Businesses who use as a part of their marketing plan should understand that the goal of this social media platform for business is not who is most popular, but who provides relevant content to their followers. Instagram is one of the fastest-growing social media platforms on the market.
Best Strategies to Increase Instagram Engagement
When this social media platform first came on to the scene, you probably had very few followers, however, increasing the number of followers can increase your company revenue by driving traffic to your website or blog and building your brand visibility.
If you are like most people, you probably wonder how some people and businesses have thousands of followers on Instagram. Let's face it, why would anyone want to follow a person who posts photos of the clothing they wear every day.
Some of the reasons for this popularity are due to the person building up their brand outside of Instagram like popular Mommy bloggers. Others have become a celebrity within their niche or brand. If you are still looking for an Automatic Viral alternative, this guide will show you how to build a loyal following ethically and easily on Instagram.
1] Target Audience - Who They Are, Why They Are Interested in Your Business
The first thing you should determine is who is your target audience. Your target audience is your ideal customer who is interested in your company. Once you determine this, you will know the type of content you should include in your Instagram posts. We will dive into content later in this article.
For now, let's take a look at how you can follow my suggestions to grow your target audience. I am a business and health coach, so my followers expect to see content, video, tips, and articles on things related to improving their health like recipes, information on nutrition and holistic wellness.
I share glimpses into my personal life on my life as a mom and my fitness journey. In addition to this, I am an avid crafter and will occasionally share a DIY project to help add interest and personality into my social media posts. Anyone who enjoys these things is a part of my niche market.
This means those who are mothers, food lovers, crafty people, business minded folk, artists, fitness gurus, and nature lovers are all part of my target audience.
If you are reading this article, you are interested in cultivating your Instagram account into a successful business platform. The first thing you should determine is the type of client or customer aka followers that you want to connect with.
For example, if you are a professional photographer, you should concentrate on posting high-quality, interesting shots using your smartphone. You can include information on the professional equipment that you use when you are on the job in your bio.
Most Instagram posters find that they are more successful when they post snapshots of their day to day lives rather than just posting about their business. This technique allows followers to get to know you and helps personalize your company.
When you are posting content do it in an authentic way. Rather than filling your feed with dry technical information, share a glimpse into your personal life, share your story and add value that your followers will enjoy seeing. You want to captivate your audience rather than just fill their feed with information about your brand or products.
Why do you need more followers? Is it because your Instagram is empty and you want to increase your followers? Also Do you want to promote an upcoming seminar or webinar? Do you want to let your followers know when you post new blog content? Do you want to increase your exposure throughout your community?
These are all good reasons to increase your followers; however, your primary goal should be to build a community of followers that you engage with, share tips with, and support.
When you do this, your followers will support you in your endeavors. Small business entrepreneurs can increase their customer base by providing information that can help their customers rather than just filling their feed with sales pitches.
If you fill your feed with sales pitches and no information that can help your customers, you will quickly lose followers. However, if you show the real side of yourself, including the messiness of life, people will be attracted to your Instagram.
Followers want to connect with people who are real and vulnerable, not people who are fake and seem to have it all together.
2] Themes - Choose a Theme and Stay Focused
In order to have a successful Instagram, you must clearly define your theme and remain consistent in every post. If you want to showcase your abilities in photography, you should not be posting memes, photos of yourself partying with your friends or other's photography skills. Your target audience aka followers wants to see photos you have shot.
There are several differences that you should pay attention to when you are posting on Instagram. Your target audience wants to get to know the "real" you. If you are a photographer, you probably will not be posting a pic of your lunch or dinner every day unless you are a food photographer.
Instead, you should be posting photographs that you have snapped of amazing sunsets, interesting people, unique buildings, etc. When you post photos, you want to concentrate on photos that you would take in your day to day business.
What you post should be of interest to your industry. You should also include ideas to inspire, tips to improve your followers' lives, etc.
It is okay to occasionally offer a peek inside your company to help create personal relationships. Allowing others to see into your day to day life helps to build authenticity, credibility, and trust among your followers and yourself.
3] The Dos and Don'ts of Instagram
DO: Concentrate on using the same filters rather than filling your feed with all different filters. If a person views your Instagram for the first time, they want to be able to quickly discern what your business is all about.
You want your feed to look like a well thought out magazine not the classified section of a newspaper. Take an honest look at your Instagram. If there are photos on there that do not belong, delete them immediately.
DO: Determine a schedule and stick to it. Do you want to post daily or weekly? How many high-quality photos do you want to post each day or week? When you determine a schedule, stick to it. For example, I post different types of content daily to avoid inundating my followers with the same type of post day in and day out.
DON'T: Avoid posting photos that are blurry or poorly lit. You want to be creative and bold when setting up your composition. This is especially important if your niche is in photography.
I have a couple of photo apps that I use when posting on Instagram and Facebook (I will be sharing more information about these in Part 2, so stay tuned!).
When it comes to posting, less is more. Don't post one photograph after the other. Instead, space them out throughout the day/week. Instead of posting 10 shots, post 2 to 3 photographs that are truly awe-inspiring. Always concentrate on posting quality shots rather than filling your feed with low-quality photos.
* Pro Tip: Use the Explore Tab
Check out the Explore Page. Find the magnifying glass icon located at the bottom of your Instagram screen. This feed shows you the types of accounts that you are following and hashtags that you are using. This shows you the Instagram Algorithms that are working. Use this information to help improve your account.
Check out other people's accounts and featured content that is based on who you follow. It provides information on their followers as well. These followers may be your ideal customers/followers. It is then time to get to work and begin following these individuals as well.
Take some time to check out these profiles and the type of content that they are posting as well as the hashtags they are using. This can help you zone in on what works and will help you increase the number of people following you.
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