If you have an Instagram account you’re already off to a good start, but if you’re not optimizing it to the best of your ability then you’re missing out on some big traffic numbers.
That’s why you’re reading this article about ways you can increase your following. So, what do you need to do?
Well, this article will discuss the ten Instagram essentials that you may want to look at a little closer and think carefully about. You want to make sure you’re implementing some of these traits in your Instagram profile and page.
1- Post Consistently
The most important thing is to be consistent
with everything that you post. Being consistent is actually more important than
posting every single day. That’s because your followers are going to come to
expect you to post at certain times.
If they have no way of knowing when you’ll post
again they may get discouraged and look for someone else, which can decrease
your followers and your engagement. Instead, keep posting consistently, no
matter how infrequently you might be calling.
2- Post Frequently
You don’t have to post on Instagram daily, but
you’re definitely going to do a whole lot better if you do. In fact, you really
should aim to post at least once and preferably up to three times per day to
get the best results.
- Too
much content overwhelms the feed. - Too
little content and you disappear. - The
right amount of content and you appear just enough for your followers and
others.
3- Use Dedicated Hashtags
Do you have a dedicated hashtag or brand
hashtag? That means something that you created and you use frequently that
people can use to connect with you. A dedicated hashtag can help to:
- Increase
your engagement - Get
other people seeing you - Bring
new people in on the process of marketing your business - Help
people to immediately recognize your brand by others using the hashtag
4- Show Yourself
People want to see the person behind the
camera. That means you should be showing your own face as often as you possibly
can.
Yes, you can post some great images that don’t include you and you can post images that include other people, but you are the brand.
The more you show yourself and the more
realistic you are, the better off your profile is going to be. In fact, you get
up to 38% more likes on pictures that have a person in them.
5- Post Quality Images
You don’t want to be known for having ugly
pictures on your Instagram and that can definitely happen if you’re not paying
attention to things like:
- Lighting
- Angle
- Composition
(the way items or people are arranged)
You could end up taking a picture of a
beautiful sunset that just looks flat because of the way you took the image.
Instead, make sure every picture you post is high quality and looks great, so
you’re happy to show it off.
6- Create Quality Posts
You want to make sure that the picture looks
great, but you also need quality Instagram captions as well. You need to make
sure the caption gets people interested in finding out more about you and your
services or products.
If your Instagram caption has a story and
really draws people in you’re more likely to get them to make a purchase. You
just need to make sure that you’re creating content you can really work with.
7- Start Engaging
One way that you can increase engagement on
your pages is to make sure that you’re being engaged in someone else’s. Look
at:
- Your
followers - People
you’re following - People
who are in a similar/related niche
Then, make sure that you are engaging with them
in some way. The more you engage the better it’s going to be. You could:
- like
their posts or comments on their posts - Comment
on their posts - Respond
to comments on their posts - Share
their content to your platforms (with credit, of course)
8- Optimize Each Post
You should be optimizing everything that you
post and that means using:
- The
right images - The
right captain - The
right hashtags. - Shopify
for Instagram
You could actually make some money by people
purchasing something that you recommend in your post. Just make sure you make
the agreements early on so that you don’t miss out on something later.
9- Create a Cohesive Brand Look
When it comes to creating your look you want to
make sure that everything about your brand looks similar. That means using the
same:
- Backgrounds
- Texts
- Process
This is going to make it easier for your
customers to know what to expect and it’s going to make them more likely to
stay with you, even if they don’t need the product that you’re selling them
right now.
10- Use Every Method
You should make sure that you’re using every
method that you can when it comes to Instagram. That means using:
- Standard
posts/images - Instagram
Stories - Instagram
TV
That’s where you’re going to get the most
variety to your viewers. Not everyone who reads your blogs is going to see your
videos, for example, or vice versa. You want to make sure that you’re getting
the most of what you need and not sacrificing along the way.
If you’re looking to improve your following and
definitely to build up your brand you should be implementing all of these
things over time. Just make sure you start small and don’t get too overwhelmed
when you do. If you let yourself get too overwhelmed you might decide to stop,
and that’s going to hurt you in the long run.
You may want to start with one or two of the
things here and then slowly start to add them in until you’re doing all of them
for your business, and getting as much traffic as you can with your Instagram
captains and more.
The only reason to build followers and brand exposure is to get more sales, that should always be your number 1 goal.
Don’t want to follow and unfollow users manually? Bountii recommends using Jarvee, or a similar app.
To learn more about selling on Instagram, you
can find more information about this topic form
Shopify, with the new partnership between the two, you can now tag and sell
directly within your Instagram, taking your sales to the next level.
