TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Introduction
- Rules of engagement for an Instagram growth strategy
- Organic followers are important part of Instagram growth strategy
- Useful tips for your Instagram growth strategy
- Conclusion
Introduction
Whether growth strategy Instagram or any other kind of growth! Well, we at Urbizboost are not surprise because the constant word on the lips of people is how to grow in business, career etc. Instagram has been around for a near decade, its feed and app have gone through many variations or versions. With every tweak to its algorithm and the introduction of new features. Now businesses will need to keep up to maintain a good steady account growth.
So how do then you adapt? By trying some stuff out and incorporating new growth strategies. For this article, we’ll try and cover some areas of growth strategy Instagram. But we do recommend support with advertisements if you have the budget for it.
What really defines Instagram growth? For many people, it’s the number of followers you have and gained. But to be able to get these new followers, you need to have a combination of increased account engagement, brand exposure together with compelling content. Otherwise, why else would anyone want to follow you?
Already you might have a good idea on what your Instagram growth will look like and what has worked before and what didn’t worked. Instagram’s service policies are services that tout growth through purchased likes and followers. These fake engagements and growth rates will harm your account in the long run and might even get your account banner. Probably you are considering using a marketing agency to help you grow your account. Check to see what they have done before or currently doing before you pay for their service.
Rules of engagement for an Instagram growth strategy
You are trying to boost your growth strategy Instagram and you found yourself on our page for some tips on how to optimize greatly. Here’s the fact, it’s up to you to implement every single thing you will gain from this article. Or by next month you will still find yourself searching for the same thing.
Let’s dive into knowing the rules of engagement using growth strategy Instagram.
Understand the platform
This might seem like a no-brainer. But it’s very unbelievable how many people do think it’s okay to write a single caption and then copy and paste it across all of their social media channels. You know very well that you wouldn’t speak to a customer the same way that you speak to your your friends. Which is the very reason you need to be sensitive to the tone and style of what you’re trying to convey depending on the platform. It’s okay to have the same content for all platform, just make sure to vary your copy for each platform.
When it comes to growing your Instagram, there are some extra features that you would and should be taking advantage of in order to rank higher in the Instagram’s algorithm.
They include the following:
- Hashtags – used to increase awareness in new platforms.
- Geotags – to make your account very easy to find
- Filters – the platform algorithm will reward you.
- Alt Text – used for increased accessibility
- Carousels – this is like a mini slideshow party (minus family)
- Stories – stories is you getting personal with your audience
Have a planned cadence
You will never be able to build an audience when your growth strategy Instagram or Instagram growth strategy fails to have a planned cadence. Did you ever think Michael Phelps won his 23 gold medals without a cadence? However, if you’re really serious to optimize your social media presence. Then, you will need to have a calendar where you will plan out your posts several weeks in advance. In order to really make this tool work effectively for you, you will need to have all stakeholders involved and using it often too.
Be flexible
While you still need to have a consistent planned cadence, that doesn’t mean you should now be tone deaf to current events, or become predictable and bland. Remember, variety is the spice of life! Your growth strategy Instagram must be quick enough to be pivot and humble enough to nix that your clever post you came up with 3 weeks ago if probably the situation calls for it. Equally have it in mind metrics may have found your content that performed really well but has dropped off. Because you’re still constantly posting the same sauce. Switch it up, be more sensitive to your audience and react accordingly.
Have the right motivation
To use your instagram solely as a means of advertising and marketing is a surefire way to win more friends. As well as to influence people to lose followers and dissuade people. Wait, what? That’s because people always want to engage in real conversations with people, not feeling as if they’re being sold to.
Think about this , why is it that you don’t follow your favorite book on social media, but the author who wrote it? You do follow the author because you’re interested in them. To know more about them and what thoughts they’re sharing, and when they happen to debut another book then you’ll likely buy it. But this journey of buying the book didn’t just happen because you always saw a new post everyday telling you to buy. Understand this that an instagram strategy that’s too self promotional is easily turn off. Just like those that scream car commercials. Whereas a strategy that will communicate identity, is personable. As well as engaging will strategically attract followers, influence, and eventually sales.
Invest
To grow a presence on social media is just like starting a new friendship or relationship. You will have to invest time. Your growth strategy Instagram shouldn’t be any different at all. The more time or money you are investing into growing your audience, the more results you’ll be seeing, plain and simple. Everything will cost either time or money, you will either invest the time into doing it yourself. Or you simply pay someone else to do it. But when you’re not willing to invest, then don’t expect to see results, okay.
Organic followers are important part of Instagram growth strategy
Being a brand online often do tempt business owners into taking shortcuts for quicker benefits which might be short lived. Influencers, brands and creators have tried to buy followers and expand their reach for quicky results. Many of them got desired results but it did not help take their business forward. To buy followers on Instagram will only increase the number of followers you will have on the site. This mere number will in no way help to increase your engagements, sales or popularity.
The accounts that you will buy to improve your number of followers will never like, share or comment on your posts. They won’t even waste their to buy your services/products. That is why you need to grow organic followers, which is the key while you prepare a growth strategy Instagram. Often the number of followers on Instagram will affect the way customers will look at your brands. Business accounts with less followers are already accepted to be less credible compared to the ones with more.
However, there is one way out of this trap. There are interesting and effective ways for you to grow real followers on Instagram.
