The TRUE Reason You Have Low Engagement on Instagram (and How to Fix It!)

Let me know if this sounds familiar: 

You create an Instagram post. 

It’s a shiny new reel of you looking super professional and explaining your offer. Maybe you even used some trending audio to set the mood.Then you hit publish and wait. 

Nothing. 

Wait some more… 

Now, you have 3 likes. (And one is from your mom). 😩

You’re about ready to pull your hair out in frustration. The lack of engagement on your posts has you wondering what the heck you could be doing differently. 

So, you do what any smart business owner would do. You do some research on how to get more engagement on Instagram, and you fall down a rabbit hole of tips and tricks that promise to fix everything overnight. 

But when you put those tips to work, you might get a few more interactions than usual… but most times, still nothing. 

Now, you’re left wondering if you’ll EVER find an answer that just point-blank tells you how to fix your low Instagram engagement. 

In this post, I’m here to tell you there IS a reason for your low engagement, but it has nothing to do with the hashtags you use or the audio you pick.

After working with thousands of service providers, one thing has become pretty clear:

There’s no single magic trick that will fix your low engagement. (But don’t stop reading! 🚨)

Most advice you see online treats the post itself, but if your posts aren’t getting engagement, the problem goes deeper. Low engagement on Instagram is the signal that something beyond JUST your content needs attention. 

And once you realize that, you stop chasing surface-level hacks and start making moves that actually change your results, and inevitably grow your BUSINESS, too.

So, without further ado, let’s get into the REAL reasons why you have low engagement on Instagram.

Low Engagement Is a Symptom, Not the Root Problem

When most people search “how to get more engagement on Instagram,” they’re usually looking for an exact fix. 

Post this. Change that. Do things this way. 

The problem is you’ve already tried them and, sure, they may work… until the day they don’t.

That’s because fixing your content alone is just part of the problem. You need to think like you’re inside of an ecosystem where your content, your business, and YOU all work together. 

And when one part of that ecosystem is off, the whole thing is off. 

So, if you start looking objectively at each part of your ecosystem, you’ll start to see that low engagement isn’t random. It’s a sign that something somewhere needs to be adjusted. 

Maybe it’s your messaging (are you actually listening to what your ideal audience is saying?) 

Or maybe it’s the format you’re using (does your audience vibe with the 10+ slide carousels you’ve been posting?) 

When you zoom out and start looking at everything as a whole, the question changes from “What trick can I use to fix low Instagram engagement?” and instead becomes, “Where is the misalignment happening that’s causing me to see low engagement?”

That shift changes everything. 

Low engagement becomes a symptom of a deeper problem, rather than the sickness itself that needs to be treated. 

But when that symptom shows up, it’s easy to start blaming everything else around you…👇🏼

Why Playing the Blame Game is Keeping Your Engagement Low

Years ago, I worked in a comedy club. I watched dozens of comedians walk off stage and say, “Oof, bad crowd tonight.” 

When I was in theater, we were all guilty of something similar during matinees: “Afternoon shows are just quieter. The evening show will be better.” 

But does having your show at 2 pm instead of 8 pm REALLY make that much of a difference? That show doesn’t change based on whether it’s playing during the day or at night.

When you start putting the blame on other things – like a bad house or matinee audiences, you give away your power to fix the situation. 

It’s the same for when you blame your low engagement on Instagram’s algorithm or on your audience for not listening. 

“Instagram changed the algorithm.”

“My audience doesn’t understand my offer.”

“The algorithm just doesn’t like me.”

“They just aren’t serious buyers.”

First off, the Instagram algorithm is NOT an all-powerful entity with complete control over your success or failure. 😈

If that were true, what would be the point in even trying? Gambling against an evil algorithm would be a losing game for everyone every time. 

Organic content is not roulette. There needs to be a strategy behind how you get more engagement on Instagram. The algorithm is just a computer code, after all. 

Many clients in Magic Marketing Machine make $10k+ through their organic Instagram content!. When you crack the code it’s abundantly worth it; You need to learn how to work with the algorithm.

Secondly, putting all of your blame on your audience is a cop out. (Sorry, not sorry.🤷🏼‍♀️)

Blaming your audience because they don’t listen or don’t want to hear what you’re saying just means you’re in self-defense mode and you’re protecting your own ego. 

Sure, it stings to think your message isn’t landing. So, it feels safer to say everyone else is wrong instead of taking a closer look at what you yourself are doing.

It’s your job to connect with your audience. If what you’re currently doing isn’t working, ask yourself why and pivot your content in a new direction. 

Don’t give away your power by blaming your low engagement on anything else besides what you can control.

How Being Good at What You Do is Killing Your Instagram Engagement 

Now,  if you notice you HAVE been playing the blame game, here’s the real culprit that could be sabotaging your Instagram engagement and views.

