Instagram isn’t just for pictures of your dog and cat or the latest hangout–it’s for business, too. Utilize it to increase your follower count and reach your target audience on one of the largest social media platforms.
Any type of business comes to play on Instagram. After all, it’s the 7th most visited website in the world. Instagram can also be a free marketing tool to boost your business presence to a wider audience. What’s not to like, right?
Follow these tips and improve your brand’s visibility, gain paying customers, and grow on Instagram organically.
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1. Optimize your IG profile for SEO
There are hundreds of Instagram businesses similar to yours. How will you make yours stand out?
Search-friendly username
Optimize your Instagram through your username for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) purposes. Make sure that your username resonates with what your business is about.
For example: “@baileysbakery” or “baileysbakedgoods” works well because we know right away that it sells food or baked treats.
Optimized Instagram name
Next, work on your Instagram name located below your profile picture and above your Instagram bio. Use a keyword for your location to improve your local SEO.
Example: “Bailey | Winnipeg Baker”.
If your business is from your name, no one’s going to search “Bailey” and instantly find your business in the sea of Instagram users. While with the local keyword like “Winnipeg” + a keyword of what you do, you have a higher chance of appearing on search.
Edit your bio
Don’t forget your Instagram bio where you can explain what you do in less than 150 characters. Add keywords here or simply explain what your business does so viewers can see if your brand is relevant to what they need.
These tips can help you reach the Instagram Explore page easier. It may also enable your business to appear in the upper part of the Instagram search if someone wants to check out a business near them.
2. Use different content formats
It’s tempting to post without a caption or just add an emoji or two for a post. But that won’t work. No context = no engagement. And we want engagement from our followers.
Static images are good but go for something better. Mix things up with videos or GIFs from time to time. Here are some quick ways to improve your IG feed:
- Photos – Treat your Instagram account as a micro-blog where you share not only what you’re selling but also some behind the scenes and the people working for your brand.
- Story – 58% of users become more interested in a brand when they see their Instagram Stories. Use it for posting polls and questions to spark comments and engagement in your account.
- Reels – Create visually-appealing product videos. When it appears on someone’s explore page, they’ll definitely click it right away!
- IGTV – Don’t be shy to tell your brand’s story. Use this to educate your audience in a longer format or share with them why you started the brand.
- IG Live – Perfect for launching new products, chatting with your audience immediately, or showing what your brand is up to.
These formats give your audiences a choice on how they want to reach you: public comments or private messages. Don’t forget to reply!
This isn’t just an ordinary #business or #baking or # + the keyword for your business. Use different hashtags because there are millions of users using that one-word hashtag.
You’re merely adding a post to a million existing ones if you use the one-word hashtag. It will be hard to find your business through that and it’s a waste of space in your post.
You want to look for 2-3 word hashtags in this case. For instance, you can use #winnipegbakery or #winnipegbakedgoods may work with Bailey’s Bakery business.
Do your research for hashtags that have around 100k-500k or even below so it’s tailored to the users who care or need your business. Make sure not to overstuff your post with hashtags or it will look spammy.
Improve your audience engagement
Once there are comments, respond instantly so people know you’re there. Try out these things to ignite more engagement:
- Add a call to action to your post. It can be a question or simply asking them to save your post.
- Start a convo in your posts or join in others’ posts or ask a genuine question to your followers.
Asking nicely actually works sometimes. Plus, the algorithm on Instagram also notes your business as a brand that the user likes. This means you have better chances of appearing in their feed or explore page.
5. Don’t shy away from user-generated content
It’s like the good old word-of-mouth marketing – but online! Customers advocating your brand works wonders because real people who believe in your brand are sharing their experience with their peers.
One way to do this is to create a branded hashtag and then let people use it for products that they have purchased from you. You can even reshare their posts or stories in your account.
This can show potential clients that there’s a community that trusts your brand and are happy with what you offer.
6. Stay consistent
All of this effort can go to waste if you don’t have consistency. Commit to a schedule, post regularly, and plan so you won’t run out of content. It’s also necessary to be consistent with how you engage with your community.
Experiment first and once you have posted for a few weeks, check your account’s Instagram Analytics. It can show you when your audiences are most active. That way, scheduling future posts is not a guessing game anymore.
You can also create conversation in the comment section and you’ll know someone may respond.
Growing your Instagram organically isn’t a one-day activity. Everything about organic growth takes time and a regular schedule, so don’t be too hard on yourself when things don’t look successful overnight.
Try different things while starting. You’ll never know what works for your brand unless you try them. If it works – great! If it flunks, you’ll learn something that you should not try again.
Even if the growth can be slow, investing your time and grind in organic Instagram marketing is worth it as you genuinely connect with your audiences.
FAQs
To increase the discoverability of your posts and get them in front of your target audience, you need to add a few tricks up your sleeve. These tips will help you get more likes and comments on your posts while simultaneously keeping new followers coming in. Here’s how you can pin a comment on Instagram and get more engagement on your posts.
In this guide, we will explore how to use Hashtags effectively – how they came into trend, why they’re so important, and how to use them effectively on two primary social media platforms- Twitter and Instagram.
Using the IG mobile app, you need to make sure that your account is a business or creator account first. After that, visit your profile then tap “Insights”.
Click the metrics under the Overview section. If you want a more detailed view, click the content you shared to check the breakdown.
