Some Instagram accounts you absolutely have to follow, right? These accounts have that extra something that draws followers in, posting regular updates that you look forward to seeing in your daily feed. Unsurprisingly, these accounts do not leave their success to chance; they use specific strategies to draw in new followers and keep them returning for more. Want to know how to improve your Instagram profile?
Whether you use your Instagram profile to market your business or for personal promotion, the best method to improve your chances of success is by increasing the number of followers that you have. The more followers you have, the more people you will potentially be able to reach. If you are using Instagram for brand marketing purposes, this can translate into increased sales, so keep in mind that instagram marketing agencies can be an extraordinary tool in promoting brand awareness.
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Originally, Instagram was created as an app to allow users to share their photos. This sharing app has now become one of the foremost social media phenomenons, and a great advertising vehicle for companies to increase their customer base. Instagram is estimated to have more than a billion users during any month of the year, with many of them following at least one business page, proving it to be an effective vehicle for business and social media marketing.
Recently the platform has rolled out some key changes, especially in response to its competitor, Snapchat. Third-party platforms have restricted access and there are plenty of new features to explore.
Choosing Your Profile Photo
If you are promoting yourself and your personal brand, choose a photo that is really you, because it will be the identifiable key when someone visits your profile. If you want to be viewed as a serious professional or as a fun-loving influencer, select a photo that transmits this message. That one small bio photo needs to communicate your principal message, and it should be 100% authentic; authenticity is more approachable.
Companies, on the other hand, will want to use their logo so that it is easily identifiable; you’ll want to let your clients know that they are on the right page.
Photos should be bright enough to work well on smartphones and mobile devices. Avoid poor quality or fuzzy pics, after all, first impressions are important.
Photo by Oleg Laptev on Unsplash
Your Username Is Important
A username is a lowercase, one-word handle that becomes your Instagram URL. You can use a maximum of 30 characters and spaces or symbols are not permitted. Your username is crucial because it’s how followers and online traffic will refer to you or your company when commenting – so make it easily memorable.
If you already have an Instagram page and are considering changing your username, don’t do so hastily. You’ll have to change wherever you have used the old name for past activities, meaning not just Instagram but business cards, guest opinions or blogs, and everything else where your Instagram presence has been cited.
Selecting Your Instagram Name
This is the name that will appear on your profile. This choice offers a bit more flexibility within the thirty characters or spaces. Here you can include your keywords, and your Instagram name does not have to be identical to your username.
Many successful accounts choose to add a keyword next to the name, explaining what they do (such as SeeneDigital Marketing Agency). Before selecting, research the name you’d like to use. If your name of choice is frequently searched for, by all means, use it; you not only can better your Instagram profile but increase your visibility at the same time.
It’s worth noting that, if you do choose to change your Instagram name, you are not obligated to fix all the links in which you already appear, as you will have to do when changing a username.
Consider an Instagram Business Profile
Consider converting your personal profile into a business profile. Business profile accounts offer additional tools and features that are designed to increase your number of followers. You will automatically have access to Instagram ads, Shopping, and Insights, and you will have more opportunities and tools at your disposal for customization. You can add links, contact buttons, and business locations and hours of operation if applicable. The call-to-action button also lets your audience and potential customers contact your business.
Still, perhaps the best thing about switching to a business profile is that you can access more social media marketing insights and analytics. This will give you an exceptional view of how many users follow your content, how they found you, and their demographic information. The platform will enlighten you as to where your followers come from, how often and when they are online, and above all, which content is getting you the best results.
You will also get access to ads in the event that you want to invest some money in paid promotions, and you can associate your Instagram account with a specific Facebook page.
Once you’ve made the leap to a business account, select your category to let visitors know what you’re all about from the get-go – then focus on sharing consistent, on-brand content that helps to shape and celebrate your brand’s ethos.
Social media presence is a powerful tool in conveying what you want consumers to know and appreciate about your company’s identity, values, and more. An excellent example of this is clean-label food company Safe + Fair’s instagram account; its content sends a very clear message of the company’s dedication to nutritional food choices that are tasty, fun and perfect for allergen-conscious eating. In among their fresh, bright instagram content are some delightful shots of children enjoying their multivitamin gummies with arrows and font to enhance the image in their brand style.
Maintain a Consistent Online Presence
Your online presence needs to be extensive and consistent. This means connecting with Twitter and Facebook and using a profile image and handle that is common to all; consistency pays off when attempting to attract more followers.
Post consistently and at the right moment. Research when the best time is to post content by using software aimed at determining the best times for specific content or by reading your follower insights.
If you are posting any time you feel like it, you might be missing an opportunity to capture new followers or likes. Consult insights to view when a majority of your audience is online, then program your posting around when your audience is present.
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Find Your Voice and Get Passionate!
Do you feel strongly about something or are you focusing on a particular issue or problem to solve? Talk to your community as if they are friends. Choose your words carefully and the tone when posting. Work for engagement and not as if you are yelling from a soapbox; you want dedicated followers, not just scrollers.
