One in every seven people on earth uses Instagram.
Instagram is, no doubt, among the leading social media platforms.
Whether you're just getting started or looking to increase your current Instagram followers, we've put together effective tactics that can guide you to better results and get famous on Instagram.
1) Quantity Matters
Instagram is all about exposure and reaching out to people when they are online. There are several times of day that vary depending on the location and lifestyle of your target audience that will get the most views you get. This equals positive interactions, likes, and followers.
Best practices guides and recent studies suggest posting once a day minimum on Instagram but many can post more than ten times a day without seeing a decrease in engagement.
If you have a deep well of content to share, the more you post directly relates to your number of likes and follows. When the sky's the limit, your best strategy is to set a pace that works for your content inflow.
Calculate how quickly you get or create Instagram-ready content and how often you're willing to re-post the same content.
2) Build Multiple Stories
You've probably heard about Instagram Stories. If not, they're exactly like Snapchat Stories. They are special collections of content that disappear after 24 hours. Here's a great summary of how stories work.
Story posts are more powerful and appear at the top of several UI elements when you post something new. They are highlighted for followers, appear on hashtag and location feeds, and in searches.
And the best part is that you can build multiple stories at once. By targeting story collections and hiding stories from audience members who are outside the targeting, you can customize who sees the content you highlight.
Because as we all know, not every customer wants the same thing. Some want daily coupon codes, some want your funny social video updates, and some only want thought-leadership industry content.
Multiple stories allow you to curate what you streamline to your followers. Build a unique story for each of your customer personas and create an appealing experience for each of them.
This is a great way to ensure that you don't accidentally 'spam' one person with content targeted for somebody else.
3) Post Everything to a Story
Stories are not only great for targeted marketing, they can increase the visibility of any content. Your general announcements, public events, and any marketing campaign can have its own story or you can create a central-column story for most of your brand content.
Every time something happens, post it to the correct story or a new story and curate who will see it. Use a combination of topic and location hashtags to boost visibility across the platform and then get ready to repeat the process.
Instagram rewards a high level of activity and highlighting your best content through curated stories.
4) Clever Hashtags
When most people hear about hashtags, they think Twitter but this popular feature has popped up on many different platforms since the blue bird got everyone used to it.
Instagram hashtags can spread your content far and wide if you know how to target them. Look for ways to cleverly connect your content to hot hashtag topics in a way that will make people laugh and want to share.
The trick is not using too many hashtags in an attempt to be seen. Hashtag soup at the end of a post is not ideal but is sometimes effective.
You should also think carefully about hashtags when you create them. Original hashtags are the best way to get your audience involved with the Instagram campaign and to generate a great deal of user-created content.
However, what your hashtag it will matter. Catchy, concise, and original are your primary goals. You want to create hashtags that stick in the mind and are easy to type.
Spread the word with vivid visuals that will come to mind when people get involved with and share through your hashtag.
5) Keep it Current
Instagram and its online community are in the moment and old concepts have no place in the fast-paced stream of content. The most powerful posts have been those that are interesting and current, that easily relate to issues that are going on or are being discussed today.
In many cases, new viewers will come from people who are looking for content related to their current interests which is why they perform searches and check out content from new accounts.
Your best bet for optimizing Instagram results is to post on the latest events and trends. On the flip-side of this, it's also important to stay away from 'annoying' or too-obvious conversation starters like current politics and other divisive issues.
The populace is very sensitive to click-bait tactics that are empty attempts to stir the air or seem current when they're not.
6) Stay Away From "Edgy"
Along the same lines, be very careful about how 'hip' your brand tries to be on Instagram. This is a platform where a little humor can go a very long way but being false can annoy your audience very quickly.
Don't try to be too "Edgy*. This works only for real misanthropes and not for marketers trying to connect. Studies have found that the public doesn't like content that comes across as complaining or even chatspeak from corporate sources.
While it may be tempting to be cool, only do so honestly. The more natural your campaign is to the personalities involved, the better it will come across. Keep in mind the style of the brand and, in general, keep it positive.
7) Put On a Show for Primetime(s)
Instagram gets the best results when you have a lot of people actively online to see your shared content and story updates. This means the timing of your posts can matter a great deal. Many different reliable sources have come up with different results with each attempt to pin down the ideal time of day to post.
The fact of the matter is that its more about your audience's lifestyle patterns than a magical time of day. That said, you can get a lot of extra views by putting out your best content during hot times of the day.
