How to be Successful on Instagram
Instagram has over 800 million users, so it is a great platform to grow and expand your business if used to your advantage. Instagram allows your company to reach more people than ever before and generate new business connections at the touch of a button. If you are looking to expand business and find new ways to reach customers here are a few ways!
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Interact
The greatest way to gain loyal followers is to interact with them. Now, this might take some time, but once you establish a connection with your followers they will remain loyal and refer others to you. If your followers comment on your post, do your best to respond to each and every comment. With a larger audience this can definitely be a huge task, but shows that you care about your followers and care about their comments. A simple reply can in return give you a raving review. Also, try and get your followers to interact on your posts. You can post with the caption “tag three friends that need this!” and that easily recommends your brand to new people from someone that they trust. Also, anything that promotes comments or answering questions is a great way to encourage engagement.
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Be active
Be active on your account. Post consistently. Consistency is key! This can apply to posting pictures as well as Instagram stories. If you tell your followers that you are going to go live on Instagram at 11 am then make sure you are there at 11 am. The little details do matter. It is also important to post content consistently so that your brand remains relevant. Engaging with your followers is probably one of the most important steps to be successful in the world of social media. People love to feel like they are known personally by a business. So, by taking a few seconds out of your day to engage with your followers will definitely help you in the long run. In today’s world we see hundreds of social media posts in a day, so to ensure that followers remember who you are make sure to post consistently. In addition to engaging with your followers also engage in your market. Follow and interact with like companies and support similar local businesses. Supporting local business and engaging helps people get familiar with your brand.
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Use outside sources
You can use software to schedule your posts for you, so then you have no excuse to not post! These sites can be helpful for when you have a million other things to do your social media is still up to date. You can also use outside websites to make your content more interesting. A great website for this is Canva. Canva.com allows you to design eye-catching content to grab your followers’ attention.
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Experiment
Experiment with what works best with your followers. For some followers might like photos more than videos, but each audience is different so you must tailor your posts accordingly. Some love Stories more than traditional posts. You can also run a contest. This is a great way to promote your brand but also provide an incentive to your followers. You can give away a prize or even a discounted price on your service. Either way, your followers recognize that you appreciate their loyalty.
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Promote yourself
Promoting yourself can be one of the most useful tools. Share your Instagram page on your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and email newsletter. If a client comes across your Facebook page and sees all of your other social media that is one more encounter that they have with your brand and what services you provide. Another way to promote yourself is to shout out your accounts. For example, on your Facebook page post a glimpse of something you are promoting on your Instagram page. Lastly, linked all of your social media on your website and on your other social medias! This is a great way to get new followers. Always remember that you need to have custom content per platform. Why should someone follow you on Instagram if they can get the exact same content all the time on your other accounts?
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Visual
Instagram is a photo based social media, so make your photos stand out. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words! How many times have you scrolled right past a post because they just look boring? I know I definitely have, so make your content eye catching and visually interesting to catch followers’ attention. Same applies to videos you post, make sure that your videos have a great attention grabber. If the viewer is not hooked within the first few seconds, they will just keep scrolling.
Instagram, or any social media can definitely be tricky if you are not sure how to use it to your advantage. Gaining new followers and knowing how and what to post can be intimidating. With these few helpful hints there is room for your business to grow and your Instagram presence to improve.