Social media is now more important than ever for your business and it’s something you should be using as part of your online marketing efforts.
In today’s post I’ll be talking about the thriving social media platform Instagram. No doubt you are familiar with the usual social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter but Instagram is growing fast. It’s growing so fast that it’s about time you started paying attention to it so you can learn how to use Instagram to market your business.
Maybe you are a complete newbie when it comes to Instagram. Maybe you have an account already but have no idea how to use it to get more followers. It can all seem confusing at times but here I will show you that gathering an Instagram following is actually simple if you follow some simple steps.
Here are 10 simple Instagram tips that you can start using immediately to get more Instagram followers.
1. Sharing Images That People Can Relate To
We are all human and all humans want to feel a sense of connection. Have you ever wondered what is a commonality with all of the most popular Instagram accounts?
That commonality is connection and being able to relate to the photos, and users. All of the most popular Instagram accounts share images that the everyday person like you and me can connect and relate to. What this does is allow your followers to experience one of the most basic human needs. If you can satisfy this need then people are going to be drawn to your account, thus you’ll get more followers.
Bottom line is to share images with people that allow for a connection. Share images that show you’re a real person, that are unique and original. Let people see who you are through your photos and the right followers will be naturally drawn to you.
Do this and you’ll connect with your followers and grow your account.
2. Posting At The Right Time
Posting at the right time is extremely important. People tend to use social media at particular times and this is something you need to consider before posting. If the bulk of your audience is in a different time zone to you, then post in that part of the time zone when they will be online.
Typically, people tend to use Instagram the most first thing in the morning, after work, during lunch, on Sundays. Try to post at the times when the most people are going to be logged on.
There is no point otherwise because your image will only last in the news feed for a few hours so posting at the right time is extremely important. It could be the difference between a lot of people seeing your image and sharing it, and people not seeing it at all.
Ultimately, find out the time zone where the bulk of your audience lives and try to find out their demographics. Then post in the relevant time periods. Do this and you’ll go a long way towards optimising your interactions on Instagram.
3. Use Popular and Relevant Hashtags
Using popular and relevant hashtags will generate more interaction from your followers. The trending hashtags are the ones that are going to give you the most visibility and chances for interaction so find out the popular hashtags that are relevant to your industry and start posting one to three hashtags per photo. This will give you the best chance of increasing your interactions but be careful to not go overboard with the hashtags because it will be seen as spammy.
Now you are probably wondering how you can find the most popular and relevant hashtags for your industry and that is simple. All you need to do is do a Google search or use Webstagram and you’ll see which hashtags are used to organise photos.
4. Following Others
Like all of the social media platforms, if you want people to follow you then you’re going to have to follow them. You can’t just upload some pictures and think that you’ll score a thousand followers overnight. You need to be active consistently and follow other people who share your interests. Follow them and share their content, like their content and comment on it.
You can’t expect to gain a thriving Instagram following unless you make an effort to be active. The best thing you can do is follow the influencers in your market and be active in sharing their work, liking their work, etc. This will get you noticed by them and it’s a small thing you can do to establish a relationship with them.
The rule here is simple. The more you are active then the more followers you will get from the exposure.
5. Host Contests
Hosting contests is one of the most effective ways that you can gain followers and boost engagement. This is easy to do on Instagram by using the tool called Statigram.
This allows you to create a contest in no time at all that will have you attracting new followers and boosting those all important interactions. It’s simple. All you need to do is upload a photo and add captions to inform people that you’re holding a contest. It’s important to make sure that you use the hashtag #contest as well so that it’s easy to find and make sure to share the contest on your other social media sites.
6. Complete Your Bio
You need to make sure you have a complete bio. You want people who come across your account to follow you and take an interest in you. If you don’t have a complete bio then there is fat chance of that happening. People need to know who you are so they can then decide whether or not to follow you. Make sure your bio features a call-to-action, branded hashtags and Web links.
Don’t be spammy when completing your bio though. Be genuine and authentic so that people can actually get a real feel for who you are and what you are about. Make sure that you update this section when necessary and you could even mention in your bio when you are running a contest.
7. Ask Questions in Photo Captions
Asking a question in the photos caption is one of the most powerful ways to get more likes on your photo. What this can do is increase both likes and comments and, like everything on Instagram (and social media in general), engagement is the best way to increase followers on Instagram.
8. Remember Why You Are On Instagram And The Importance Of Having A Call To Action
If you are a newbie to Instagram then you need to take a step back and remember why you joined Instagram in the first place. The last thing you want to be doing is posting all sorts of photos in some enthusiastic rage in an attempt to get more followers. Instead, you need to take a step back and take some more concerted action.
You need to think about what goals you have in mind from using Instagram and then use those goals to direct the kind of content you post. It’s important to keep your goals in mind because otherwise you will end up targeting the wrong audience. What you want to be doing is attracting new followers who are interested in your niche and increasing engagement from those followers.
So, ask yourself, “What do I want to achieve by being on Instagram?”Another solid tactic you can use to increase engagement is the simple but powerful call-to-action. By telling your followers what you want via the call-to-action you are increasing the amount of engagement you will get on each post. This creates more exposure and more chances of gaining new followers.
9. Post Frequently But Not Too Much
In order for Instagram (and any social media for that matter) to work effectively for you, you need to be consistent with your activity. Consistently posting photos is the best way to retain and gain the interest of new followers. However, you don’t want to overdo it. Posting a few photos per day is fine. Don’t post hundreds in the space of a week, spread them out over the month otherwise you’ll end up annoying your followers and they’ll unfollow you.
10. Using Filters and Apps
Instagram became hugely popular because of filters. Instagram Filters enabled users to personalise their images so that you could make them more original and captivating. What this did was allow for people to relate and connect with other users on Instagram and, the more people can relate to and like something, the more likely they are to share it.
You can also make the most of the photo editing apps that you can use to really brush up your photos before you share them.
In Conclusion
Overall, Instagram can be a great social media marketing tool that you can use to help spread the word about your business. In a world where there is so much marketing noise you need to be using all available platforms to help grow your business. Gathering a following on Instagram is easier than you realise and hopefully, after reading this post, you’ll have a good idea about how you can use Instagram to boost your businesses profile online.
What results have you gained from following these Instagram tips?
Christian Michaels
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