Instagram is a perfect match for media companies. The network’s vast visual capabilities paired with extensive description space make it a perfect outlet for telling compelling stories.

On top of that, Instagram boasts a high organic reach and rewards those with solid strategies with free visibility – a rare benefit during a time in which meeting your marketing goals depends mostly on the size of your social media budget.

But despite all the advantages of Instagram, media companies still receive roughly 4x fewer interactions on the platform compared to Facebook. This is a major problem, as an engaged audience is key to achieving high organic reach, which is crucial for any news outlet on social media, especially in light of the recent Facebook News Feed update.

How can media companies get more likes on Instagram?

We analyzed some of the most engaging media companies on Instagram to determine what drives their engagement. We discovered that one of the tactics news outlets apply to generate more Instagram likes is as simple as putting text directly within images.

Use your photo captions to ask questions: One of the best ways to get more likes on your Instagram photos is to use your photo’s caption to ask a question. This is a great way to drive not only photo likes, but comments, too.

Post at the right time. Before you post your photo to Instagram, there are two things to keep in mind: your audience’s time zone and what time they’re most often checking Instagram. Most Instagram users login in the morning, and in the evening, on their way home from work or school. According to analytics company Simply Measured, the best time to post on Instagram is on Wednesdays between 5:00 pm and 6:00 pm.

For brands, the least favorable time to post is in the middle of the night because an Instagram photo typically has a life of only around 4 hours before it gets buried in followers’ feeds.

Post at times throughout the day that you can assume your audience has down time and is checking their accounts. For example, if you’re a company whose target audience is high school students, post your photo in the afternoon during the time high schoolers are on their lunch break. Or, if you’re a business with lots of New York City- or London-based followers, think about posting during rush hour when you know folks are stuck on trains or busses and have nothing else to do but check their phones.

Host a contest on Instagram: Hosting a contest is often the most effective way to boost engagement and get new followers fast on any social network. Since Instagram has grown in popularity, it makes it one of the best social platforms to run a contest.

Use popular hashtags. Depending on the industry you’re in, there are popular Instagram hashtags that can be used to get more visibility on your photos. The best way to discover popular hashtags for your industry is to use Google, of course! A simple Google search will tell you all you need to know.

Some of the most trendy Instagram hashtags you’ll find include: #tbt (throwback Thursday), #instadaily, #photooftheday, #instagood.

Keep in mind: Don’t go nuts with your hashtags! A hashtag paragraph, as I like to call it, at the bottom of your photo is not savvy. It can look a little overzealous and cluttered. Instead, stick to using 1-3 relevant hashtags per photo.

Share teasers: For product-based businesses, upload photos to Instagram that feature teasers of a soon-to-be-released product or an exciting event that’s around the corner. Teaser photos are great for catching users’ interest and for driving photo likes! Check out a great example of an Instagram teaser photo from the California-based clothing company The Hundreds.

Share candid shots: Think of your brand’s Instagram account as your followers’ backstage pass, or a behind-the-scenes look, at the inner workings of your company. People don’t want to see the same highly polished images your brand uses for adverts, they want to see images that are more relatable and less edited.

Your Instagram account should strive to highlight your employees and the work they do. Even if your business employs hundreds of people, featuring even just a few faces from behind your brand allows your brand to appear much more transparent with your followers.

Remember: The content you post on Instagram doesn’t always have to be marketing driven, it can be just for fun! After all, these kind of photos often get the best engagement. Stop thinking so much about how to get you’re going to get your branding message across and focus on the essence of the platform, which is a human-centric and playful.

Ask your users for help: If it’s a goal of your brand’s to get on Instagram’s most popular “Explore” page, and you have enough followers to do so, don’t be afraid to ask in the photo caption section of your next uploaded photo. Ask and often you shall receive!

Use Instagram video: Instagram videos are the latest way for businesses to engage with fans. Here’s a great example from Ballet Opera de Paris, promoting a new film.

Ask for shoutouts or features: This tip is for all my PR people! Reach out to popular Instagrammers, or “Instagram celebrities,” and ask that they mention your Instagram account or feature your product in a photo of theirs.

Or better yet, if you’re notified that one of these Instagram influencers mentioned your brand without you asking, reach out to them and say “thanks!” This will help your brand develop a relationship with people who have online influence. The backing of a major Instagram influencer could potentially help drive hundreds of new followers for your brand.

Welcome a guest Instagrammer: There are lots of “Instagram celebrities” on the platform, meaning Instagram users who have massive following. These people have influence. In a matter of minutes, a photo that an “Instagram celebrity” posts can get thousands of likes and hundreds of comments.

If you’re a brand, team up with an Instagram celeb and have them take over your account for a day or during a major event. This is one way to introduce your Instagram celeb’s large following to your brand.

The clothing brand Juicy Couture recently did this when they had popular blogger Kelly Framel of The Glamourai take over their Instagram account to post behind-the-scenes photos of a photo shoot for their upcoming campaign. Fellow fashion blogger Chriselle Lim of The Chriselle Factor also took over Nordstrom’s Instagram account recently!

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