The Best Instagram Questions to Ask to Boost Engagement on Your Brand Profile
Raelene Morey When Instagram questions appear on your feed, your mental gears start turning. For example:
“If you could have a meal with one person, living or dead, who would it be and what would you eat?”
Your mind immediately starts thinking about the last really amazing meal you had, right? Or, you might think about the person who inspires you the most, or the person you would love to meet.
Questions are powerful. They encourage the exchange of ideas, fuel creativity, and help promote a sense of community and belonging.
When it comes to social media, specifically Instagram, building a sense of community and starting conversations is a powerful tool for brands. Which is why Instagram questions are such an effective tool!
According to emarketer, nearly 90% of companies use Instagram to fuel their brand. And with 1 billion monthly active users, it’s clear that Instagram is the place to be for brands.
But, with a million other things on your plate, it can be difficult to come up with unique questions. This post aims to fix that problem!
Let’s look at some thought-provoking questions you can ask to encourage your Instagram followers to interact with your brand in an organic, engaging and fun way. Many of these questions are customizable, so you can adjust them to fit your audience, industry, or mood.
Three places to post questions on Instagram
If you’re already using Instagram, you likely know there are multiple ways to post on the platform. You can post on your feed, which gets sorted based on Instagram’s algorithm, you can post on Instagram Stories, which is similar to Snapchat, or you can even go live!
Each method comes with its own benefits and drawbacks, so you will want to consider which method is most effective for your brand. Feel free to mix it up and post questions in all three.
Instagram posts
Posts are the most common method for sharing content on Instagram. Simply upload a photo from your camera roll, add a few hashtags, and click “Share.” Much like Facebook, however, Instagram sorts posts based on an algorithm that analyzes each users’ Instagram habits.
The problem is, when you share an Instagram post, it won’t be shown to all your followers. However, using questions can help drive engagement, which makes it more likely that more of your followers will see your post.
This is because Instagram assumes if people interact with a specific post, other people will also enjoy that same post, in turn boosting its visibility. It’s a bit of a chicken and egg situation, but the result is more engagement equals more engagement.
Instagram stories
Instagram Stories are time-sensitive posts that show up at the top of an Instagram user’s feed. Stories tend to have a higher engagement rate than regular posts, making them an ideal place to ask questions and start conversations.
Instagram Stories provides built-in tools that make it easy to start conversations, including polling and voting features. For example, NBC Chicago recently posted a poll to their Instagram Stories just ahead of a summer heatwave.
You can also use the Instagram Questions sticker to answer followers’ questions right in your new story. You then can see the latest sticker options in the Instagram tray if you want to add emojis or GIFs to your Instagram Stories.
Host a live Q&A
You can go live on Instagram and host a Q&A session. This relatively new feature lets you answer viewer’s questions related to your industry or new product, or ask and receive feedback directly from your Instagram followers.
For example, The Autumn Acorn, an indie yarn dyer and designer, hosted a live video of a new dye batch, and answered questions in the comments.
You could also start a video with a few prepared questions from your followers, then move on to answering questions as they come in through in the comments section.
For more tips on how to use Instagram, check out 14 Instagram Tips to Hack Your Way Into Instagram Stardom.
16 Instagram questions to boost brand awareness & engagement
With a million other projects on your plate, coming up with unique Instagram questions can be a challenge. And, since every audience is different, it can be difficult to see any engagement from a cut and paste list of questions.
That’s why this list includes Instagram questions you can tweak to fit your unique audience. For example, if you have tons of coffee lovers, you might ask about the “right” way to drink coffee. But, if your audience is more of a pizza crowd, you could tweak the question to focus on pizza toppings! The goal here is to provide a flexible list of questions that you can make your own.
Instagram questions related to your industry
Asking questions related to your industry helps create topical conversations also related to your niche. For example, Award Wallet, a company that helps travelers make the most of airline points, asked its audience about upcoming trips.
Here are a few Instagram question ideas to help create conversations related to your industry.
1. “What is your latest project?”
It is easy to tailor this to your specific brand. For example, a bait and tackle store might ask “Where was the last place you went fishing?” or “Where are you fishing this weekend?”
Yarn company Marriner Yarns recently asked its audience of knitters what project they are planning to cast on next. It is a simple question, but encourages interaction by tapping into a topic their followers feel passionate about.
2. “What is holding you back from X?”
This type of question digs into the struggles your audience is having and gives you the opportunity to offer solidarity or a solution. Classy Career Girl uses this type of question to encourage action and invites audience members to join a live Q&A session to find answers!
3. “What is your favorite XX tool?”
For example, SEO, photo editing, scheduling software, or social media scheduling tool. This question encourages audience members to suggest solutions they love and to ask questions about tools they may have been considering.
4. “How do you do X?”
