10 Instagram Strategies for Growth
- HASHTAGS
Used thoughtfully, hashtags can generate at least 12% more engagement than posts without them and is a leading factor in new account discovery. Niche hashtags are especially important as they return a smaller search volume so your posts don’t get buried. Best practice for hashtags is to add them as your first comment.
TIPS:
- Analyse your top competitors, what hashtags do they use?
- Develop a list of flexible hashtags that you can use for majority of your posts (10-20)
- Ensure you have variation: brand specific, niche, location based, product specific
- Understand your target audience
- STORIES
This is the most popular aspect of Instagram and when used frequently can be a significant growth mechanise, with over 500 million users active on IG stories daily. Stories open up an organic line of dialogue between you and your audience, creating connectivity and closeness.
As a distraction free medium (occupies the entire screen unlike feed images) you capture the full attention of your followers.
TIPS:
- Utilise swipe up feature (10k+) or use link in bio
- Shoppable stickers for business acc
- Save to highlights (can always access and educate new followers) utilise as a FAQ, about me etc
- Run an Insta stories takeover to reach a new demographic
- POLLS
This facet of stories is a powerful tool in its own right, and a hugely effective tool for increasing engagement and interacting with audiences. This is mportant as accounts users interact with the most will be brought to the front of the stories queue
TIPS:
- Crowdsource for future content/projects (ask your audience what they want to see)
- Play trivia to keep your followers in the know
- Survey/ask for feedback on products and in doing so build brand loyalty
- Create hype! Tease upcoming projects and gauge preferences at the same time
- REELS
Post. more. reels. Right now this is the fastest growth tool on the platform and by consistently posting reels, Instagram will prioritise your content. This is a great way to reach the explore page.
TIPS:
- insert a cover page at the beginning of your reels to maintain your feed
- Try to post weekly (multiple times if you can)
- Content ideas:
> BTS of your day/business (your team, operations, things gone wrong)
> teach a new skill (social media/business hacks, tutorials, recipes)
> incorporate tiktok trends (know whats popular!)
- Use reels insights
- LIVE
At the start of quarantine (feb-march 2020) use of the live feature increased 70%, and we don’t expect this growth to slow. Lives provide you with an opportunity for unfiltered human connection and increase your visibility as each time you go live your followers will receive a notification, and your live will be bumped to the front of the stories queue
TIPS:
- There are no re-takes when you’re live, so go in with a clear idea of what you want to say and connect with you audience in the most direct and authentic way with real time Q&A
- Promote when you will be going live on stories/feed beforehand to maximise numbers tuning in
- INFLUENCER MARKETING
Predicted to be a 15 billion dollar industry by 2022, now is the time to start looking for potential partners and creating influencer strategies. Conversion rates and ROI from influencer marketing is at its highest, meaning those who work with influencers are selling more and reaching new customers. You don’t need huge marketing budget to achieve influencer marketing, don’t underestimate the power of micro influencers, they often have the highest rates of engagement (avg 7%) providing great ROI and cost effectiveness.
- TIMING
Study your Instagram analytics to find out when your audience is most active and engaged on the platform and take advantage of this information. Because Instragram prioritises feed posts based on the attention they receive, you want to connect with your followers in real time.
TIPS:
- Test new posting times with less important content to make sure your important announcements are received
- Consider the location of your primary audience and local times!
- Schedule posts so you don’t have to make yourself available for posting at set times each day
- ANALYTICS
These are essentially your cheat sheet for running your Instagram and planning content. Business profiles have access to a range of analytics which are built into the instagram app, or you can access further insights through subscription based apps such as planoly. These allow you to understand who your content is reaching, when they are accessing it and what strategies are seeing the best results in terms of engagement .
TIPS:
- There is power in information and even more so in analysing and implementing it
- Listen to what your audience is telling you through their behaviours and adapt
- ALGORITHM
It seems that Instagram is frequently changing it’s algorithm and therefore altering how content is delivered, and what our audiences sees. Understanding the algorithm and how to prioritise your content ensures that your posts will continue to be visible to your audience
TIPS:
- Instagram highly favours users that adopt all of it’s features, this means posting reels, guides, lives, and IGTV as well as engaging stories and grid posts
- Consistency and engagement are crucial in getting your content recognised
- Check in regularly with analytics to ensure your posts are maintaining visibility
- AUTHENTICITY
Now more than ever, Instagram as a business platform is highly saturated and competitive - but there is room for everyone, you just need something of value to offer your followers To remain authentic, engaging and relevant you need to:
- genuinely engage with your followers
- Let your personality shine through
- Form strong partnerships
- Cater content to your audience
- Know your strengths
Nikki X
