It is important that you know how to increase your reach and drive more traffic on Instagram. This can turn out to be one of the best social media marketing tactics for your brand, as there are many useful features and tools that you can use to grow your business on Instagram. Getting more engagement and increasing your organic reach on Instagram is essential. So, here are ten tips that you can try out.
- Find the best time to post
There is always the best time to post on every social media platform. This will be the time when most of your target audience is online and active. So you have a higher chance of reaching them at this time. Your optimal time will depend on your product or service and the target audience. If the target is a working-class, then you can’t be posting in the morning when they are busy at work. It will be less effective that way.
- Experiment with videos
The common idea is that photos get more Instagram engagement that videos – and this might be true. But there are also reasons to believe otherwise. According to one study, photos tend to get more likes (and overall engagement) on Instagram than videos. However, videos get way more comments than photos. More than double the amount of comments photos get. Also, there was a 40% increase in the video watch time on Instagram over a period of six months. So, there is no doubt that Instagram users are paying attention to videos, and it’s something that you have to capitalize on.
- Encourage engagements by asking questions or hosting contests
Asking questions or hosting contests is usually fun on Instagram, but in the end, you aren’t doing it for fun. You are doing it for the engagement that it brings. Hosting a contest such as giveaway contests is already known as an entertaining yet effective way to engage your followers and get them to engage with your brand and posts on Instagram. However, you are likely to get more comments on a giveaway post that a normal post. Try not to overdo it. Let there be a few months between the contests.
- Work with user-generated content
One way to build a relationship with your followers and also get them to engage your posts is by curating user-generated content. This will automatically make the user engage and share the content. The Instagram algorithm also considers the relationship between users when ranking the content that it displays on a user’s feed. So, you can use the user-generated content or you can ask for help professional writer serviceor Topbritishessays to build relationships with them. The more they share and engage your post, the more of your posts they see on their feed.
- Maximize Instagram stories
The position of the Instagram stories just above the feed makes it very easy for users to see them. More and more users are now checking Instagram stories, and it is an opportunity for you to reach out to your audience. It is easier to grab their attention on Instagram stories than on thevery crowded feed. So, it would help if you started creating creative content for your Instagram stories to make the most out of it.
- Do live videos
When you do an Instagram live video, it will place you right in front of the feed, especially if there is no other person that lives at the time. This will increase your Instagram profile’s prominence at that time as the “LIVE” logo will make you more visible. Also, going live on Instagram gives your brand a more human feel, which the audience will find easier to relate with.
- Use Instagram ads
If you’re really going to be successful with your social media strategy, then you need a mix of both organic and paid growth. Instagram ads are very effective in increasing your reach on Instagram. It is easy for you to promote your post on Instagram if you already have a business account. What this does is to show your post to thousands of more people than it wouldn’t normally reach, giving you more visibility on the platform.
- Post fewer times
One mistake that brands make is to post continuously and incessantly in the name of trying to reach out and increase traffic or create engagement. You really don’t need to post 20 images in one week when you can as well put that time and resources into creating 2 or 3 posts that you will post during the week. An essential part of marketing is quality over quantity. You can apply the same here. Post once or twice a week and make it high quality all-round instead of 20 mediocre content.
- Create content specific for Instagram
You must be very creative in your content marketing strategy. The truth is each social media platform is unique and different from the other. So, you can’t use the content on twitter and expect that you will use that same content in the same way on Instagram and expect the same or higher level of success. For Instagram, you need to be specific when creating your content. The fact that it is a visual platform and not text-based like the rest means it needs more attention.
- Use the platform consistently
There’s no way you only go on Instagram to post your content and leave until the next time you need to post another content. So, if you are posting three times a week, you only visit three times a week. There’s no way you can expect to get the engagement that way. You need to use the platform as well, even when you aren’t posting. Engage other brands and other users in their posts. It will give you more visibility on the app and create engagement for you too.
Conclusion
Social media is meant to make people happy. So, if you want them to engage with you, then you have to make them happy or give them reasons to be satisfied. Instagram is an effective platform for growth as a brand if you use it well.