This question encourages people to share their opinion and advice about how to complete a specific task. By asking about a topic related to your field, you can encourage a spirited conversation, or you can focus on more general topics. The key is to ask about a topic people are passionate about.
For example, travel publication Milana Travels asked its audience of family travelers whether they pack light, which can bring out some strong opinions! There is no right or wrong answer, of course, but it is a topic many travelers feel strongly about.
Creative and inspirational Instagram questions
Asking creative or inspirational questions are a great way to start organic conversations and create a sense of community. These don’t need to be related to your brand or industry, so there is a bit more room for originality.
5. “What are two things you know you should do but don’t?”
This question promotes self-reflection and conversation. You could suggest resources to learn specific skills (and not just from your own content library) or share how you struggled to learn a similar skill.
6. “Who do you most admire? Why?”
Broad questions can encourage comments from a wider range of people. In addition, this question promotes a longer response, which can encourage followers to respond and interact with each other.
7. “If you had $1,000 to spend on X, what would you buy and why?”
This question inspires a bit of creativity and can help keep the conversation related to your industry. For example, a business coach might ask what business tools their audience would buy, while an indie musician might ask what their followers’ favorite records are.
“Would you rather” Instagram questions
Would you rather questions ask followers to choose from one of two options. In some cases, both options might have distinct drawbacks. For example, would you rather lose your sense of smell or lose the ability to read?
These types of questions can trigger a great deal of engagement because they are fun and don’t require much thought. It also encourages users to defend their answers and interact with other commenters.
8. “Would you rather vacation in the mountains or at an amusement park?”
For example, CLT Advisor, a financial advising company, asked their audience which type of vacation they would rather have. Providing an option of two answers makes it easier for followers to answer, which can promote more engagement.
9. “Would you rather eat pizza every day for the rest of your life or never be able to eat pizza again?”
Sometimes being a little silly is a great way to get people talking! You could also swap pizza for something related to your business.
For example, a bakery might ask, “Would you rather eat cake every day for the rest of your life or never be able to eat cake again?”
10. “Do you prefer iced coffee or cold brew?”
People are passionate about their coffee! This is an excellent question for nearly any brand, but especially effective for a coffee brand like Cabin Fever Coffee.
Fun or generic Instagram questions
One of the reasons why Instagram is so popular is that it encourages more intimate conversations than, say, LinkedIn. You don’t need to be all business all the time on Instagram. In fact, it can be a lot of fun to ask fun or more generic questions!
While your Instagram questions don’t necessarily have to be about your brand or even your industry, they do need to make sense for your target audience. You wouldn’t, for example, ask a more conservative business audience if they prefer margaritas or mimosas, but you could ask broader questions about life or shared experiences.
11. “What should they teach in school, but don’t?”
People tend to feel passionate about school or “kids these days,” so this question can inspire a lively discussion.
12. “What is something everyone looks stupid doing?”
A little self-deprecation can bring everyone together! Silly? Sure, but it might just trigger a funny conversation.
13. “What two totally normal tasks become really weird if you do them back to back?”
This one can get a bit wacky, but it can also encourage creativity, which can be fun if your brand is a bit more casual or targets a younger audience. For example, eating cake then blowing out the candles or putting on deodorant then taking a shower.
Existential/ethical Instagram questions
Looking to get a little deeper? These questions encourage followers to explore more philosophical questions. There is often no right answer, which makes it easier to engage in longer conversations.
14. “Is it okay to sacrifice one life to save ten?”
Okay, so this one might be a bit dark depending on your brand. You can tweak the question to better fit your brand if needed. A surfboard company might ask, “Would you sacrifice 10 decent surf days for 1 absolutely perfect surf day? Or, a business coach might ask if it is worth it to sacrifice 10 mediocre clients for 1 ideal client.
15. “What is one thing you wish you could change about the world around you?”
Deeper conversations help create stronger bonds, which is the aim of this type of question. It promotes a feeling of “We are all in this together,” helping to build trust and community amongst your followers.
16. “If you found out you had 24 hours to live, what would you do and why?”
This question inspires followers to reflect on what is important in their lives. Would they spend time with family? Take a bucket list trip? Would they tell everyone or tell no one? The answers are endless and can kick start a deep conversation.
Asking the right Instagram questions can inspire deeper engagement with your brand
In today’s digital world, many brands seem to have forgotten that social media is about being social. Starting conversations through questions can help you encourage people to open up and interact on Instagram, but you need to approach this strategy carefully.
Using questions related to your industry can promote conversations and is worthwhile including in your Instagram marketing strategy. But make sure to mix in unrelated questions to promote a sense of community and authenticity for your brand.
Finally, don’t forget to use Instagram Analytics to discover which questions resonate with your followers so you can tweak how you engage and build relationships with your followers.
Ready to start a great conversation? Which question will you ask first? Have you got a suggestion for a question? Let us know in the comments below!
