Imagine this! You grab your phone in the morning, click on that colorful camera icon, and here we are. You open up Instagram and start scrolling through your feed. You get into the rabbit hole pretty quickly, scroll through just out of habit, you might like some photos, comment on friend’s posts and then you get off your phone.
Now, if we go back to scrolling the feed part, did you notice that something was missing? We often act on autopilot mode, scrolling unconsciously, paying attention only to visuals. So how do you grab someone’s attention and stop them from scrolling? How do you make them want to read more than just one line? I put together 4 effective Instagram hacks that will stop people from scrolling, so keep reading.
Quality & Original Photos
Quality pictures are a MUST, we all know that by now (I hope). Although, what photos should you use? There are a few general things to consider. Pictures having you/people in is likely to perform better than the ones with just a landscape or view. Of course, if you are a professional photographer, it might be a bit different for you, but if you’re building a personal brand, you definitely should post (more) pictures of yourself.
Now, these pictures of you shouldn’t be just you looking at the camera, but it’s better to change poses, use pictures ‘on the move’, or change the angles. These are usually getting more engagement because they look like you’re at the moment, it’s not static, and it catches people’s eye. It’s authentic, and it shows your creativity too!
Another tip would be to use portrait mode. If you are just shooting with your iPhone, portrait mode will make your background slightly blurry, which makes you stand out more. When you look at the picture, you want to have a clear focus point where you want people to look at first. Take that into account next time you’re doing a photo shoot. Be original and have fun.
Catchy First Line
Get their attention straight away! When you scroll through the feed, usually, you can only see the first line of the post. Make it count! Use bold writing and emojis to catch readers’ eye and sum up what’s your post about. Be creative and make it fun! It could be something shocking like ‘YOU WON’T BELIEVE THIS!’ or use an intriguing line that will make them want to read more about it like THE BEST DAY OF THIS YEAR.
It’s a small thing, but it can really stop people from scrolling and directing their attention to where you want them to be.
Tell People How it Solves their Problems
After you got their attention with your catchy or intriguing first line, you want them to read the full caption, right? The top part of your post should explain what problem you’re talking about or what subject you’re tapping into. If it’s not clear by reading the first few lines, people won’t continue reading your long post, simple as that. Make them interested, otherwise, they’ll keep scrolling.
When writing your post, keep in mind who you’re writing for and what struggles your audience encounter. Don’t make it about you, but about them. It’s okay to include personal experience, but don’t make it a ramble about yourself. Make it relevant and always provide value.
Sharable and Savable Content
If you’re engaging with coaches or service providers on Instagram, I’m sure you’ve noticed the rise in graphic content shared.
People used to focus on likes or the number of followers and even though that’s still important to some degree, what marketers really pay attention to are shares and saves. How many times has your content been shared or saved? You want to create content that is relevant and that people will want to get back to because it was so valuable! The content is evergreen. Consider this when creating your content.
Canva has hundreds of templates that you can use for creating graphics, you just have to come up with the content you want to use and is relevant to your brand. And why do I mention graphics here? People like to save graphic content since it’s very visual.
Conclusion
There are so many small things that we might not even realize on Instagram that helps your audience decide whether or not to read and interact with your post. Scrolling Instagram is an automatic thing we do, but people who are there to engage will notice a few things. The first one is the quality of your photo. Make sure your photo is of good quality and it’s not always the same. By changing poses, using different angles, and photos that show some movement, it is more likely to catch someone’s eye and get the attention. It shows you’re creative and you know what you’re doing.
Another detail that people consider when scrolling is the first line under your photo. Use bold statements in combination with emojis that will either shock or intrigue people. By having a catchy first line, you’re making your audience wonder what this is about and they’ll want to read more. Once they open up the caption to read more, the next few lines are even more important. Once you have their attention, capture what’s in it for them. What’s the post about, what struggles does it solve? Let them know what your post is about, so they can decide whether or not they want to continue reading. If you don’t make them interested after reading the first few lines, they will get back to scrolling.
Lastly, create content that your audience will want to share or save. The more shares, the more exposure. Although the main goal here is to create graphics that will stop scrolling and provide value. If these boxes are filled, people will want to save it or share it.
So which of the boxes of these hacks can you tick off? Reach out and let me know if there are any other hacks that come to your mind, I would love to hear!
