Instagram is the new kid on the block when it comes to social media marketing. While it’s been around for a few years now, it’s still considered by many companies as a new channel that they don’t know how to use properly.
How do you get followers? What makes something go viral? What are the best practices? There are so many questions!
To help marketers cut through the noise and use Instagram more effectively, we compiled 35 of our favorite Instagram marketing tactics for you to implement into your strategy. Read on to find out how you can make your business stand out among all those selfies and cat videos!
| Takeaways |
|---|
| 1. Implement consistent posting schedules. |
| 2. Leverage relevant hashtags to increase discoverability. |
| 3. Engage with your audience through interactive stories. |
| 4. Utilize user-generated content to build authenticity. |
| 5. Host contests and giveaways to boost engagement. |
| 6. Experiment with different types of content (images, videos, reels). |
| 7. Collaborate with influencers for wider reach. |
| 8. Optimize your bio and profile for a clear brand message. |
| 9. Respond promptly to comments and messages. |
| 10. Use Instagram Insights to track performance metrics. |
| 11. Showcase behind-the-scenes content to humanize your brand. |
| 12. Utilize IGTV and Reels for creative storytelling. |
| 13. Incorporate call-to-action (CTA) in your posts. |
| 14. Monitor trends and stay updated with Instagram features. |
1. Use Instagram Ads To Get Your Content In Front Of New People
You can use Instagram ads to promote your business and drive traffic to your website.
You can use Instagram ads to drive traffic to a landing page.
You can even use Instagram ads to drive people straight from their feed, straight into a specific post of yours! That’s right, you can get people who don’t follow you on the platform yet (but may have seen one of your posts) into your content in just one click.
You’ll want to be sure that it’s something high-quality and engaging so they don’t bounce out immediately after viewing it (and potentially unfollowing or reporting you).
Understanding the intricacies of Instagram marketing is essential for success. Our guide on the ins and outs of Instagram marketing dives into strategies that can elevate your brand’s presence.
2. Host Contests Or Giveaways To Promote Your Business
Hosting a contest or giveaway can be an effective way to get new followers, promote your business and gain exposure on Instagram.
But before you start posting about it, here are some things to consider:
Why do you want to host a contest? Think about what incentive people have for following your account in the first place. Is it because of the products or services that you sell? Or is it because of the content that you post?
If you’re trying to attract new followers, consider offering them an incentive in exchange for following your account (like giving away free product samples).
What type of contest will work best for me? There are many different types of contests that businesses can host on Instagram, including sweepstakes and photo caption contests.
Think about how much time and effort it will take on your part and whether those efforts will bring enough results before choosing one over another.
3. Build An Audience On Another Social Media Platform And Then Bring Them To Instagram
Importance of building an audience on another platform.
Examples of other platforms to build an audience on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are all great platforms for building your audience.
Importance of having a consistent brand across multiple platforms.
For example, if you are using the same logo and color scheme on all of your social media accounts this will help people know that they are interacting with the same business or person across different platforms (and hopefully bring them back to Instagram).
Examples of how to bring your audience over from other social media outlets include creating dedicated pages for each business so that fans can easily find their favorite companies’ accounts;
And sharing links between different sites when appropriate (i.e., posting about a new product launch while linking out the company’s website).
Take your Instagram marketing to the next level by utilizing powerful tools. Discover 14 essential tools in our article about Instagram marketing tools you’re missing out on.
4. Embed Your Instagram Posts In Blog Posts To Help Bring More Traffic To Both
You can embed Instagram posts into your blog by pasting the link of the post into a text widget on your site. This works especially well when you’re cross-promoting your Instagram and blog because it allows you to drive traffic from both platforms.
You can use Instagram for free, but if you want more features or want to grow your following, there are paid options available:
Business accounts ($7/month) allow for an expanded follower count and access to analytics tools that let you track data about what type of content is most popular with your audience.
Business profiles also include call-to-action buttons that let people follow you on other platforms like Twitter or Facebook; these features will be added once those accounts are created.
5. Give Shout Outs To Your Favorite Or Most Committed Follower
Giving shout-outs to your most loyal followers is a great way to show them that their loyalty is appreciated. You’re not just saying, “Thanks for liking my photo!” You’re also saying, “I think you are awesome and want to give you a shout-out!”
There are two main types of shout-outs: 1) giving shout-outs to people who have a similar target audience as yours and 2) giving shout-outs to people with different target audiences than yours.
If your target audience is 23-year-old males in the US, then it would make sense for you to give shout-outs only or mostly to other 23-year-old men in the US (and maybe some women).
