If you use social media networks like Facebook and Twitter to build a customer base and market your business, then you should add Instagram also to your list. Instagram is a social media network that lets you communicate with your audiences through images using your smartphone. Just upload an image from your phone, select a filter to modify your image, and publish it on Instagram. So, are you interested in using Instagram for your businesses? If so, follow these top 10 Instagram marketing tips to increase the number of followers.
You must be thinking what makes Instagram such an important social media network? The reason is there are over 300 million active users every month. Also, engagement on this social media channel is 7 times higher than on Twitter and Facebook. And, as you cannot add clickable links to the posts and just in the profile section of your Instagram account, it is not flooded with marketing messages.
Not to say, the number of your Instagram followers does not mean anything if it does not signify an engaged fan following that visits your landing page, makes a purchase, and shares about your brands with friends and their followers. Start building your presence the right way with these top 10 Instagram marketing tips.
Top 10 Instagram Marketing Tips to Increase Followers
Customize your Instagram account- Before you start finding out ways to gain followers on Instagram, one of the most significant steps is to have a fully optimized Instagram account. Consider your brand’s Instagram bio as the “homepage” of your account.
Without image captions, an interesting bio, a profile image, or a username, how will your audience know that it is your brand’s account? It might be apparent, but on Instagram, your image and bio form the basis of your brand identity and creates brand awareness. Your bio link is the most important spot to drive traffic to your website, so optimizing your Instagram account is one of the important Instagram marketing tips.
If you are not sure where to link, try marketing or link product pages that are associated with specific keywords, campaigns, or hashtags on your account. Linking to your Insta homepage is correct- but why not offer users an experience to move to the site from your bio? It is one of the most useful Instagram marketing tips to follow.
Also, if possible, use a search-friendly username, which generally means sticking near to your real brand name. If you have a long business name, make it short that your customers can recognize it easily. Do not add special characters or numbers in your username, and if possible, try to keep it as same as your other social media handles.
Follow a steady content calendar- The worst thing that you can do while trying to attract followers on Instagram is to post random content at unplanned times. If you are fortunate enough to get followers in the beginning, you should not make them forget that they followed you. This is one of the Instagram marketing tips that you should not miss.
To deal with this situation, maintain a regular content posting schedule. Usually, brands should not post more than a few times in a day to avoid spamming. You should try to keep it consistent. Nearly 200 million users log in to Instagram daily, so to attract more and more followers, try to publish a few times throughout the day.
Following a fixed schedule is another one on the list of Instagram marketing tips. It will help you to build a consistent experience for your followers. But if you are thinking, how can you remember to publish at specific times of the day, then there are different social media tools for your rescue. You can just schedule your post and forget. The tool will automatically publish your Instagram at the selected time slot.
Improve the image quality- This is the most significant one among the top 10 Instagram marketing tips. As we know, Instagram is an image-based social media platform, it is important to focus on the quality of images. High-quality images can draw traffic, improve engagement, and increase the number of followers.
But low-quality images can have adverse effects. If you want to know about useful Instagram marketing tips, then you must say no to poor-quality images. They can drive people away from your profile. If you are thinking that you require expensive cameras for clicking photos for Instagram, then you are wrong. Your smartphone camera is enough if you have adequate light and know how to use the right filters and props.
Use creative captions- Though we have discussed the high-quality images for Instagram, it does not mean that we should ignore the power of words. Image captions are a great medium to engage with your customers. Captions narrate a story about your image. This way you can understand your reader’s emotions and provide them an interesting experience.
Schedule your Instagram posts in advance- Though the Instagram algorithm has changed to show users the content which they like, posting them at the right time is still one of the important Instagram Marketing tips as it improves the visibility of your posts by boosting the overall engagement.
There are a lot of things that a brand can do to improve visibility; scheduling the posts is one of them. It is always better to build your content in advance and with different scheduling tools, you can reach your target audience and keep a steady flow of content.
Follow people- It is another one on the list of useful Instagram marketing tips. Remember, the more people you follow, the more Instagram followers you will have as generally, people follow back. By following a few people every day, expect around 20 or 30% of them to follow you back, provided your Instagram account has something to follow!
Be safe from fake Instagram followers- There is a big difference between an Instagram account with fake followers and an account with genuine followers. Knowing the difference between the two is one of the most significant Instagram marketing tips you should always keep in mind.
You might think to buy Instagram followers, but the reaction outweighs the privileges of organic growth in the number of followers.
Use Instagram Stories- Do you know that through Instagram stories you can build a personal connection with the audience? As stories are more informal and have a short lifespan compared to the usual Instagram posts, it is ok to be less polished in your language and image quality. It is another one on the list of useful Instagram Marketing tips.
This can make your account seem more authentic and approachable, which is something that audiences love to see in brands.
Tell about your Instagram everywhere- How will people know about your account unless you promote it? Ensure that your Instagram account is listed with your site and various other social media networks. Creating awareness and visibility is one of the important ways to be found.
If you want more and more Instagram followers, let your audience know where they can find you. On your website, you can add social media buttons, publish blogs to promote social media shares across all the networks showing people where they can find you on Instagram.
Always use Call to Action- This is something that most people forget to do. Adding an interactive call-to-action (CTA) in the caption or the image plays a significant role. Call-to-actions inform audiences what action do you want them to take next. Like for example, if you want them to follow your profile, then it is important to make them understand that. If you do not ask, you will not be able to find out.
What are your plans to increase your Instagram followers?
Instagram continues to grow as a popular social media channel, so taking advantage of these Instagram marketing tips to increase the number of followers will help you get more and more followers. What strategy do you follow to increase the number of your Instagram followers? Please let us know in the comment section.