How to Get People to Share Your Content on Instagram: More Shares for Greater Reach and Engagement

If you want to build a strong and looming presence on social media for your business, then you should know how to get people to share your content on Instagram. Today’s Instagram content shares are like yesteryears’ word-of-mouth hype. It’s organic publicity that speaks volumes about a brand’s authenticity and value and, therefore, can help rake in more followers and higher engagement.

If you want to keep gaining followers and sustain your growth on Instagram, one of your Instagram business goals should be scoring high on post shares all over social media. To get people to share your Instagram content, your content must reach your target audience and be relevant/useful to them — these tasks are already difficult individually, so accomplishing both means double the challenge! Add this how-to guide to your content strategy arsenal to help your posts spread far and wide through shares.

How to Make Your Content Shareable

Just when you think you got Instagram’s algorithm figured out and the tricks for how to make your content shareable, the platform pulls the rug from under you and changes the rules of the game yet again! But there are best practices that continue to be effective despite algorithm updates and evolving social media trends. We have put together a list of tips to help you optimize your content strategy for high post shareability.

How to Make an Instagram Post Shareable: Create Share-Worthy Content

This is always a given but it also bears repeating. Keep in mind that how to make an Instagram post shareable is typically more about the value that your content delivers to your audience. Ultimately, your content’s share-worthiness will be decided by your audience.

These types of posts almost always get shared:

• Posts that make people smile or laugh
• Inspiring or heart-warming posts
• Beautiful images overlaid with quotes that promote positivity and wellness
• Timely infographics
• Posts promoting awareness for a cause or movement
• Posts that inspire nostalgia

While using the aforementioned ideas for inspiration, another needless-to-say but needs-to-be-said reminder when creating shareable and interesting Instagram content is to always stay on-brand. If you must jump on the latest trending bandwagon, make sure your business can actually get involved in it to maintain your credibility.

How to Get People to Share Your Instagram Content: Write a Scroll-Stopping Caption

Users view a blur of images as they quickly scroll through their Instagram feeds. Before you get people to share your Instagram content, you must post a photo or video that makes them slow down their scroll with a caption that stops them in their tracks.

Your caption must seal the deal and convince your audience to hit the share button. It could be a witty remark, a thought-provoking statement, or a positive sentiment. Captions are especially important when posting videos as they make the posts easily accessible even when the videos are muted. Don’t forget to include relevant hashtags and a strong call to action. Once you capture your audience’s attention, a well-written caption will ensure that your post is worth their time and a share.

Prioritize Content Formats That People Love to Share

To get people to share your content on Instagram, create content in formats that are most preferred by social media consumers.

Beautiful images are a dime a dozen on Instagram. Give your audience something different by posting short video tutorials, a behind-the-scenes clip, or even a bite-sized video ad for your brand — these hold viewers’ attention longer. Carousel posts are another popular format as viewers have to pause their scrolling to view the entirety of your photo series. Infographics allow you to present a collection of data into a more appealing and easily digestible visual.

The longer you are able to hold your audience’s attention, the greater the opportunity you have to convince them to share your content. So make sure to give them content that they’ll want to post to their walls and share with their followers. Give them something new, interesting, surprising, or educational in a format that breaks the monotony of still visuals.

Keep Up With the Latest Trends

Thanks to the fast-paced “turnover” of information on social media, most trending topics have a lifespan of only days or up to one or two weeks. Don’t get left behind if you want to get people to share your content on Instagram. This means staying up-to-date on the latest trending hashtags  (particularly within your niche/industry), memes, and issues. Accounts with the most followers on Instagram are a great source for the latest trends.

When riding a popular wave to score a lot of shares, remember to create trend-based content that’s appropriate for your brand and audience

How to Get People to Share Your Content on Instagram: Nail Your Timing on the Head

You won’t get people to share your Instagram content if you aren’t reaching them because your timing is off when posting. This is one of the common reasons why posts get minimal or even zero engagement.

It will take some trial and error to determine the best times to post your content and reach your target audience. Keep an eye on your posts’ performance through Instagram Insights to see when your target viewers are most active and when your posts get the most engagement. Do some research to find out the recommended best times for your industry and audience type. You have to maximize your content’s reach and visibility by posting at the right times to also maximize the likelihood that it will get shared.

How to Get People to Share Your Instagram Content: Just Ask

You can get people to share your content on Instagram by simply asking them to do it — with a strong call to action, as previously mentioned, or as part of a promo for your business.

Something as simple as, “If you liked this post, please share!” or “Please like and share this post to spread #positivevibes!” can make a world of difference.

Creating content specifically for an awesome and limited-time promo that requires sharing the post, among others, almost always delivers amazing results. Regularly schedule Instagram contests and other special offers so your followers will always be on the lookout for another opportunity to score cool stuff and you can always expect to get tons of shares.

How to Get Influencers to Share Your Content on Instagram

Not all shares are created equal; some influencers’ shares are better than your average user’s or even compared with other influencers. When your content is shared by an influencer, you can reach a much larger audience and gain followers who are genuinely interested in what you have to offer. So how do you get influencers to share your content on Instagram?

Ideally, you should choose an influencer within your niche/industry who has a much higher follower base than you. Make sure they’re getting a decent level of engagement on their posts. Sharing your content can be the first step towards building a productive and long-term collaboration with an influencer. Here are some tips to help you cultivate a mutually-beneficial relationship with an Instagram influencer:

• Ask the influencer if you can tag them in your post. The post should give them good enough “publicity,” even if you have a smaller follower base, so they’ll want to repost it. 
• Share their content and add an engaging or promotional caption. Do this several times to get them to notice you. Like and comment on their posts regularly, as well. 
• Go straight to the point and ask them to share your Instagram content. Send them a DM to introduce your brand. You can also suggest the possibility of a collaboration, if you’re already up for it. 
• Ask the influencer if they would be interested in creating content together. It can be through an interview (if they’re an expert on something related to your business) or a short video or joint Live stream where both of you will talk about a topic that’s related to your industry.

Why You Should Care About Shares

For digital ad campaigns, one way that success is measured is through the number of shares. Not all posts that go viral, however, actually deliver value or can be considered quality content. If you’re a business that’s aiming to increase your followers and engagement organically, getting people to share your content on Instagram must be for the purpose of achieving your growth goals on the platform. This means people should want to share your content because it has value.

If your post gets hundreds of shares, you should also get a significant number of new followers and a decent increase in engagement. Your post shares should benefit your overall metrics; to achieve this, your content should not only be share-worthy but also be aligned with your Instagram business goals.

Post shares are an important indicator of success if one of your key business goals on the platform is brand awareness or community engagement. A lot of shares also indicate an effective content strategy; on the other hand, minimal or zero shares often mean poor content quality, poor timing, and/or an uninspired overall content strategy.

Final Thoughts: Get People to Share Your Content on Instagram for Lasting Growth

Knowing how to get people to share your content on Instagram can take your business farther up the growth ladder. The tricky part is figuring out what tickles your audience’s fancy so you can keep creating the kind of content that they’ll eagerly share.

Organic growth on Instagram may oftentimes feel like an uphill battle. Despite your best efforts to create amazing content, you may not see the numbers you should be getting. Getting noticed on Instagram is usually the problem and the solution you need may be a growth partner with reliable experience in Instagram growth strategies, like Path Social. Take advantage of Path Social’s advanced AI targeting algorithm and in-house team of experts, and start growing and gaining Instagram followers today!