Increasing Instagram Engagement: The Strategy Behind a 4.4% Engagement Rate
For most businesses in 2026, social media feels like shouting into an empty room. You spend hours crafting the "perfect" graphic, writing a safe caption, and posting at the "right" time—only to be met with crickets. A handful of likes from employees, maybe a bot comment, and that’s it.
The common advice is just to "post more." But if your strategy is broken at the foundation, posting more noise won't fix the problem. A year ago, we took on a client facing exactly this issue. Their account was sleepy. It was safe. It was aggressively average, averaging about 300 interactions a month. Twelve months later, that same account is a local digital powerhouse. We didn't buy followers. We didn't run spammy giveaway loops. We executed a complete strategic pivot that woke up the algorithm and the audience.
Here is the blueprint of how we achieved a 1,959% increase in interactions and hit "unicorn status" with our engagement rate.
The Results: Defying Social Gravity
Before we dive into the how, let’s look at the what.
In the world of social media marketing, there is a general rule: as you scale up your volume and reach, your engagement rate usually drops. It’s easy to get high engagement when only your mom and your best friend see your posts. It’s incredibly hard to maintain it as you grow.
With this client, we broke that rule. We managed to massively increase the volume of activity while simultaneously tripling the efficiency of the content.
Here is the 12-month scorecard:
Total Interaction Growth: +1,959%. We went from roughly 3,800 annual interactions to over 78,132 likes, comments, shares, and saves.
The "Unicorn" Stat: We achieved an average Engagement Rate of 4.4%. For context, the average business account struggles to hit 1.5%. A 4.4% rate at this scale is exceptional; it means the audience isn't just seeing the content—they are obsessed with it.
The Strategy Blueprint: 4 Ways We Broke the Mold
How did we go from dormant to dominant? We stopped treating social media like a digital billboard and started treating it like a neighborhood party. We moved away from safe, corporate "broadcasting" and leaned hard into human connection and psychological triggers. Here are the four pillars of our strategy shift:
1. Embracing "Polarizing Content" (aka Rage Bait)
The algorithm rewards reaction, not polite nods. We found that safe posts get scrolled past. To stop the scroll, you need to evoke a strong emotion immediately. We began utilizing polarizing hooks and topics relevant to the client's niche. We didn't aim to make people angry at the brand; we aimed to spark conversations in the comments section. High-arousal emotions signal to the platform that the content is worth showing to more people.
2. Prioritizing User Generated Content (UGC)
In 2026, people trust people more than they trust brands. Highly polished, studio-designed graphics often feel like ads, which our brains are trained to ignore. We shifted the content mix heavily toward UGC—real photos and videos taken by real customers. This lo-fi, authentic aesthetic feels native to the platform and builds immense social proof. It shows the community that "people like me shop here."
3. Jumping on Trends Instantly
Speed is a currency in social media. When a trending audio, meme format, or challenge takes off, you have a very short window to capitalize on the wave of visibility it creates. Instead of a rigid, month-long approval process for content, we implemented a rapid-response workflow. This allowed us to jump on relevant trends within hours, riding the algorithm's wave before it crashed.
4. Community Over Commerce
The biggest mistake businesses make is making every post about "buying." We flipped the script. We made 80% of our posts about highlighting the community, celebrating local faces, and sharing vibes, with only 20% focused on direct sales. Paradoxically, by selling less, we made the brand more valuable. We sold the feeling of being part of the community, not just the product.
Why It Worked: The Psychology Shift
The tactics above are powerful, but they only work because of a deeper philosophical shift in how we approached the account. We stopped trying to sell a location and started sparking emotion. Traditional marketing speaks at people; we started speaking with them. By trading safe corporate sales posts for raw, relatable, and opinionated content, we retrained the algorithm—and the audience—to stop scrolling and start participating. We turned passive followers into an active neighborhood.
Is Your Brand's Social Media Asleep?
Achieving a 1,959% growth in interactions doesn't happen by accident, and it doesn't happen by just "posting more consistently." It happens through a data-backed strategy that understands human psychology and platform algorithms.
If your business page feels stuck, it might be time for a wake-up call. We transform standard accounts into thriving community engines. If you're ready to move from dormant to dominant in the next 12 months, let's talk.
Floating with Pride: Chateau Ste. Michelle
As an LGBTQ-owned certified business we at Polite Society have strong ties to the community in Seattle and beyond. We have been fortunate to work with many clients over the years on their pride activations at various events, and help them build their brand presence in a meaningful and sensitive way.
Chateau Ste. Michelle is one such client that gave us the opportunity to activate for their pride sponsorship in 2022 at Volunteer Park. It was extremely successful and the wine giant approached us again in 2023 to do something even bigger and better as a presenting sponsor of the Seattle Pride Parade.
We set about devising a series of budget-friendly float concepts that would befit an iconic brand. We wanted to make a splash at the parade while also honoring Chateau Ste. Michelle's integrity and alliance with the community. The added complication was we only had about 6 weeks until the parade.
One design grabbed their attention and was given the green light. It was time for action!
The early phase was sketching out our idea and figuring out a creative fabrication method.
Building off the brand
Testing it out at mini scale
After a few test runs we put the concept to scale in 3D so we could capture dimensions and day-of logistics.
Sketchup skills came in handy for visualization purposes
Finally it was time to put all the pieces together and bring the float to life. We assembled the base of the float off site, built to spec for the trailer we rented. The bottle and champagne glasses were mounted onto the base so they could be easily removed following the parade. The "grapes" were assembled at our office using over 100 balloons in pride colors.
