Instagram “saves” were released in 2017. Now, it has become a popular metric among influencers and brands. The purpose of Instagram saves is to bookmark the posts users like to look back on later. It also allows the user to categorize their bookmarks as collections. But what’s best is that you can see how many people have bookmarked your post as a creator. And with the emergence of the hiding “likes” feature, saves have found their due prominence.

“Saves are similar to likes.” Think again!

Many marketers may argue that saves are another vanity metric similar to likes. But I have a different opinion. Unlike likes, saves are a powerful engagement metric. People may like your posts for multiple reasons:

• It could be for a like in exchange.

• They may like it, because you have used a spam hashtag in your post.

• Users liked your dress in the post rather than your new marketing hack.

So, it is hard to conclude from the number of likes received on a post what truly makes it a vanity metric. However, saves allow you to identify what type of posts are being appreciated by the audience. In addition, it tells you whether your content is actually adding value to your audience. Creators can also develop an effective content strategy by analyzing saves’ patterns.

Before I present a few tips, let’s first understand why people save Instagram posts. They do it because they find your post valuable and want to come back to it later. Besides, an Instagram save is a result of emotional triggers like FOMO rather than logical ones.

Thus, it is safe to say that authentic, truthful, informative, relevant and entertaining content is more likely to get saved. So, be sure your feed content has these qualities, and continue below to see the six tips for getting more Instagram saves:

1. Know that users connect more with human faces

There was a time when Instagram was populated mainly with quotes and pictures. But ever since videos have come into play, the idea that the audience connects better with faces has only become stronger. Since humans are social animals, they connect better with an individual or a human face. Such connection between the brand and the audience builds trust and followers — leading to more saves.

2. Make caption space a gold mine for users

Instagram allows 2,200 characters in a caption. So, it’s a perfect opportunity for businesses to add context to their post. They can make their post more detailed, informational, exclusive and worth saving this way.

Captions must add value to the post. Treat the caption space as a microblogging platform, which many influencers and brands are doing already. In addition, users will spend more time on your posts, improving dwell time. It will indicate content’s likability among users to the algorithm.

3. Use infographics

Though faces help businesses connect better with their audiences, the effects graphics produce aren’t purely waste. Infographics play a huge role in educating the audience. Springer’s research concluded that people following directions with text and illustrations do 323% better than those following directions without text and illustrations. And because users may have to look at them often, they save them.

4. A strong CTA is better than no CTA

Sometimes, getting more saves on your posts is as easy as asking for it. Your audience might already be consuming your content because of its value. But a simple call to action asking to save your post can actually increase your saves. You can be straightforward and short in your caption with a line like “Save it for Later!”

5. Don’t sleep on visual quality

High-quality visuals are the heart of Instagram, and they play a contributing role in getting more saves. Humans tend to judge on appearance. And so, appealing and easy-to-eyes graphics play a significant role.

If you create reels, commit to a setup. Incorporate good light, better backgrounds and medium-to-high quality relevant video graphics. As per Brain Rules, people retain 65% of the information if the same information is paired with a relevant image.

6. Different content types work wonders

Your saves depend upon the type of content you post, mostly. For instance, quotes are well known for motivating the user due to their coaching factor, convincing and powerful language, and human desire to follow the leaders’ footsteps, says Fast Company. They also get more saves from users who want to look back at them later.

Exclusive tips and tricks, evergreen and nostalgic content in your strategy can get you more saves. Also, you can blend all these content types instead of sticking to one thing, like quotes, and notice higher saves.

Track your saves in a few taps

You cannot see any post saves if you haven’t switched to a professional account. Go to “Settings” and then “Accounts” in your Instagram app. Select “Switch to a professional account.” Once done, you can track the saves for future posts now. These are the two ways to track the saves:

1. Via feed: Open any posts that you published after switching to a professional account. You will find an option before the caption that says “View Insights.” Click on it to see the number of saves for the post.

2. Via insights: Go to “Insights” on your profile page. Tap on “Content You Shared. Tap on the “Reach” filter, and select “Saves” from the drop-down. Based on the selected duration in the filter, it will show you the number of saves for your posts.

Connect the dots from the metrics like saves, and you can always navigate your strategy for better results. Even though saves are a better metric than likes, it is still far from what generates revenue for the business. You can chase saves, but don’t be immersed in oblivion and ignore the metrics that truly matter and define ROI.