Social networks have become an absolute must-have for doing successful online promotion and Instagram is certainly on that list. With one billion users in total, 500 million daily active users and 4.2 billion likes per day, that doesn’t surprise at all. But, how to get more Instagram followers and increase your brand awareness?
By using the following advice, very simply. Your Instagram audience is already out there, and you just have to know how to reach it.
Step #1: Define Your Instagram Strategy
With so many active users, daily posts, and stories, running an Instagram account seems very easy. Still, having a business Instagram account requires much more effort. So, to set things right from the start, first of all, you need to define your Instagram strategy. Because doing any promotion without a plan leads to low ROI, and the same rule goes for social networks.
Your Instagram strategy needs to be in line with other marketing goals and overall business strategy. Secondly, set the results you expect from Instagram campaigns. Boosting sales, driving web traffic, or increasing brand awareness can all be on this list.
Once you’ve set an Instagram strategy and the expected results, define your target audience. The easiest way to do that is to answer a few simple questions like; what is their age, place of living, and occupation, or how often they use Instagram?
The next step in developing a successful Instagram strategy is to create a consistent brand story. Keep in mind that all your posts have to be in line with it, so the Instagram followers could quickly recognize your brand every time they see an interesting post.
Also, be aware that a great bio and profile make the backbone of your Instagram project. Keep them interesting, clear, concise, and convincible, because you are aiming at new views and clicks.
Step #2: Create and Post Engaging Content
Once you have set the groundwork, it’s time to learn about creating and sharing some great Instagram content. According to 2019 data, Instagram users upload more than 100 million photos and videos daily, which means that becoming noticeable can be quite challenging. Still, if you want to get more Instagram followers, this advice will help.
To increase your Instagram audience and get new likes, shares, and comments, you need to create engaging, informative, and entertaining posts. So, keep the visuals and captions fun and exciting. Don’t forget to use relevant hashtags. They will make your stories and posts discoverable for people searching content related to your products, brand, or industry. You can always search for popular hashtags on Instagram. Still, it’s advisable to create your hashtags, as well. That way, you’ll motivate your audience to share related content.
Sure, Instagram is a visual platform, but post captions have a significant role in boosting reach and engagement. To get more Instagram followers, create interesting user-friendly captions that speak directly to your target. You can start with a question that makes it easier to leave a comment. If the visual speaks for itself, keep the caption short. Also, try emoji. The Instagram audience loves them, and don’t worry; they won’t make you look unprofessional.
To keep in touch with your audience, you need to post consistently. So, try posting at least a few times a week for a start, and keep in mind that posting at the right time is critical. Therefore, start testing different times and measure the results. That way, you’ll be able to determine the best time to post for your brand.
Also, start using Instagram stories. Maybe you didn’t know this, but almost half of the most-viewed Stories are actually from businesses.
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Step #3: Make Your Account Visible Outside Instagram
If you are setting your new Instagram business account, one of the essential tips to get more Instagram followers is to make it visible outside this social media platform.
First of all, use Instagram nametag on all other offline marketing materials like product packaging, for example. This scannable code allows Instagram users to follow your account quickly. Actually, all offline and online communication tools bring an opportunity to point people to your Instagram account. Place the links to your Instagram account, in your e-mail signature, on your website, and in the newsletter.
If you already have built an audience on other social media networks like Facebook or LinkedIn, use them as well. Share a link to your new Instagram account on all available social media channels, and make it easy for people to find you.
Another great way to reach people and introduce your new Instagram account is to use a nametag feature. That way, you enable others to scan your code and follow your account without even typing your username.
Step #4: Use Tags to Get More Instagram Followers
There are different ways to use Instagram tags to reach your audience. You can tag relevant users by using Instagram’s tagging feature, or with an @-mention in your captions. That way, you will encourage specific people to engage and share the post.
Another way to easily share the content and get significant reach is by tagging on Instagram Stories. Also, try to occasionally encourage the followers to tag their friends in the comments. It`s an easy and effective way to reach a larger Instagram audience.
Besides tagging the users, you can tag your location, as well. So, when to add a location tag? If you want people to find your Instagram posts easily, add a location tag every time there is a precise location element in your Story or post. Adding location tags is also an excellent strategy to expose your Instagram account to highly targeted potential followers. Therefore, keep this in mind when posting from an event or conference.
Step #5: Engage and Interact
The last step in boosting your Instagram audience and increasing brand awareness through this social media platform is to engage and interact with existing communities. To reach people and get new followers, you need to like, comment and share content from other reliable users in your community. But how does it work? Well, when someone sees your comment, it’s more likely he or she will check out your profile to return the favor.
Besides, interacting with your content can be seen in the person’s Activity tab, which is an excellent way to become noticeable among a new audience. More engagement means more chances of making it to the Instagram Explore tab.
You can also run a contest to get more followers, so feel free to ask people to follow, comment on your content, or tag a friend. Another way to increase exposure in contests is to find a contest partner on another Instagram account, which is a win-win situation for both sides.
Finally, to get more Instagram followers, you should also look up for feature Instagram accounts related to your niche or hashtags. A feature Instagram account reshares other’s content based on related tags or hashtags, and some of them have a broad audience and a significant number of followers.
Reduce Marketing Costs with Instagram Branding
Instagram makes it easy to discover new markets and reach a new audience. Also, Instagram ads are non-intrusive and less likely to annoy your followers. But most importantly, they can cost you only your time and effort, which makes them great for reducing marketing costs.
So, simply follow our advice, and you will quickly discover all the Instagram benefits for building brand awareness and reaching new customers.
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