(And it has nothing to do with an evil algorithm or an audience that just doesn’t get it.)

Instead, it has everything to do with you and how you talk about your expertise:

Here’s the paradox:

As soon as you get really good at what you do, you get really bad at talking to people about it.

You learn all of this new jargon and gain a new level of awareness about your craft. 

You know all of these cool new things now. Things you know your leads don’t know. It makes sense for you to want to show off that knowledge!

The problem is, you’re a pro at what you do. You’ve already done it all, and you’re able to think three steps ahead. 

You’re accidentally skipping details that sew your points together and make it make sense for your audience.

➡️ They’re still figuring out step one. The fundamentals.

Now, there’s a disconnect. And it’s that disconnect that often causes low engagement on Instagram. 

This is basically a family legend at this point, but bear with me because it perfectly explains what I mean.

One time, my great aunt was trying to follow a recipe that said, “Add a boiled egg.”

A simple direction, sure… except my aunt can’t cook. Like at all. Boiling an egg was way above her skill level. (Crazy, I know!)

The recipe book didn’t bother breaking down the steps because it assumed the person reading knew how to boil an egg. So, my aunt was stuck, and my grandma had to step in to help. 

The same thing happens with your content. 

You start talking about advanced strategy and think, “Why don’t they get it?!” 

But your audience sees your content and thinks, “Wait… how do I even start?!”

The things that you think are cool about your industry are not the things that interest your ideal client. 

If you start talking to them like you would your colleagues, they’ll just scroll past to move on to the next post. 

And you’re not only doing this with facts and knowledge. It’s also happening with mindset shifts, misconceptions, and things beginners still find exciting that experts (you) don’t bother celebrating anymore.

Your low engagement on Instagram isn’t because of the hashtags you use or because you’re not charismatic on camera. 

It’s because you’re saying things that aren’t relevant to your ideal client. 

Because you’re not tuning into what they really, truly care about, you’re not grabbing their attention long enough for them to hit like and comment.

➡️ In Magic Marketing Machine, my clients use our “Genie Method” as part of our messaging module. It’s how my clients figure out exactly what their ideal clients are thinking, feeling, and Googling at 2 am – and then use that exact language in their content to make their audience feel completely seen. (Don’t be surprised when the ‘wait, are you in my HEAD?!’ DMs start rolling in. 😂)

Ready to perfect your messaging and finally get that audience engagement?

Click here to join Magic Marketing Machine or to learn more. 

Yes, Content Skills Matter, but They Shouldn’t Be Your FIRST Fix

Now, let’s be clear: content skills DO matter. 

Maybe you need to tighten up your hooks to stop the scroll.

Or make the font bigger on your reels to make them easier to read. 

Or try shorter content that’s under a minute long. 

Or clean your camera lens so your videos are clearer.

[Pro-tip: Instagram now promotes videos under a minute long to non-followers over videos longer than a minute. 

It also doesn’t like promoting low-quality content, so cleaning off that thumbprint on your lens can do a heck of a lot of good for boosting your reach.] 

Your low engagement on Instagram can be related to any number of things. 

The good news is, these content skills are easy to learn. I give them away on my own Instagram all day long! 

But content skills alone shouldn’t be your main priority, especially when you’re marketing a business with your content

You can have a punchy hook, high-quality video, and perfectly formatted captions and STILL struggle with low engagement on Instagram. 

None of those content skills will make a big difference if your brain isn’t aligned with your clients’. 

When you’re too smart for your own good, you lose sight of your ideal clients, what they’re going through, and the words that are playing in their heads. 

But when you take their words and put them into your content, suddenly, you’ll start to get comments like, “Wow, you see me!” or “It’s like you’re inside my head.”

Not because you learned a new trick, but because your messaging is meeting your clients where they are. 

Start Here to Get More Engagement on Instagram

Low engagement on Instagram isn’t a life sentence. 

It has nothing to do with the algorithm hating you or your audience refusing to listen. 

Low engagement is feedback – a sign that something in your ecosystem needs an adjustment. 

And once you stop trying the endless engagement tips you found online and start aligning your messaging with your audience’s brain, real change begins.

You’ll see your engagement numbers begin to rise because you’re FINALLY speaking your audience’s language again. 

Want to know the exact strategy that my clients use to get clients from their Instagram content?

Grab my free training, How to Get Clients from Instagram Without Wasting Hours Glued to Your Phone.

In it, you’ll get my proven formula for fluff-free content that gets TONS of engagement and gets you sales, all without being on your phone 24/7. 

Click here to watch the training and I genuinely hope you start getting all the clickety clicks that your heart desires over on Instagram. 🫶