If your Instagram account is not growing, your engagement feels stagnant, and it just seems like the same group of people are liking your posts every time, there is one big reason why: your content is not getting shared.
Shares and watch time are the two metrics you should pay the most attention to right now on Instagram.
Are people watching your content from start to finish? Are they sharing it?
If not, you need to rethink your strategy.
Here’s Why People Share Content
It is new information.
You are breaking news to your audience or educating them on something they had not known before.
It is entertaining.
They were amused by your content and want others to see it too.
It is relatable.
The “this is so us” effect is one of the biggest reasons content gets shared, especially through DMs.
It is funny.
Funny is the ultimate hack. Hyper-local memes are one of the best ways to trigger shares.
It is a hot take.
Sharing an opinion that people strongly agree or disagree with sparks conversation and drives reposts.
You have to make someone feel something to get shares.
I’ll tell you what doesn’t get shares: that generic template your brokerage gave you, wishing everyone a Happy Cinco De Mayo.
You know what gets shares? Your favorite Mexican restaurant in your hometown, what you like about it, and why you go there with B-roll of the food and margs.
One of the easiest ways to think about it is to imagine yourself on the other side of the post. Imagine you are scrolling Instagram and your post comes up. Is it something you would share with a friend? Would you DM it to someone and say, “This is cool, we should try this restaurant,” or “Hey honey, look at this stat, we are not the only couple who has not bought a home yet, and we are 35!”
An even easier way to do this is with the templates in BAMx. Every week, we release hyper-local templates that are built for engagement. Just customize and post. Here are a few of the templates from today’s content drop:
Check Your Metrics
If you want to figure out what kind of content your audience is sharing from you, go back into your post metrics.
Head to your professional dashboard, go to “content you shared,” and swipe through your old posts to check the number of shares by looking at the airplane icon.
Pro Tip: Ask for the Share
One simple way to boost shares is to ask for it. But do not say “like comment share” all in one breath. That is too much. Instead, give one specific call-to-action aimed at a certain group of people.
If you are posting about a new farmers market, say: “Share this with a friend you love going to farmers markets with.”
If you are posting about a new restaurant or event, personalize it. Make it feel like a natural share between friends.
Alyssa Curnutt is a great example of someone who nails the specific share call-to-action every time. Here is an example:
So, share this blog with a friend who needs to get more shares. See what I did there?
By the way, I just wrote an Instagram guide that gives you all my secrets to getting more engagement in 2025 (and it’s free).
