Instagram is now owned by Facebook, so savvy marketers are trying to grow a loyal Instagram audience. With more than 700 million active monthly users as of April 2017, this is a place to see and be seen.
Having a larger Instagram following can mean more traffic for your site, subscribers for your email marketing list, and sales for your business. It is a great chance to build a community related to your target audience and position yourself as a leader in your niche.
As with any social network, there will always be rules of the road and tricks of the trade to help you get the most out of it as a marketing opportunity. Here are a few of the best ways to grow a loyal following.
1. Create a Detailed Profile
Take the time to create an attractive profile for your business, which will let potential followers know who you are and why they should bother paying attention to you.
2. Follow Others
See who the top people are in your niche and follow them.
3. Engage with Content Related to Your Niche
This shows you are not just a pushy marketer or mad spammer, but someone willing to participate fully in the network.
4. Use Hashtags and Create Your Own
Post pictures using existing hashtags that are trending, for more visibility. You can also create your own. For example, imagine you have a dog training site. Create a hashtag like #puppypeetraining and get people to post tips, products, and more. This also helps you keep your site up to date with user-generated content.
5. Set Up a Contest
There are ways to do this, but one would be to use your custom hashtag, as discussed above, and give prizes for the best posting. You could also ask them to repost one of your images and tag you in their caption. Pick a random winner.
6. Ask for Followers
At your site or blog, list all the places they can connect with you, including Instagram. Let your Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest followers know about your account as well.
7. Always Include a Call to Action (CTA)
Don’t just leave them to their own devices. Give them clear CTAs, such as “Like if you agree!” Ask them to tag their friends. Suggest they share your post if they find it useful.
8. Use Geotagging
This is a great way to connect with locals, so if you are running a bricks-and-mortar business, add your location to all your posts.
9. Track Your Successes
Analyze which posts seem to get the most engagement. Then create more like them, and repost them strategically. This is because your audience will be growing every day, so as more users start to see your content, you can offer them the very best, for even more likes and shares.
In particular, keep track of holiday-related content so you can reuse the best every year.
10. Team Up with Other Users
Consider ways of working together with top followers in your niche, such as offering guest posts or agreeing to share certain posts in exchange with each other.
Try these ten tips and see how much of an Instagram following you can develop.