Make it a point to post diverse content; your personal experience and/or your brand should communicate a story that a broader and more diverse audience can connect to.
Prepare Your Bio Carefully
Instagram profiles allow you 150 characters for your biography. Take care in preparing your biography and make every character count. It should be concise and summarize who you are and what you do. Make sure that it communicates and emphasizes what benefits users will have by following you and what kind of updates they can expect from your posts. Address the user and communicate why he or she should follow you. Add in emojis to jazz it up a bit, and choose formatting that facilitates reading. Make your bio a call to action.
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Prepare Appealing Instagram Stories and Highlights!
Stories come with lots of benefits including multiple fillers, a live feature, gifs, and location tagging. When marketing a product or building a personal brand the stories feature lets you narrate yours.
Post diverse types of content. Followers will look for stories and magic, so share yours. Despite stories only being visible for a very limited time, you can keep the really interesting ones showing permanently on your profile by using highlights. These highlights appear beneath your profile information but before static posts. With this method, users will be able to view old stories even after the 24-hour limit. This can be crucial with new followers that may have missed important postings.
Exploit the Reels Option
In mid-2021, reels were added to Instagram as a response to fierce rival Tik Tok. Vertical content under sixty seconds in length can feature varied content accompanied by trending sounds, and it’s a tool worth leveraging.
Invite Your Followers to Interact
Invite your followers to interact with everything you post, as this is one of the best ways to get users to engage with you. Posts should include some type of call to action. Dedicate time to engage with your followers; they will notice if you are only posting and then logging off, or if you are remaining on for some time to allow for a possibility of interaction.
Establish a specific amount of time, (ten minutes, a half hour), and comment or “like” back so that you build your community and followers feel like they belong in a two-way relationship, as opposed to just being viewers.
Always Use Hashtags
Posts with hashtags tend to attract more engagement, so make it a point to intentionally include hashtags to boost activity on your profile. 30 hashtags are permitted with each post, so use them all, but choose wisely. Experiment, but don’t miss this opportunity.
Hashtags are a great tool for engaging folks that are new to Instagram or just searching on the platform. Do your homework and find a dozen relevant and trending hashtags then insert them in the comment space below a photo. Experiment by changing or alternating them and see which ones bring you the best results. Posts featuring at least one hashtag generally obtain better results and more engagement.
Add a Location Tag
Adding a location tag can open your posts up to an entirely new audience. People interested in your location may then see your posts because you’ve tagged the place. Location tags are essential for capturing those searching on Instagram in different ways.
Establish Instagram Contact Settings
To fully benefit from your Instagram profile, contacting you should be easy. This can be achieved by placing contact options directly on your Instagram profile.
Business accounts also allow you to add an email address, a physical location, and a telephone number with a call-click option. Your physical location can also provide driving directions; for those that work at home and prefer not to give out a private address, just add your city and state and this location will appear in your bio so followers know where you are.
Use Your Instagram Link Wisely
Your Instagram profile allows you one link in your bio. Whether you want to promote a business, product, website, or blog, this link can drive your traffic.
Don’t Forget to Insert a Grid
For an attractive visual Instagram profile, use a grid that will combine your last nine posts. This can serve as an attraction to viewers, especially for visitors and new followers. You need to take your insta marketing skills to boss-level to compete with whoever is top of your industry-game!
Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash
Instagram Optimization
To boost the number of followers you have, the quickest method is to optimize your Instagram account. This means optimizing your content so that it ranks higher on search results used by Instagram which will give you more visibility. Nonetheless, applying SEO methods to Instagram is not the same as SEO for Google; with Instagram, it’s important to add the right hashtags to your posts and profile. Planting an important word in a relevant hashtag crucial to your profile is one key that can be especially effective when paired with keywords in your Instagram handle or profile name.
To optimize your profile, consider the characteristics that can get you visibility, but do not depend on search words alone. Instagram also collects data on the accounts that you follow or relate to. The likes you give to posts, together with keywords will all factor into optimization. Integrate important search keywords into:
- Your username and name. This will be easier for private users, whereas with brands it can be more difficult, but be creative with how you use your brand name
- Include keywords in your biography. Describe your company, brand, products, or desired sector of influence, and don’t forget secondary keywords. Keywords can be a significant key in popping up on other Instagram searches. Include these in your captions
- Hashtags can be keywords!
- Alt-text or alternative text allows for vivid descriptions. Originally designed for the visually impaired, it’s a great vehicle for your keywords
- Boost your tagging. Encourage friends and followers to tag you so you appear more often.
Still need help with promoting your brand? Consider using an instagram marketing agency to increase brand awareness.
Engagement is Everything
Instagram is a territory unto itself, and unlike many other social media spaces. Navigating it can be confusing, especially when the platform changes parameters often. Remember, for algorithm magic, engagement is everything.