Useful tips for your Instagram growth strategy
Theme the feed
Try to create an appropriate theme for your Instagram videos and photos. When people go through your profile after they follow the hashtags mentioned in your posts. Make sure to give them something worth the follow. Create content that will be relatable, attractive and engaging too. Your Instagram feed should be neat, classic and orderly placed or it must be colourful, chic and artistic.
Learn the trends that will go viral in the industry that your business operates in and try developing growth strategy Instagram will depend on it. Once you pick a theme, follow it and try not to deviate from the pattern. The posts must be appropriately tagged and the caption will be carefully written. So as not to hurt any sentiments and create the necessary impact on the readers.
Be a regular creator
Growth strategy Instagram is well complimented when creators are posting consistently. Instagram being a social media platform with the highest number of engagements. And to be able to grab the attention you must first be giving your audience content they will respond to. People will stay on the accounts that will have regular updates and come up with very good content on a regular basis.
Now to keep consistency is not just about you posting everyday but equally to maintain a timeline and keep posts in a good frame. If you are a brand on Instagram, try and learn when your audience come online and the time that brings in much engagement. The insights will be easily taken from the app itself or you will use third party tools to perform the tracking. Try to understand the kind of content that will please or make your followers active and post similar posts too.
Follow and be active on the same niche hashtag
There is a smart growth strategy Instagram that will increase followers and will help you get noticed. Follow top creators in your niche, always engage in the trending hashtags related often. It is always helpful to like few posts of other users, leave a well genuine comment and equally follow them because this will make your account more discoverable. Other users may just look at your content and follow back immediately. This strategy works well when you are a beginner and trying out possible ways to increase your followers as well as engagement rates.
Instagram stories are magical sometimes
With more than 500 Million Instagram account users using Instagram stories every single day. This feature has got its own unique charm in engaging followers. It is not more a big surprise when we say that people look at stories more often than just to scroll through endless feeds. To create engaging content for your stories will easily attract followers. As well as keep them engaged and ensure that there is always content on your account for all. You might either take your followers behind the scenes of what you post often. Create a poll then, do a quiz session and answer the questions, and then go live and be more fun out there.
Run a cool contest and giveaways
Running a contest is a very brilliant idea that will make you use giveaway products, promote your brand and increase your followers. One thing that you need to do is to make all your followers repost. Share and tag their friends on the contest, just run a loop contest. This will make more people to be involve in the contest. Running a contest will help to increase your followers, engagement rates and reach of your posts. It is a very powerful trick to grow your overall Instagram account. The existing followers will help increase your engagement and visibility while contests are a perfect way of tapping into new markets.
Interlink Instagram account to other social media networks
To use the direct links of your Instagram account on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and other social media channels will help people find you easily on the required platform. A tweet that is encouraging users there to follow your post on Instagram will easily grow your followers and bring in right customers. Putting up a link on your blog post or vice versa will help to increase the number of visitor on both platforms. This is a major way to accumulate and redirect your followers to respective websites, blogs and social media sites.
Geo-tagging posts on Instagram
Instagram growth strategy will and must include geo-tags and proper hashtags for people to be able to locate and connect with your account. This way, you followers and other users will search your posts through the explore feature. And be able to communicate with your account.
Keeping the locations tagged will attract you more followers from people who have visited the place. As well as people who are looking forward for the same experience. Thus, make sure you mention the place that you will check in, because this will definitely grow your followers.
Socialize well with existing followers
Many times users and brands do forget the word “social” in their social media marketing. All they do is to concentrate on posting, improve visibility and expand reach. Being a creator doesn’t mean you should miss out on engaging properly with your followers and potential customers. Replying to comments, encourage likes and ask them to tag relevant friends are a few ways to always connect with them and build trust. To socialize on business account is a smart growth strategy Instagram because it will develop loyal organic fan following. People love to be heard and respected. Therefore to respond well and involve them in discussion will encourage them to share your content and profile.
Encourage user generated content from followers
People will be likely to buy a product or follow a brand when it is suggested by their peer groups. It is a very smart Instagram growth strategy that will encourage existing followers. To create content related to your product or services with the right hashtags and tags. There are different ways to make people to create content for your brand. One way to do that is to run a branded hashtag competition. It will be a caption contest or image contest, there will be memes making round while competitions are going on too.
Users will develop these for a shoutout or a giveaway and help to increase followers online. Moreover, the winner of the contest will give your account a shoutout and help create trust around other social media partners and users.
Create community with hashtags
People will be bind together with relevant hashtags on your Instagram profile. Create a hashtag that they would follow and create content that will fit well with them. When people are creating content for your theme or topic it will become easy to connect with them by sharing their work. It will make the follower feel appreciated and be encouraged for their work. Moreover, this will help save content for future use on your social media account.
Instagram growth strategy must always include followers and their interests because that is the main motive behind developing Instagram growth strategy.
Conclusion
Now that we have discussed some ways to grow Instagram account for brands and businesses. Make sure that you try them before you assume results as most of the insights and analytics always vary from what we understand on social media. When you have a brand or business don’t miss out on platforms like Instagram. Because they are not just popular but have the potential to make you go viral with your business.
To grow followers on Instagram is not as easy as people paint it to be or even blogs makes it to sound. But with the right strategies, timing and content, everything is possible. Internet is a very delicate place where one need to keep check on the type of content they are producing and who they are targeting. Therefore, you must be alert and informed about what you are posting and how it will affect your followers. At the end, patience and keeping calm is what matters the most apart from being a genuine brand online.