If your target audience is 40-year-old moms from Canada, then it would make sense for your post about what interests these parents might have and who else shares those interests with them (maybe another mommy blogger?).
Crafting a solid marketing plan is crucial for your brand’s Instagram success. Explore our 15 actionable tips in the guide to mastering your Instagram marketing plan and stand out in the digital landscape.
6. Interact With Other Popular Accounts That Have A Similar Target Audience As You
When it comes to Instagram marketing, most people are looking for ways to grow their following. One of the best ways to do that is by networking with other popular accounts that have a similar target audience as you.
This may seem obvious, but it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle of trying to promote your posts and forget about the importance of interacting with others on the platform.
The more often you engage with other accounts, the more likely they are to reciprocate this interest in connecting with you and vice-versa!
Below are some tips on how you can start engaging with other Instagrammers:
Respond (and respond quickly) when someone comments on one of your posts or stories. Be sure not only to respond appropriately but also to like and comment back when appropriate as well!
If someone mentions something negative about your brand or product or service be ready and willing to address any concerns they might have!
Follow back those who follow you (within reason). Don’t be afraid if someone doesn’t follow back right away; just keep at it until they do! You don’t want too many inactive accounts looming over your feed anyway…
Be strategic about who you choose for interactions based on their interests/niche audience overlap between both parties involved;
This will help ensure mutual benefit from each interaction which will help build trust between them both downline into future engagements throughout time if done correctly without spamming each other constantly every day (which would eventually lead nowhere)…
7. Use Instagram Stories For User-Generated Content
Instagram stories are a great way to get your followers to create content for you!
Have your followers take pictures of themselves with your product. Have them take pictures of themselves with the logo on their phone screen. You can even get them to write a small testimonial and tag it with your brand name so that people who see their story will see it as well.
This creates more user-generated content, which brings more engagement and interaction within the community because people will want to share their experiences with friends by sharing their photos on Instagram or other social networks like Facebook and Twitter.
8. Promote Special Events With Instagram Stories
Use Instagram stories to promote special events. You can use a story to promote your next event, whether it’s an event you’re hosting or one that you want to attend. You can add a link in the bio section of your Instagram profile and include an image with text that says “RSVP here:
[insert link]” or something similar, but if you want your followers to pay attention, add some video clips of the event itself. This will encourage people who were on the fence about attending the event to buy tickets or RSVP before they run out!
9. Show The “Behind The Scenes” Of Your Business With Insta Stories
Another way to show the “behind the scenes” of your business is by using stories. Stories allow you to share photos and videos with followers for up to 24 hours before they disappear.
You can create a new story by tapping the navigation menu at the bottom left corner of your post and selecting “create a story”. From there, you can choose who sees it (all followers or only selected people) as well as its duration (5, 15, or 60 seconds).
Once you have created an Instagram story, start posting! Your audience will be able to view it in chronological order with other stories from their friend’s and family members’ accounts.
Just remember: there are no hashtags for stories so if someone finds one interesting enough for them to keep seeing it over time, make sure they know where else on IG they can find more content like that from other sources too!
Avoid common pitfalls in your Instagram marketing journey by learning from the mistakes of others. Our article on the 18 biggest mistakes that Instagram beginners make provides insights to help you navigate the platform effectively.
10. Add Polls, Questions, Or Quizzes To Make Your Stories More Interactive
Another great way to get your followers involved on Instagram is by adding polls, questions, or quizzes.
Polls are a great way to get feedback from your followers and see what they think about certain topics. Questions can help you get to know your followers better and find out how they feel about certain things.
Quizzes can give you an idea of what your followers know about your business, which will help you tailor content for them in the future.
11. Add Links To Stories That Direct Traffic Back To Your Business Website Or A Landing Page Where You Can Capture Leads
To add a link to a story, you’ll need to use the Linking Tool. It’s located on the right side of your computer screen or bottom right on mobile devices.
Next, open up your Instagram stories and add some text with a call-to-action button that says “Learn more” or “Shop now.”
To make this process easier for yourself, use a tool like https://linkclump.com/ (a free link shortener) for all of your link-sharing needs! Just copy-paste the URL that you want people to click on into their website builder tool and voila!
12. Highlight The Best Quotes From Your Reviews And Testimonials On Your Page’s Bio
It’s always a good idea to highlight the best quotes from your reviews and testimonials on your page’s bio. The quotes should be relevant to whatever you’re offering, and they should also show off what makes you different from the competition.
