Since its inception, Instagram has been a popular platform for users all around the world. In fact, about 95 million photos and videos are posted on it per day as per Reuters. From sharing photos and videos on a curated feed to posting fleeting moments through short stories, it’s a great social media app for digital and content-savvy individuals. Aside from this, businesses have also reaped the benefits of using the platform for their social media advertising through the use of Instagram Business. Using it has a lot of advantages to your brand such as being visually appealing, engaging, and fun to execute.
Still, being able to create great Instagram content is only half the battle. Your brand must also gain a wide audience for them to see and engage in what you post. Here’s how:
You’ve probably seen certain brands and even some influencers make use of hashtags in their posts. Though it may seem quite obnoxious, these are actually a great way to gain followers on your business account. You can look through the most popular hashtags on Instagram to check which ones have the most number of people visiting it. At the same time, you need to make use of popular hashtags that are also tailored to your brand. Just using random popular hashtags without taking into account if it works for your posts will not result in better engagement in the future.
Influencers
As per an article from Forbes, “influencers are the new brands.” This means that these Instagram celebrities have the power to convince people to buy certain products or avail certain services. With this, it’s recommended for brands to partner with the right influencers to increase more people checking out your page. Even the smallest accounts still have a reasonable following that will eat up what their favorite celebrities buy and consume. Take advantage of that, and you’ll see a significant increase in your Instagram community.
Contests and giveaways
Sometimes, the best way to get more followers is to hold contests and giveaways for your followers. The common ones involve commenting on the contest post and tagging a certain number of friends to be eligible. Doing this exposes your brand to potential followers and fans of the products you offer. You can even include liking your page as a mechanic of the contest so that whoever joins needs to be following your account before they’re fit to participate.
Stories and IGTV
One mistake most brands make when they handle their Instagram account is not taking advantage of the stories and Instagram TV (or IGTV for short). Stories are a great way to show updates without spamming or breaking the pattern of your curated feed. It also gives a sense of exclusivity, as it’s only available for 24 hours and cannot be viewed after (unless you put it on your highlights). IGTV on the other hand are good for long-form types of content and for mini series your fans can find on your page. Don’t miss out on using these features as only posting pictures on your feed can seem quite repetitive.
Consistency
In social media management, consistency is key. This is applicable in all aspects, from the brand voice to the aesthetic to even the posting frequency. Ever see a feed that’s so curated and perfect? That’s the kind of feed you need to achieve for people to follow you. Aside from that, even your posting times should be consistent, as irregular posting can be quite counterproductive to your goal of gaining a bigger following.
As much fun as Instagram can be, gaining significant traction on it can be hard work, let alone getting a huge number of followers, You have to plan and apply an effective strategy to ensure that you don’t just get said followers, but also the right ones who will give you engagements, participation, and, most of all, sales and business.
