Instagram is a fantastic tool for building a brand. Businesses, content creators, and influencers alike find great value in posting on the social media platform, engaging with their target audience, and growing a following.
It’s not only influencers who find success on the Instagram platform. Creators on other platforms, such as bloggers, streamers, and podcast hosts, use Instagram to expand their reach and drive traffic to their main platform.
Let’s explore a few practical tips on how to grow on Instagram and boost your brand.
Rise of Instagram Marketing
Recent statistics reveal that there are more than 1 billion Instagram users worldwide, with users spending an average of 53 minutes on the app each day. Needless to say, Instagram is a fertile ground for growing a brand.
There are several benefits of Instagram marketing, making the platform a top choice for investing time and effort. Consider the following as a starting point.
- Easy to target your audience
- Gain a better understanding of your target demographics
- Various features and formats of content are available
- Perfect for remarketing content from other channels, such as Twitch, which is made easier with tools such as Cross Clip
- Attract an engaged audience
If you’re one of the many brands that have invested in Instagram marketing, then it’s important to stand out from the crowd.
Put your best foot forward and avoid making Instagram marketing mistakes by focusing on best practices.
How to Get Followers on Instagram
The following Instagram growth hacks are foundational building blocks to grow your following.
Optimize Your Instagram Profile
Your Instagram bio needs to be optimized to attract the right audience and drive traffic.
Choose a username and profile name that reflects your niche, helping potential followers find you in the search results. Maximize the character limits in your bio to tell your audience as much about you as possible, and be strategic with your bio link to convert your following into website traffic.
Struggling to choose a single link to put in your bio? Link Space is an all-in-one bio link tool that serves as a landing page for all of your most important links.
Create a Content Strategy
Design a regular posting schedule so that you’re producing consistent content for your audience. It’s worth experimenting with Instagram’s various content features such as feed posts, Stories, Live, IGTV, and Reels. Assess which content performs best and be guided by the success of your posts.
Posting consistently and using Instagram’s various features is advantageous for Instagram’s algorithm and increases your chances of being discovered.
Focus On Quality
Ask yourself how your content offers value to your audience? High-quality content is both visually pleasing and offers value to your followers. Decide whether your main goal is to provide education, entertainment, motivation, or insight and curate quality content that looks good while serving a purpose.
If you’re struggling with inspiration, then make sure that you incorporate productivity hacks and activities to overcome the creator’s block.
Write Engaging Captions
Instagram captions play a key role in boosting engagement and prompting action. Although Instagram is largely a visual platform, the caption is critical for humanizing your brand, creating connections, and encouraging followers to share your content.
Some creators include witty, thought-provoking captions, others pitch their brand with a call to action, and others use the caption as an opportunity to encourage a deeper connection.
Use Strategic Hashtags
There’s an ongoing debate about how many hashtags to include in the caption of your Instagram posts. Regardless of which side of the fence you sit, it’s important that you’re strategic in order to maximize reach.
Use a combination of broader, popular hashtags and smaller, more niche hashtags to attract a following. Include strategic hashtags with each Instagram post, making sure that you put your brand in front of the right people.
Genuine Engagement Is Key
Engagement is fundamental for growing an involved Instagram following. Creating an engaged following doesn’t happen overnight. There are several strategies that can help to create an engaged online community.
While it may be tempting to pay for bots and other quick fixes, it’s important that you resist and invest in genuine, authentic engagement.
Carve out time to respond to comments and direct messages, nurturing the connection that you have with existing followers. Browse hashtags and profiles that fit your target audience and engage with them as a strategy to introduce them to your brand.
Collaborate With Other Brands
The beauty of an Instagram following is that you can share them with others without giving them up. Reach out to other Instagram accounts and suggest a collaboration, cross-pollinating your audience within relevant niches.
Some suggestions on how to collaborate with other brands include the following;
- Take over one another’s pages for a short period
- Make an appearance in an IGTV video or Reel
- Start a challenge together
- Organize a giveaway or contest
Pay Attention to Analytics
Instagram analytics can be a powerful tool in assessing what content performs well and how your target audience has evolved. Take note of your audience demographics, age group, gender, and location to focus your content.
You can also determine which posts are performing well and when your audience is most engaged on the platform. Data-driven content can add to the quality of the posts and boost engagement with your existing followers. In turn, this presents your profile in a positive light for Instagram’s algorithm and attracts future followers.
Maximize Your Link in Bio With Link Space
Many brands and creators use Instagram to drive traffic to other platforms. Whether you’re a streamer trying to grow your audience on Twitch or a charity raising funds for a good cause, you can benefit from Link Space.
Link Space helps to make your various links more visible. By adding a single link in your Instagram bio, you can transform your bio into a dynamic landing page, directing your audience to all of your most important links. We even have an integrated tipping feature to boost revenue, allowing audiences to tip directly on the page.
Signup for Link Space today, or find out more about our special offerings for charities here.
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