Using Instagram as a business can be huge for reaching new customers and connecting with your current customers, especially if you have a product or service that easily lends itself to taking beautiful photos. However, many businesses just aren’t sure how to promote themselves on this social platform. Luckily for them, there are plenty of ways in which you can build a stronger, more loyal Instagram following without having to run sponsored ads or waiting years for your numbers to explode. Here are three ways your business can naturally find more success using Instagram in 2016.
In order to have commercial success on Instagram, you have to think like a marketer while also thinking like a consumer. Overt marketing ploys won’t garnish you very many loyal followers, but you have to be able to target and communicate with specific groups of people to get any traction. For this reason, Jenn Herman of Social Media Examiner gives businesses 5 ways to improve Instagram marketing without alienating your audience. Some of these tactics include using links on your profile page, overlaying text onto your images to get clear points across, using 10 to 15 hashtags per post and more. By employing these subtle marketing strategies, you will see big movement in your follower numbers.
Because Instagram is solely for photo and video sharing, a major importance is placed on the quality of the posts you share. Not only this, but you must have a consistent sharing strategy in order to get any traction with your audience.
According to a report shared by Rachel Gillett, a contributor to FastCompany, companies that share luxurious images relating to their brand can see major growth in their Instagram follower base by sharing 5.5 times per week. But in order to hit this magic number, you have to have amassed the amount of content necessary to make each one of these posts a quality post. So whether you’re sharing content about purchasing designer handbags or acquiring an online medical education, accumulating a store of images that are a quality representation of your brand is a must. If you’re able to post quality content 5.5 times a week, you should see a natural increase in the amount of followers you have as well as their loyalty to your brand.
To truly bolster your company’s Instagram presence, you have to be committed to building your own community, and the best way to do this is by engaging with your followers. While this form of outreach does require more time and energy than simply posting on Instagram and waiting for the numbers to rise, you will see a faster, steadier increase by actively engaging with your community.
In an infographic created by Salesforce Canada, it’s stated that four of the best ways to engage with your Instagram community are to follow your followers, provide incentives, repost quality user-generated content, and comment on other’s posts. By using these tactics, you can create an even larger following that will help immensely in making your presence felt on Instagram.
Using the tips mentioned above and executing them effectively will help make your time and effort spent on Instagram more worth your company’s while. Consider how you can employ these strategies next year to have even more success than you’re currently seeing.