivery system sufficient time to find your ideal audience.

After you boost an Instagram post, it will appear on people’s feeds, Story feeds, and Explore pages. You can track your ad’s performance via your Insights.

How To Boost an Instagram Post

There are two options for how to boost an Instagram post. You can boost from the post itself or from the Ad Tools feature on your profile page.

Steps To Boost an Instagram Post Directly From the Post

1. Go to your profile and select the post (or Story) you want to boost. Alternatively, you can start creating a new post. Instagram recommends boosting posts that feature images no greater than 8 MB.
2. Below the image, tap “Boost.”
3. Complete the details of your ad: goal, audience, budget, and duration. 
4. Tap “Next.” It will prompt you to connect your Instagram business account to a Facebook account. You can choose to “Skip” this part. If you skip this step, it won’t appear again when you boost future posts. But you can still link your Instagram to a Facebook account at any time. 
5. Tap “Create Ad” under “Review.” Your ad will then go under review and will begin running after it has been approved. You will receive a notification for every step of the process.  

What happens when you boost an IG Story post? The story will appear to users who don’t follow you yet but belong to your target audience. The boosted story will continue to run after 24 hours and for the specified duration of your ad.

Use Ad Tools Feature To Boost Instagram Post Engagement

1. Go to your profile and tap “Ad Tools.”
2. Tap “Choose a Post” and then select the post you want to boost. 
3. Tap “Next” for iOS or the forward arrow for Android at the upper right corner. 
4. Again, unless you’ve already linked your Instagram business profile to a Facebook page, it will prompt you to do so. Or you can “Skip” this step. 
5. Complete the details of your ad, then tap “Next” for iOS or the forward arrow for Android. 
6. Tap “Create Ad” under “Review” to finish creating your ad and submit it for review and approval.

How Much Does It Cost To Boost an Instagram Post?

How much does it cost to boost an Instagram post? It depends on how much you want to spend to make your business stand out. You’ll set the total budget for the duration of your ad. This helps to determine how much of your total budget to allocate per day. 

The budget you set for boosting an Instagram post will affect how many people will see your ad. The bigger your budget, the more of your target audience you can reach. Keep in mind that if you’re in a competitive industry, the cost will also be higher. Instagram recommends starting with at least USD 5 for an ad duration of 3 days. This budget allows you to reach the ideal number of people and give Instagram’s delivery system time to find them.

How To Pay for an Instagram Ad

There are two ways to pay for boosted Instagram posts: via the Instagram app or via your Meta Ad account. 

To pay from your Instagram app, just follow these steps:

1. On your profile page, tap the menu in the upper right corner. 
2. Tap “Settings,” then tap “Business” and tap “Ad Payments.”
3. Tap “Payment Methods,” and then select credit card/debit card or PayPal.

Does your Instagram business account link to a Facebook page? Then you’ll use the same payment option you’ve set for your Meta Ad account.

Why Should You Boost Instagram Posts?

Is organic reach extinct? It would be more accurate to say that you can only earn this once you’ve established a large audience base. For example, look at who has the most Instagram followers. You’ll notice these accounts don’t usually boost Instagram posts because they don’t need to. With a reach numbering millions, their posts will organically reach a high number of users. This is because the law of probability is on their side. To enjoy the same privilege, you can start by boosting your posts. 

You should boost an Instagram post if: 

1. You want a cost-effective way to target a specific audience. Boosting a post gives you control over the buyer persona you want to show your ad to. You can also control how much you want to spend and for how long.
2. You want to increase brand awareness. Boosting an Instagram post is the ideal solution if you’re still in the early stages of building your brand’s presence. Boosting posts will effectively let you reach more of the people interested in your content. Now, you can gain more followers and increase your engagement 
3. You want to collect data for your marketing strategy. An Instagram boost post gives you access to Insights. From your Insights, you can find out how well your boosted post is doing in terms of traffic and engagement. You can use this information to identify weaknesses in your strategy to create better marketing campaigns in the future.    
4. You want to increase sales for a particular product. You can do this by boosting a post with a product tag. It’s a great solution if you want to promote a product that’s not doing so well.

Final Thoughts: Capture the Right Attention for Your Posts

Boosting Instagram posts is essential if you want your post to reach and engage more of the right people. It also helps to put the spotlight on your brand. 

Paid social media content promotion, like Instagram’s boost feature, helps ensure that your efforts deliver worthwhile returns. The boost Instagram posts feature is a good way to spend some of your marketing budget. That’s because you’ll be able to target the right audience for your business. 

You can achieve the same results by partnering with a reliable growth service like Path Social. Path Social offers an advanced AI targeting technology to deliver followers who are interested and engaged. Their in-house team of social media experts will expertly handle your content promotion. This will give you quality engagement and help you build a strong community around your brand. Start growing and gaining Instagram followers today!

FAQs

Now you know how to boost Instagram post engagement. However, you may have a few more questions. Check out our frequently asked questions to learn more.