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A drop in engagement levels is a problem many Instagram users face at one time or another. Sometimes, this issue is caused by a change in your content or the frequency with which you post. Other times, changes in the Instagram algorithm may cause the drop. No matter what the reason for your diminished engagement levels may be, after reading this article, you will know exactly what to do to fix it. However, if you know that one of your actions led to the lowered engagement, it’s easiest to just go back and reverse it to get your engagement levels back up.

Your account may have been shadowbanned

The simplest reason for lowered engagement rates is the Instagram shadowban. Instagram ‘shadowbans’ some of the hashtags on its platform to prevent spamming. As a result, people who use these hashtags on their posts become shadowbanned as well and their posts are no longer shown on the Explore page and they show up in the followers’ feeds a lot less. The shadowban is usually only temporary and as long as you focus on posting quality content and don’t use spammy hashtags, you will be unbanned in a few days or weeks.

The quality of your posts has dropped

There’s a reason why every single one of your Instagram followers is following you – whether they are your friend, they enjoy looking at your photos, reading your content, watching your educational stories, etc. When you make a dramatic change to the type or quality of content you post, it’s expected that some people will stop engaging and may even unsubscribe from your page. It’s your choice whether you are willing to sacrifice engagement and follower numbers to make a change to your page.

You’re posting too much

While Instagram has its own limit on how many posts per day you can create, few people ever reach or exceed those numbers. But your followers are used to seeing a certain amount of content from you per day or per week. If you start posting more, you will simply dilute their attention instead of upping the engagement levels.

You’ve changed something in your advertising campaign

Oftentimes, there’s a simple reason why your engagement rates dropped overnight – you used to run ads targeting engagement and you don’t anymore. This can frequently happen if someone else is in charge of your Instagram advertising and you don’t communicate very frequently.

Frequently asked questions

How to increase engagement levels on Instagram?

You should avoid the temptation to simply ask your followers to like and comment on your posts. Instead, be smarter: conduct contests where people have to engage with your content to enter, ask questions and conduct polls in your stories, ask people to share their experiences on different issues in the comments to your posts, etc.

Should I still use hashtags on Instagram in 2021?

Yes! Hashtags are still a crucial tool for achieving your Instagram goals but you have to choose the hashtags you use carefully. Don’t use more than 5-10 hashtags per post and rotate different hashtags to accurately describe the post and to determine which hashtags work best for your page.

Do video posts get more engagement on Instagram?

Yes, on average, video posts get more likes and comments from Instagram users than regular photo posts.