The big day had arrived. Moving the float was no simple task. We had to bring the mounted set from the Chateau in Woodinville into downtown Seattle and assemble the final pieces on site. And parade floats do not vibe with freeway speeds. Not to mention the champagne bottle was too tall for some tunnels and underpasses along the route, so we had to carefully chart a path that would get everything there safely.
Leaving the Chateau
At last we had arrived. We met the contingent and our float dancers downtown and dressed the float with the final pieces.
The parade was a wonderful experience and the brand was well represented to the crowd of 300,000 lining 4th Avenue. Chateau Ste. Michelle was extremely happy with the outcome. The float had come together to add to the magic of an unforgettable parade and gracefully celebrate the LGBTQ+ community.
Wild postering: an effective out of home strategy for sports marketing
The 2024 Winter Classic being played in Seattle’s T-Mobile Park between the Seattle Kraken and Las Vegas Golden Knights
Sports are a big deal.
There are nearly 200 professional sports teams in the US, and annually they account for $520 billion in revenue. Sports teams utilize a vast array of marketing tactics to reach fans, sell tickets, make announcements and more. Despite marketing trends in the digital sphere, teams and sports commissions continue to employ out of home marketing media to great success. Out of home marketing provides an authentic “edge” to traditional marketing efforts that responds to fan loyalty and brings audiences closer to the teams they love. It’s far from as passive as it seems.
Out of home successes
In Seattle alone, 2023 saw out of home campaigns by the Sounders FC, Kraken, Mariners, Ballard FC, the MLB All-Star Game and the NHL’s Winter Classic. These featured transit ads, billboards, and most importantly, wild postering. The public response was overwhelmingly positive on the street level, as people get caught up in the hype and energy of the posters, bringing a fresh anticipation of the upcoming big games.
But why did they use wild postering?
Wild postering is a successful tactic for high-traffic areas where billboards and other out of home media aren’t available or too expensive. Wild postering is cheaper and can reach more locations than other strategies. Sports teams can drive greater engagement through this medium and deliver more localized and personal messaging. There is more power for creativity with wild postering designs and layouts.
Women’s sports: on the rise
Today, women’s professional sports are undergoing a renaissance. The boom is largely due to new viewership deals and streaming offerings, new teams and leagues being formed, and an overall increase in awareness. As viewership and attendance surge, there is even more need to reach new audiences and maintain the growth nationwide. We believe that wild postering will be an invaluable addition to the marketing mix for these new teams, especially for some that don’t yet have the budgets for billboards or other more expensive media buys.
What do sports teams really need to market?
The possibilities are endless, really. We have worked on campaigns with messaging targeting many different goals, including:
Announcing a new season schedule
Season or single-game tickets going on sale
Upcoming rivalry matches or special exhibitions
New jersey or logo designs
Playoff or All-Star game hype
Highlighting specific players
And much, much more!
We love seeing different teams harness the creative power of wild postering in so many different ways. It really is a great way to bring a team’s identity on the streets and connect with fans (and make new ones!)
Consider how wild postering can help your team’s marketing needs next season!
Sézane: Promoting a new pop-up store all over town
Sézane is a prestigious French clothing brand with flagship stores in Paris and London. Recently they have expanded into the US market with temporary stores opening in Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
When they approached us about their upcoming Seattle store (open at University Village until January 2024!), we were excited for the opportunity to execute some creative activations for them to raise awareness. We started with a citywide wild postering campaign featuring bold poster designs highlighting the new store and the fashion line. Their plan was to ride the initial hype of the store opening for a few weeks and then conduct some strategic activations around the city to maintain interest in the store following the rush.
We developed a few concepts for activating locally in order to show off the clothing and tell people about the store location and hours. The idea that Sézane felt would best resonate and remain on-brand was a series of small events at various locations throughout the city. We would dress models in Sézane clothing and have them hand out branded flower bouquets and tote bags. We had flyers with information about the store for people to take as well.
The planning process was fairly simple, but required coordination. We ordered flowers and had them cut and dressed at the office. The models were fitted and made up to fit the style of the brand. We brought a cute cart to hold the flower arrangements and tote bags on site, as well as a branded tent featuring the poster designs as a backdrop. Then we hired a local band named Rouge to sing French standards as entertainment while the brand ambassadors would hand out the items.
The activations were a huge success. People raved about the clothing and many visitors said they had visited the store or knew of the brand already. All the flowers and bags were given away, much to the delight of the client.
Supporting Seattle Arts: Vera Project
Photo by: @poundingthenail August 24th, 2023
In our office, we know how important postering is for helping local venues and bands gain awareness. Personally my camera roll is filled with quick snapshots of posters that I pass by, hoping to catch a good show! That’s why Polite Society supports The Vera Project, and provides relief on the postering end. Founded in 2001, the Vera Project has ALOT going on, in the best way. They are best known for being a non-profit all ages venue, a rare find here in Seattle. Vera Project is constantly bringing great line ups including ZULU, Soul Glo, and Playytime from a recent lineup.
photo by: @hilden.chase September 11th, 2023
The Vera Project not only provides seattle’s youth with great shows, but also great opportunities. Vera provides classes accessible to all skill levels, ages, and identities, such as screen printing, sound & stage, and photo & video. These are an invaluable resources for budding artists looking to break in to the industry. The Vera Project is a dedicated, collaborative, community space centered around music & art, and is an amazing venue for self expression. Just recently, they opened Cafe Vera, a collab with Caffe Vita. Music, art, and great coffee in one place? We couldn’t ask for anything more!
Visit the Vera Project at their location in Seattle Center and show your support for local art and music. Vera’s community impact is an important part of the arts scene in Seattle and we are proud to continue to support this incredible organization!
