Be Authentic

With anything you share on Instagram be true to who you are or the messaging of your business. Do not post something just because you think people will like it, true colors will show through eventually. What you post on Instagram should be true to your business values or personal brand at all times. You should also be appreciative to your following, especially if they reach out and ask questions in comments or DMs. If you want people to want to follow you, you should be willing to interact and be polite and approachable. Do not be afraid to be vulnerable, admit mistakes or show your flaws. We tend to always put our best food forward on social media but showing your imperfections can really help people relate and connect with you or your business.

Share your story

Social media growth is all about making connections. Sharing your story on Instagram allows people to relate to you and want to follow what you have going on. If you are a business you should also do the same, no matter if you are small or large. People like when you get personal, though it does not mean you have to share everything you do. If it is your own business, be sure to share about yourself as well. You will see that photos with people in them and stories that show faces tend to get more views and engagement. If it's a larger company, highlight your employees. Making it personal allows people to connect not just with your brand but to build trust in you.

Research hashtags

Hashtags are what help you gain more exposure outside of your following on Instagram. The hashtags you use should be relevant to what you are posting. If you are a business, use hashtags that represent both your business as a whole and also ones that are specific to the picture that you are posting. Mix up the hashtags you use on instagram as well. It’s not good to use the same hashtags all the time. The Instagram algorithm does not like that. Also refrain from using hashtags that are either to general or too specific. If it is a well-used hashtag, over a million tags for example, then the likely hood of people seeing your post will be lower. A good rule of thumb with Instagram hashtags is, use hashtags that are lower and more specific but still get good exposure. A good rule of thumb are always choose hashtags that are under 1 million and some that are closer to 100K and then some that are even under 50K, a mixture of those work well to get you good hashtag impressions. You can use up to 30 on each photo and I recommend using all 30. You can either put the hashtags in your Instagram caption towards the bottom or in the comments below. There is contradicting information out there as to which option is better. I have tried them both and to me it seems to work the same either way.

Tag relevant accounts

 You can tag up to 20 Instagram accounts on each of your photos. Do not just tag random accounts. Doing tags on your Instagram posts can bring more exposure to your photos and Instagram account. Tag things that make sense. For example, when I am traveling in a certain city or country I look for the official tourism accounts for that country and tag them. If you are wearing a certain brand of clothing that you can see in your photo, you can also tag that brand. Think about what what your photo is about and find relevant Instagram accounts to tag. That Instagram account may see your photo and decide or ask to re-share it. If they share it then they should tag your Instagram account, giving you even more opportunity for exposure and Instagram growth & engagement.

Use alt text

Alt text is a little hidden secret that I actually only found out about recently. When you go to post a photo you will see an option for alt text (that maybe you did not notice before). Here you can put a couple sentences that describe your photo. This allows your photo to be more searchable, using SEO keywords. It is especially useful for businesses to try to gain more exposure to your target audience.

Add Value 

Share valuable tips with your Instagram following. You can do this through your Instagram post captions or stories. If you are a blogger, let people know about your new posts. Give a list of tips in your particular niche or expertise. Give people a recipe, or whatever it is that you can teach people. We all have things we can learn from each other. Maybe you are not trying to be an “influencer,” but sharing is never a bad thing. If you come across a new restaurant you like, show your meal and tag the restaurant. I can’t even say the number of times I have seen something good on a friend’s post and then went out and tried it!

 Ask questions

This is where you can really increase your Instagram engagement and create a more personal relationship with your current and potential followers. Ask a question in every caption. This gives people a better reason to leave a comment and also an opportunity to start a conversation. Ask questions in your stories too! There are some great features that Instagram has built into the stories now where you can do polls, open ended questions and quizzes. These are great to utilize and help to engage your instagram following.

Engage with your followers

Do not expect a lot of likes and follows if you are not giving any in return. If you are a business, seek out your target market and start engaging with their photos & stories. If you are an influencer or blogger and want to connect with brands or hotels first build a relationship with them through social media. In both of these situations is shows that you are interested in brand. On that note, truly be genuine with your interactions. The extra time in really connecting with personal or business accounts is what can lead to new clients or opportunities.

Post at the right time

 Timing is important in order to get the most exposure. You should post when your audience is the most present on Instagram. You can find your best times for your Instagram posts in a couple different ways. The first is, if you have a business account on Instagram you can check your insights. Go to the audience tab and down at the bottom it shows you the hours of each day that most of your audience is active. You can take it a step further and get specific times for your account that are best. I use the app ‘When to Post’. I use this and it has helped me get a lot more impressions on my posts by posting at the specified times.

Quality over Quantity

 Numbers are not everything. You can have 100K followers and all of them are meaningless and do not engage with you. You want to find quality people to connect with. If you are a blogger, connect with other bloggers in your niche or people who have interest in your particular topics. If you are a business, seek out your true ideal targeted clients. You can do this by searching relevant hashtags, account names or locations all in the search tab. Buying Instagram followers or likes will do you no good on their own, I do not recommend it at all. You need to search, engage and attract your ideal audience. The possibilities on Instagram for that are really unlimited.

Hire a Social Media Manager

All of this can take a lot of time but if you invest the time and know how to focus that time instead of just scrolling aimlessly it can really payoff and help you reach your personal brand or business goals. Hiring a social media manager can really help ease your trouble, put time back into your hands to focus on whats more important as a business owner. Hiring a SMM also means you have someone who knows how to implement Instagram strategies and has the time to really help reach the right following that can turn into clients.  Click here to check out my packages & rates. I am always happy to schedule a free call discuss what you are looking for, answer questions and see if I could be a good fit to help your business thrive!

Health, Love & Happiness,

Courtney