9 Simple Tips to Boost Your Instagram MarketingWith hundreds of millions of active users every month, Instagram is quickly becoming a dreamland for hungry marketers looking to promote…
With hundreds of millions of active users every month, Instagram is quickly becoming a dreamland for hungry marketers looking to promote their company’s message. However, a climate marked by extreme competition, standing out to consumers is exponentially difficult.
Instagram users are sick and tired of seeing the same spammy advertisements over and over. Instead, they want to engage with brands that are relatable, transparent, and real. The only way to reach users this way is to invest time and resources in building a differentiated, human-centric brand.
The best marketers are up for the challenge. Luckily, there are lots of tools and tricks that will help get you to where you want to be faster and more effectively than ever before.
1. Ask your audience questions.
Why do people use social media in the first place? The answer is often as simple as ego. Users want to feel important and like their voice is heard. The easiest way to make your customers feel special is to ask for their input. This can be as simple as posing a question to your audience and asking them to comment below.
Asking your followers a question will increase the engagement of your post and the number of comments you have. But if you invest the time in responding to comments, you will also deepen your relationship with each of your followers. That is priceless.
2. Have a clear call to action in your bio.
We’ve all seen brands that go overboard with emojis and links in their Instagram bios. This approach is often confusing for users and leaves a bad impression.
In cases like these, less tends to be more. Have one clear call to action that you want to get across when users visit your bio. Maybe you want to push people towards your shop or a new blog post. Regardless of what your objective is, have a plan and a goal attached to it.
3. Invest in understanding metrics.
Once you have your goal (which dictates what your brand’s presence will look like), it is crucial that you begin to dive into the metrics that will get you to where you want to be. You can start this process by understanding who your users are, where they are from, and the level of engagement you are currently getting from them.
You can use an Instagram analytics tool like Owlmetrics to get deep insight into many of these questions. From there, you will be able to better form experiments and measure progress on what works as well as what doesn’t.
4. Use Geotags.
An easy hack for boosting your Instagram presence is to use Geotags wherever you go. You’d be surprised by how many people search the local feeds for things to do or places to see. This strategy is an especially helpful trick for local businesses and restaurants aiming to increase their number of followers. Simply tag your location whenever you take a picture so that you will show up on the map!
5. Be consistent.
While it is possible, going viral on Instagram is no easy feat. Luckily, success is best defined by consistent posting and engagement levels over a really long period of time. It is easy to post daily for a week, or maybe a month. But the most popular brands on Instagram have been active consistently for years! As much as we’d like to believe it, rarely are there shortcuts to success.
6. Use more video.
Teens love videos. They are more engaging than traditional photos and far easier to consume than blocks of text. While videos may be expensive in the short run, more and more companies and influencers are taking advantage of this media form as it is taking over the world of social media. Here’s one tip: build content for Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat all at once and distribute the content across all three media. This will save you lots of time and money, and will help diversify your audience.
7. Do livestreams.
A few months ago, Instagram began making it easier for users on the platform to broadcast a live video to their audience. Live videos are an extremely immersive way to engage with your audience because they happen in real time. One of the most interesting types of live streams you can do is hosting a live question and answer session. Simply hit broadcast, and your viewers can ask you questions right in the feed. This is a low hanging method for building out unique content, which can all be repurposed, in a really short amount of time.
8. Hold contests.
Holding contests is another great method to make your audience feel important and special. It is also a tool you can use to grow your account; simply ask your followers to tag 3–5 friends in your post to qualify for your contest. This will help you get new followers and capture your audience’s attention. Plus, one of your followers will win something tangible that will connect them to your account!
9. Use Instagram Stories.
Instagram Stories have been blowing up as of late, quickly becoming a staple part of a user’s day. They are a great way for companies to give viewers a behind the scenes, authentic view of their team, office, and day-to-day workflow. Users appreciate this viewpoint, and it is a great method for gaining trust with your audience.
Originally published at www.huffingtonpost.com on September 25, 2017.
By jordangonen on September 25, 2017.
Exported from Medium on February 17, 2018.