A few weeks back I looked at Facebook to see what content works best and now it’s the turn of Instagram.
Seeing as the algorithms are ever changing I took a look at a snapshop of public sector accounts across the UK.
What’s engagement?
That’s the likes and comments that are publicly displayed.
This is valued because it shows that users have responded to the content. This in turn means more people will see it and those who have clicked have told the algorithm: ‘more, please.’
Here’s the league table.
What’s changed?
The snapshot I took looked at 10 local government, NHS, fire & rescue and police accounts and 250 posts in total.
While the survey was limited in number it was striking how much less toolkit content there was on local channels compared to last year. What’s toolkit content? Nationally created assets shared to organisations across a wide area.
What the numbers mean
I looked at the account’s follower numbers then measured the comparative reach for engagement. So, if an account has 100 followers and one engagement that’s a one per cent engagement rate.
1st – The carousel of pictures is king of content
Just like on Facebook, the mini-collection of images is the best performing. This isn’t just one image, it’s a collection on a theme.
Manchester City Council are one organisation who are adept at this. They re-publish images from photographers with their permissiomn and credit the image. In effect local people can be taking pictures to celebrate the area and are shared by that area’s council.
It makes sense for a collection of images to prosper if you think about it. More pictures is more chance for the user to stop and peruse. There’s more chance of liking something, too.
2nd – Reels video
You have to admire the brassneck of Meta. They saw TikTok and its vertical video coming over the horizon and they took the idea and applied it to an existing platform.
So, Reels has prospered and half of all time spent on the ‘Gram is spent on videos like Reels.
3rd – a single image
Instagram was built on single images that celebrate. So, food, a landscape or fashion originally thrived on the platform.
The single image has fallen out of favour as the best performing but still remains as an option.
4th – artwork
Fourth in the list of most effective is artwork. This is an image with some element of design be that a logo or a call to action.
It’s a third as effective at gaining engagement compared to a carousel of images
5th – Traditional video
Some accounts still post traditional video.
This has become far less effective as an option. No surprises, really.
Much of the trad video viewed was repurposed video from elsewhere. As it came from elsewhere it didn’t use the techniques and tricks that people are used to with say, Reels.
6th – Toolkit content
Propping up the pile as least effective is toolkit content.
These are national campaigns sent out with a request to be re-posted locally. The theory behind it is sound. People are busy so give them something on a plate. However, the theory collides with users who don’t find it engaging.
Just 0.07 per cent of a follower number engage with it. Insincere, inauthentic and unpopular this ticks a box and nothing else. Sadly that box is marked ‘it doesn’t work.’
How that compares
Compatred to the Facebook analysis of engaging content there’s a lot of similarities. Carousels work well, Reels are second and the single image is third. However, there is a limit on the type of content seen. So, no GIFs or AI was seen just yet.
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