Mention presents the 4th edition of its annual report engagement on Instagram. This identifies new trends and tips for marketers to help them optimize and engage audiences. To do this, the social media listening and online monitoring platform has collaborated with HubSpot.
This year’s report shows changes from last year. Indeed, we can see a decrease in the overall engagement rate, compared to the 2020 results (-2.26%). This figure may raise concerns about increased competition on the platform to engage audiences. What are the most engaging post types? The best hashtags? In this Instagram 2021 report, there is a wealth of information to optimize its practices on this social network.
Top best practices and key figures
For starters, the average engagement rate – all post combined – overall decreased by 0.84% in 2021 to reach 1.42%. According to the list of the top 50 profiles, 60% of the most influential people on Instagram are men. Moreover, if the majority of users (53.6%) have less than 1,000 followers and are growing steadily, the fact remains that they are finding new ways to reach audiences.
Regarding uses on Instagram, it should be noted that “carousel” posts are the most engaging type of post this year. Indeed, they exceeded single-image and video posts by accumulating 62 likes and 5 comments on average. Likewise, the narrative caption 1000-2000 characters long is the most engaging. Thus, the fact of writing a longer text allows to generate more reactions and to show the authenticity of the posts.
Finally, accounts linked to beauty and the cosmetics industry received the most engagement.
Focus on Instagram trends in France
If France is only the 4th European country on Instagram, the French are nevertheless the most committed, with 528 “likes” or comments per post. Our country thus occupies 3rd place for the highest overall engagement rate in the world and it is rather fond of carousels and static visuals, unlike the rest of the world which values videos. It is the users aged 15-24 who are the main followers since they represent 69% of accounts.
Likewise, Paris, the Instagrammable city par excellence, comes first in Europe, with 11,000 posts. It also ranks fourth in the world rankings, behind New York, Los Angeles and Saõ Paulo. Overall, the most touristic French cities are at the top of the European ranking.
What about small businesses in all of this?
Social distancing has put pressure on small businesses to pivot their business models and quickly adopt viable digital strategies to overcome the crisis. In fact, 46% of business leaders reported a decrease in their income in the past 12 months. As lockdowns around the world continue in 2021, it is likely that the spike in Instagram usage has accelerated the launch of many e-commerce features, such as Instagram stores, guides and IGTV advertising.
Thus, it is evident that the current global crisis has had a significant impact on the use of Instagram. Small businesses today say they’ve made more revenue through digital marketing due to pandemic. It is therefore more important than ever for businesses to ensure that their Instagram profiles and content stand out with audiences.
Mention’s annual Instagram engagement report
“Our annual Instagram engagement report is a free, accessible resource for businesses of all sizes, which we’ve designed to help them rank higher on Instagram. Because of our expertise, we are in the best position at Mention to analyze the millions of pieces of data on Instagram. Our goal is to provide the most comprehensive and up-to-date report of 2021. ” – Francesca Chong, Head of Content Marketing at Mention
For more information, download the full report by clicking here.
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