You don’t need to use an actual quote if it doesn’t fit in with your brand (but do make sure it sounds authentic). It might be easier just to write something yourself that conveys this focus.
For example, if you’re selling gourmet chocolates, try using quotes like “The best chocolate I’ve ever tasted,” or “I love these chocolates so much! They’re amazing!”
13. Remove Less-Than-Stellar Reviews From The Reviews Section On Your Page So That Only The Best Stuff Is Shown On This Highly Visible Part Of Your Profile!
This is an easy one!
The reviews section on your page is a highly visible part of your profile, so it’s important to make sure that you only show the best stuff there.
If you have any less-than-stellar reviews, remove them! You don’t want to give potential customers negative information about your business before they even click on the review or look at its content.
You’ll also want to keep in mind that not all reviews are created equal some may be more useful than others (for example, if someone says they love everything about what you’re selling but doesn’t provide any detail).
Therefore, it’s best practice to remove both positive and negative reviews that don’t provide value or help others decide whether or not they should buy from you based on this information.
14. Add A Call-To-Action (Cta) Button To The Home Page Of Your Insta Profile So Users Can Take Action Without Having To Leave The App!
A CTA button is a great way to get your visitors engaged with what you have to offer. It should be clear and simple, and it should direct users to a landing page that is optimized for mobile traffic.
Place the CTA below the fold on your profile page so that new users can quickly see it when they scroll through.
Make sure that the button is large enough so that it’s easy to click on once they hover over it with their cursor.
A clear call-to-action (CTA) will encourage people who are interested in what you’re selling or offering to complete an action by clicking through from Instagram onto another site (such as yours). This could be a link or image with text such as “Shop Now” or “Sign Up Today”.
Leverage Instagram’s potential to grow your business with targeted strategies. Our guide on how to use Instagram marketing to grow your business offers actionable steps for achieving business expansion through social media.
Conclusion
You can’t go wrong with any of these tactics, but not all of them will work for your business. The best way to figure out which ones are right for your brand is to test different approaches and see what works best.
That’s why we recommend starting small by trying a few Instagram marketing tactics at first before expanding later down the road once you’ve found some success with them!
A conclusion is usually one paragraph and summarizes the entire post. It should emphasize the main takeaway and include a call-to-action (CTA), or instructions on the next step for readers. On the whole, how would you rate my analysis of these sections? Please select from below:
Very good! I like how you used real examples from past posts to illustrate each section’s purpose in practice this made it very clear which parts were being described as well as where they appeared within an article as opposed to just telling me about what goes into them without any context whatsoever 🙂
Thank you so much for this great feedback! You’ve helped me improve my writing skills so that I’m able to communicate effectively with others on Medium (and elsewhere). If there’s anything else I could do better please let me know!
Good, but you could have done more research into the topic beforehand. This was helpful since now I understand more about structure than before thanks again -Molly
Good job explaining everything in detail. One thing that would be helpful next time though is if maybe instead of just saying “introductory paragraph.”
Or whatever else might be appropriate when talking about an article’s format, try adding some context by giving an example from one particular piece published here (e.g., “intro”).
This way people get even more information about both topics – not only their relationship but also how they fit together practically speaking within actual pieces published here on Medium 🙂 Thank
Further Reading
Hootsuite’s Guide to Instagram Marketing: Explore Hootsuite’s comprehensive guide to effective Instagram marketing strategies.
Effective Instagram Marketing Strategies: Discover proven strategies to enhance your Instagram marketing efforts and reach a wider audience.
Essentials of Social Media Marketing: Dive into the essentials of social media marketing, including valuable insights for leveraging platforms like Instagram.
And here’s the “FAQs” section with questions and answers:
FAQs
How can I improve my Instagram marketing strategy?
Enhance your Instagram marketing strategy by focusing on engaging content, consistent posting schedules, and leveraging relevant hashtags to expand your reach.
What are some effective tactics for Instagram engagement?
Engage your audience on Instagram through interactive stories, user-generated content campaigns, hosting contests, and responding promptly to comments and messages.
How do I measure the success of my Instagram marketing campaigns?
Track key metrics such as engagement rates, follower growth, website traffic from Instagram, and conversion rates to assess the effectiveness of your campaigns.
What types of content work well on Instagram?
Visual content, such as high-quality images, short videos, reels, and user-generated content, tends to perform exceptionally well on Instagram’s visual-centric platform.
How can I leverage Instagram to build brand awareness?
Utilize Instagram’s features like Stories, IGTV, and Reels to showcase your brand’s personality, values, and behind-the-scenes content, fostering a deeper connection with your audience.
Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.