Are you making the most of your followers for Instagram? Instagram is the ultimate visual social media platform, known for wide reach, dedicated fans, and an ever-growing selection of features. Not only doesInstagram have over 1 billion worldwide users, but it’s also the location where followers are most likely to connect with brands and businesses.
50% of Instagram users follow a business on the platform, and many admit to using their account as inspiration whfdien looking for things to buy. Of course, just because Instagram is well-suited for engagement, doesn’t mean you’ll automatically engage the right followers.
If you’re not gettin results when you search for your @username on an Instagram engagement rate calculator, now could be the time to start shaking things up. Today, we’re going to be covering 6 engagement hacks you can try to gain more followers for Instagram.
6 Ways To Grow Your Instagram Following
1. Use An Organic Instagram Growth Service
One of the best ways to attract more engaged Instagram followers is to get help from the professionals. For many brands, the initial stages of building your brand on Instagram will be the most challenging. People are reluctant to follow companies without a lot of followers, and a low engagement rate means you may not show up as often on the Explore Page.
An Instagram growth service can be an excellent way to organically give your account the boost it needs. Crucially, however, not all Instagram growth solutions are the same. To avoid damaging your reputation, or even risking a ban from Instagram’s team, you’ll need to make sure that you buy Instagram followers from a growth service that uses engagement marketing to increase your follower count.
Engagement marketing involves interacting with potential customers who might be interested in following a company like yours. You can target specific audience members and focus your attention on attracting the right followers for Instagram, rather than putting your account in danger with spam tactics.
Because you’re focusing on the people who are more likely to be interested in your company, you also improve your chances of audience engagement, which can drive more customers to follow you in the long-term. An Instagram growth service can be an excellent way to organically give your account the boost it needs
2. Capitalize On Instagram Stories
Over the years, Instagram has released a variety of fantastic tools for users, from Instagram Reels (similar to TikTok videos), to IGTV for long-form videos. The most popular feature of all, however, is probably Instagram Stories. Stories are considered one of the most engaging and authentic ways to engage with your audience on Instagram.
There are around 500 million Instagram accounts using Stories every day, and the number continues to grow. Stories look and feel different from other forms of Instagram content, so they’re ideal for grabbing attention. Your followers also receive a notification when you publish a Story, as an extra nudge for them to engage with you.
When you’re posting Instagram Stories, you’re engaging with your audience in a more fast-paced, real-time manner. Stories only last for 24 hours, so they’re a great opportunity to get creative. You can consider asking your customers questions, or getting people excited about upcoming sales.
Some quick tips to keep in mind when using Stories to gain more followers for Instagram include:
· Share unique content with a focus on authenticity, like behind-the-scenes videos.
· Get involved with the temporary nature of Stories, with limited-time deals and sales.
· Experiment with Stories Stickers to add questions, poll, and other elements to your content.
· Save some of your best Stories snippets as highlights to fill out your Instagram profile.
· Run Instagram Stories Ads with the Instagram Ads Manager to boost your reach.
3. Collaborate With Another Brand
Sometimes, it’s who you know that matters on Instagram, more than what you know. When determining who they should be paying attention to online, users are more likely to pay attention to companies who already have the stamp of approval from another business or person they trust.
Working with influencers is an excellent way to generate some credibility for your brand, as Instagram is more likely to trust influencers than corporate names. Before including an influencer in your marketing campaign be sure that he/she is the right person for your brand. For finding the right influencer for your brand you can use influencer marketing platforms such as Humans, Grin, and Upfluence. These platforms offer features and filters that simplify the process of finding the right person who will correspond to all requirements. After the first month of working with influencers, it is important to check the KPIs to measure the marketing campaign results. The most important measures are brand awareness, engagement rate, website traffic, and ROI. All these will complete the whole image and give you the exact numbers. However, you can also generate excitement and engagement at the same time by collaborating with another brand.
Working with another brand means you get to increase your reach and connect with followers who may not be aware of your business. At the same time, the business you’re working with gets the same benefit from you. The key to success is finding the right brand to collaborate with. Ideally, you’ll want a company that’s relevant to your audience, but not a direct competitor. For instance, Lego and Levis collaborated on an Instagram strategy to get people talking about new customizable clothes.
You can ramp up engagement in a range of ways with a brand collaboration, including hosting competitions and contests where you and your partner brand can offer a fantastic brand prize. Working with another company will give you more budget to work with, so you’re more likely to get your audience excited.
4. Post At Peak Times
There’s more to boosting engagement in followers for Instagram than just being online at the right moments. However, it’s worth noting that recency is one of the factors Instagram uses to determine what content it should show users. If you’re posting at the same time your customers are likely to be online, they’re more likely to see your post instantly and engage with it.
The best time to post on Instagram can be a little tricky to figure out. While there are guides out there, they’re only a baseline. For instance, Sprout Social’s research found the best time to post for Engagement on Instagram was between 11am and 2pm CDT on a Tuesday.
Other studies indicate the best times for posting on Instagram are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, between 11am and 12pm – when people are taking their lunch break.
Of course, since every audience is different, the only way to know for certain when you should be posting is to find out when your customers are online. You can use your Instagram Insights to find out when your highest engagement levels usually are and start experimenting with your timing based on what you learn.
5. Use Hashtags Correctly
Ever since Twitter changed the social media world with the introduction of hashtags, they’ve become an essential component of social media marketing. Hashtags on Instagram aren’t just there to make your content stand out, they’re also a crucial part of how Instagram organizes content. If you want your customers to find your posts, they need the right hashtags.
Usually, the best way to use Instagram hashtags is to experiment with a range of different kinds of tags, such as:
· Trending hashtags: These are the phrases and words gaining the most attention on Instagram, like #Love and #TBT. Adding these to your Instagram post helps you to reach a wide audience, but these tags may not boost engagement alone.
· Niche hashtags: Niche hashtags are more focused on the specific followers on Instagram you most want to attract. You might use location tags, or long-form tags like #PugPuppies instead of just #Puppies.
· Branded hashtags: Branded hashtags are the tags you create yourself. These help to draw attention to your company and build recognition for your brand. You can also use them in competitions as a way of cultivating more user-generated content from your audience. Just ask your customer to share pictures using your tag for a chance to win something.
As you continue to experiment with your hashtags, keep a note of the ones most successful in ensuring engagement.
6. Closely Monitor Your Insights/Analytics
We already mentioned the importance of looking at your Instagram metrics briefly above when we were looking at the right time to post on Instagram. However, a really successful strategy for Instagram growth means constantly examining the information you have about your account and your target audience.
Start with your Instagram Insights page for some initial insights about where your customers come from, their demographics, engagement level, and how your follower count has increased over time. Your Instagram Insights will give you an idea of which kinds of posts generate the most engagement, too, by showing you the number of likes and comments on each image.
You can check on details like the gender of your audience, or how old they are, which might help you to make better decisions about how to plan your content in the future.
Once you’ve gleaned everything you can from Instagram’s built-in analytics, you can start to look at external third-party tools to help you. For instance, products like Crowdfire, Iconosquare, or Sprout Social can all give you more information about how to use your Instagram campaigns correctly. The more data you have, the better your marketing will become.
Engage More Followers On Instagram
Learning how to engage more followers for Instagram is rarely an overnight thing. The companies with the best results are the ones committed to constantly updating their strategy, learning about their target audience, and taking advantage of Instagram’s features.
The good news is with the tips above, you should be in a great position to start building your Instagram following and preparing for social media success.
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