We’ve been talking lately about how exactly to boost your organization marketing with Instagram. Unlike what many people still believe, Instagram isn’t only a fun app where you could post food, holiday and family pics.
Instagram has become a powerful brand-building, audience-building and content-marketing tool for businesses. It has over 200 million active monthly members sharing 60 million images and 1.6 billion likes each day.
A note of caution: there are several people out there who promise to grow your Instagram followers by the thousands, but beware. Most of them use fake accounts developed by bots to inflate your numbers.
These kind of followers have zero value. In fact, they can even be dangerous, attempting to steal your password or photos or infect you with a virus.
According to the data security company Imperva, these bad bots take into account 28.9 per cent of bots on Instagram.
The simplest way to build your Instagram followers is when you are authentic to your brand and your audience.
Here are 3 tips to help you to get real Instagram followers:
Tell a Story with Hashtags
It’s great to use your business name as a hashtag, nevertheless, you need to think beyond that.
If you want to use your Instagram posts to get followers, use other hashtags that tell the story of the image you’re sharing. You want to start a conversation if you are sharing posts for things like:
Events
Promotions
Contests
Product launches
A good example of a brandname who does this well is @Tostitos. They utilize the hashtag #GetTogetherAlready to encourage people to gather and share their chips, and also to use the hashtag if they share photos of these meetups.
By using engaging, relevant hashtags, you could be discovered in Instagram searches and hopefully build-up followers on Instagram.
Get Creative
Instagram is focused on photos, so many people think of the caption as an afterthought.
Don’t neglect the image caption! instagram followers You will generate engagement and promote sharing through the use of descriptive words which will engage, inspire and entertain your followers.
Here are some ideas to help you build up followers on Instagram together with your posts:
Use questions in your caption. Write your question at the start of the post so that people see it first.
Get personal with your post. Tell a tale about yourself, or how your product helped or inspired someone else.
Ask visitors to tag others. Asking people to tag three of their close friends or tagging someone they’re grateful for brings other potential followers in to the equation.
A great example of a brand that does personal posts well may be the @NatGeo Instagram account.
They create breathtaking Instagram Stories with informative captions to teach an individual on the plight of animals all over the world.
Remember when it comes to using Instagram posts to obtain followers, it’s about being authentic. Avoid questions atlanta divorce attorneys single post or tell a personal story that isn’t genuine.
Go Local
One of the best ways to build your Instagram followers is to become familiar with your neighbours!
Whether you’re creating Instagram ads or desire to promote your event in a particular area, you can see what’s going on near you by going to the search page and clicking on the Places tab.
Type in the location to start to see the geotagged posts for that area. Then visit relevant and recent tagged posts – not those of competing businesses, obviously – and leave a comment as well as an emoji and follow the individual if you like everything you see. Hopefully, this will be the start of an organic interaction.
For example, in the event that you offer life coaching services, you could type in your location accompanied by “entrepreneurs.” Local entrepreneurs could be searching for more work and life balance or help with life goals or career challenges.
Similarly, when you have a physical location that people have checked into on Instagram, touch upon those posters’ pictures to be sure they’re aware of your Instagram presence, and follow them.
These are the best ways to build Instagram followers the correct way: no bots, no shortcuts, just old ways to engage with your audience and turn them into followers!
Susan Friesen, founder of the award-winning web development and digital marketing firm eVision Media, is really a Web Specialist, Business & Marketing Consultant, and SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING Advisor. She works together with entrepreneurs who struggle with getting the insufficient knowledge, skill and support needed to create their online business presence.