You want to know if your Instagram post is getting the hype you hoped for, so you head to your feed and are saddened to find a handful of likes and a couple of comments. Most of them are by employees, friends, and family – thank you Aunt Samira.

Is this what you’re spending your money on? The answer is a resounding “NO”.

But wait a minute before you rush into conclusions, because when talking about online engagement, there is definitely more than meets the eye, and each person has different ways of interacting with brands online.

Read on as we walk you through the different personas that make up your followership.

 

The Cheerleader: this is the one you see from your feed, dropping likes and leaving hearts and fire emojis in the comment section. They’re loud and proud endorsers of the content you’re throwing out there and you love them for it. When they engage with your post, the Instagram algorithm will understand that your content is relevant to a similar audience and boost it organically on other people’s feeds. This is why we love these people, but hey, the world is not only made of extroverts, so continue reading…

The Sharer: Your post resonated with them in a way or another, so they decided to spread the word, sharing it in their Stories. And since digital word-of-mouth is a real thing, friends of our “sharer”, who will also relate to your content, will in turn engage or share your post. This is why inspirational content that is linked to your audience’s values and lifestyle plays a major brand building role in your content mix – people are more likely to reshare a quote than a burger offer!

The Rippler: You’ve just posted a picture of your venue or your latest combo offer. The Rippler has already DMed (direct messaged) their group of friends and organized the gathering to make the most out of the deal. They might not signal their presence on your feed through direct tags, but “shall we watch tonight’s game while feasting on that combo deal?”

The Save-it-for-later: Whether it’s a recipe, a how-to, an infographic, a meme or just an inspirational quote, they found value in what you’ve worked on and consciously decided to use the Save post feature to store your content in their carefully curated Instagram boards and come back to it as many times as they want. In the world of content creation, those are your game-changers. Think about it, anyone that saved your recipe most likely ran to the closest supermarket or eCommerce shop to buy your product and came back home to try it!

The Doer: You’re waiting for them to like that post while they’ve already went straight to your website to read the linked article, purchased that new item from your eCommerce, or listened to your latest podcast episode. They give “let’s get down to business” its true meaning and are the perfect example of a successful buyer’s journey.

 

So you see, there are several categories of followers and ways to gage if they are being responsive to the posts you’re publishing. This is why you can only go so far when measuring content success by basing your assumptions on cheerleaders’ interactions alone.

We hope this quick guide has helped you make a bit more sense of these pesky and cryptic insights on the next Instagram report that is sent your way.