The devil ?? is in the data ??

How often should you post to Instagram, and what type of content works best - for each account size!

We all hope that when you post your beautifully created content that everyone who has hit that follow button will automatically see it. Reality is, as we know, that simply is not the case.

And what is even more surprising is how that data stacks up. ??

Before we look at the data, it's super important that you know how to classify your account according to your audience size.

• Nano accounts - 0-10K followers
• Micro accounts?- 10K-100K followers?
• Mid accounts?- 100K-500K followers

Unsurprisingly, the data varies for each account size ??

Let's dive in ??

According to the team at Later.com, Nano accounts (0-10K followers) see the highest average engagement rates with Reels.

1 Reel garners an average engagement rate of 3.95%.?That's pretty impressive! But hold on, there's more ??

If you have the desire, skill and time to post a whopping 14 Reels PER WEEK, you'll be rewarded with an average engagement rate of 4.73%. ??

Not fancying washing your hair everyday ??; fear not, I've got you covered. Thankfully, carousel posts can still get a ton of engagement.

Posting just 1 carousel a week returns an average engagement rate of 3.36%.

So let's move up the account size ladder ?? Next up - Micro accounts.....

So the data suggests that Micro accounts (10K-100K followers) tend to see higher than average engagement rates with Reels and videos ???

1 Reel results in an average engagement rate of 1.05%.

Not as impressive as Nano accounts, granted. BUT still decent engagement rate for one piece of content.

Now, with a bigger time budget, if you can to go big and churn out a whopping 20 Reels in a WEEK ?? you'll return an average engagement rate of 2.99%, this begs the question of whether the investment of time is really worth it?!

Like Nano accounts, carousel posts come in a strong third position! Posting anywhere from 1-5 carousels a week can see an average engagement rate of 0.9% or higher, now the data doesn't go so far to say how many images is best for a carousel - I'm going to make the assumption that the more images the better. Time to get snapping ??

Ready to reach the heights of a Mid account? ??

To be classed as a 'Mid account' you need to have amassed between 100K-500K followers, no mean feat! ?? Frustratingly though, after all of that hard work, time and effort spent growing a following, the engagement rate rewards are the lowest when compared to the other accounts.

Brands that box clever with a variety of Reels and carousels — for example, 5 of each a week — can see an average engagement rate over 0.74%

The silver lining ???, whilst the data above specifically talks about engagement rate (the percentage of your audience who take action on your content), the other metrics paint a different, more positive outlook!

In brief, the more content brands post on Instagram, the higher the overall reach. Reach is the number of unique eyes you have on your content, regardless if they take any action on it or not.

The Key ?? Takeaway.....

If you want to get fresh eyes on your content and reach a winder audience, brand should still consider posting more Reels. They are still top of the pops when it comes to reach regardless of account size.

However, social media savvy brands who focus on growing an engaged community of raving fans and followers should consider continuing to use a variety of post types — carousel posts and single images have decent engagement rates too.?????

But most importantly,?try not to get caught up in the numbers?— creating quality content trumps quantity.?

Found this useful? Leave your thoughts below ????