How your target audience lives their lives will determine when they check in on their Instagram feeds, not to mention your time zone and theirs. For this reason, there's no perfect time to post.
But to optimize your results, consider these general times:
- before work/school
- lunch
- after school
- after work
8) Tag Your Location
While Google Maps is the predominant program, people can and do use Instagram to search for local businesses and things to do. This makes location stickers an incredibly important part of your marketing campaign for all but the most digital companies.
Whether you have a brick-and-mortar venue you'd like to invite people to visit or local events ready for enthusiastic customers, using a location tag can help you connect with people looking for somewhere to go.
Of course, you don't have to limit your location sticker usage just to bring people to you. Location stickers can also be used to celebrate local business.
For people who care about supporting the community or even other businesses looking to build a business network, location stickers used in combination with story content boost your post to the top of location-based searches.
And, don't forget you can also add new locations to Instagram for other people to connect to. If your venue isn't available as a location sticker, put it on the Instagram map by making a new location.
9) Re-Post User-Generated Content
One of the biggest challenges of Instagram marketing is fueling the constant need to post new content. Posting multiple times a day is a great way to get many eyes on your content but keeping your images, videos, and messages fresh can be difficult.
The solution to this is also something that the Instagram audience is very enthusiastic about user-generated content. Encouraging users to share pictures of themselves, their products, and their adventures is a great way to get a lot of free interesting activity fodder.
The best way to do this is to create a new hashtag and invite your audience to share something special or fun about themselves in the form of an Instagram post with your hashtag.
Then you re-post their picture while thanking them. Instagram users love to see each other's original content and are more likely to engage themselves when they see that you post user-generated content.
10) Host Contests and Sweepstakes
Finally, look for fun ways to host contests and other big group activities. Not only are these a great for inspiring a lot of user-generated content, they also give you a great reason to create a long series of story-worthy news.
Reminding people about the contest, encouraging them to create entries, and building suspense for the final decision/drawing are all great ways to generate buzz on your Instagram account.
11) Square Images are Your Best Bed
There is a great deal of debate about the best sizes and ratios for Instagram but in general, it's best to stick with square images which are very easy to arrange in UI and are unlikely to be clipped by thumbnails.
While your images may vary in size (or not) if you shoot them square, it will be much easier to trim them into a final square image.
Being square makes them easier to adapt to all mobile devices and ensures that they will most likely not be distorted.
12) Interactive Sharing with Partners
One of the best ways to create a positive activity with your Instagram posts is to share content from other feeds and have your content shared. This keeps your content lively and varied beyond even the creativity of your social media management team and shows that your brand isn't entirely self-focused.
A great technique to get this started and keep it going after you've built an audience is to partner up with other businesses and organizations to share each other's images and content.
You can also build a stronger relationship with your audience by partnering with a few of your star members and sharing content they have posted when its fun, entertaining, and in line with your message.
13. Use Trending Hashtags to Your Benefit
Hashtags are the modern way of tracking topical conversations across incredibly large online communities. Through hashtags, people can discuss recent events, popular topics, and share their ideas on the latest trends.
When people are interested in a discussion, they will often track a few active hashtags and you can gain visibility by joining these discussions with cleverly designed images.
Find hashtags that are relevant to your business or are connected to causes you care about. Show your support for public movements, add your jokes to a wave of trending jokes, or simply share your opinion on a hot news story.
14)Links and CTAs Create Real Conversions
Many companies struggle with the transition from getting the public's attention and turning that into clicks and sales. Part of this key interaction is providing your social media community with a place to go.
Include links in your Instagram posts connected to landing sites and don't forget the occasional call to action (CTA). These are often best delivered as overlay captions on amusing, adorable, and eye-catching images rather than as text under your latest image post.
Integrate your CTA into a fun message that continues to delight your readers and they'll be more inclined to follow.
15)Share User-Created Content
We mentioned that interaction and cross-sharing is a great way to create activity and that's not just true when you coordinate. Find user content you like on the platform and share it.
At first, it will be easier to find fresh content outside your established online community and sharing the fun content of strangers is a great way to get their attention. If someone in your online community creates a great image, share it and post your congratulations on a nice composition.
This can get your community involved, bring in new people, and mix up your feed.
Get Famous on Instagram
Marketing through Instagram is a fast-paced experience and one that you can master with practice and a good content-machine.
Don't be shy to reuse your assets from one platform to another and look for ways to get famous on Instagram
For more tips on Instagram marketing and how we operate, contact us today!