Instagram is a powerful tool for business. It can help you reach more people, build relationships with your customers, and encourage them to gain an emotional connection with your brand.
Growing your following can be a long and difficult task, and without many followers, it can be hard to stand out.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to gain more Instagram followers for your business organically so that you too can enjoy all the benefits of this powerful platform.
Use hashtags strategically
Adding hashtags will help your posts appear in Instagram’s search. This is a great way to get your posts discovered by people who aren’t following you.
Adding a branded hashtag for your business provides a means of social proof. This will help others discover what your followers are posting about you–all in one place.
Another way to incorporate hashtags into your posts is by adding more well-known hashtags that cover more general topics. These can be viewed as keywords, and you should use around 3-5 per post. For example, when we post on Instagram, we usually include hashtags like #digitalmarketing or #socialmediamarketing.
Talk to your followers by asking questions or telling stories
This is a fun way to engage with followers on Instagram, and it can be an effective way to get new people following you.
Your posts should ask questions that solicit engagement from your business and followers. If you’re selling swimsuits, for example, create a post or story poll with an image of someone wearing your swimsuit that asks: “What’s your favorite summer activity?” or “Where’s the best place for me to take a dip this season?”
You’ll likely get some interesting responses from people who want their voices heard—and they may end up becoming new followers.
Post consistently
Posting consistently is one of the best ways to gain and retain followers on Instagram. If you’re not posting regularly, your followers are likely to lose interest and stop following you.
On the other end, if you post too much, you risk annoying your followers. You need to find a balance between posting enough content and keeping people interested in what you have to say.
A good way to determine this balance is by testing it for yourself and seeing what your competitors are doing.
Post at the right time of day
Your content can be as relevant and engaging as possible, but if you’re posting it at the wrong time of day, it may be all for naught.
To find what days and times your followers are most active, you’ll want to navigate to the insights page, then click “total followers.” After that, scroll to the button of the page and you’ll see a graph showing when they’re most active. These days and times are when you should be posting the most.
Use Instagram Insights to track engagement
Along with showing you when your followers are most active, Instagram Insights also allows you to track engagement for every post on your account so that you can find out what gets the most likes and comments—and what doesn’t work so well.
In the end, you have to ask yourself if the time and effort you put into Instagram is worth it. If it isn’t bringing in more sales or customers for you, then perhaps it’s time to hire the professionals.
At Bizzuka, lead generation is our specialty. To get started gaining more leads via social media, schedule a free strategy call with our experts. We’ll help you tweak your strategy to get the most out of your marketing.