I’m going to start this off with an assumption: that we all want more followers, more reach, and more engagement on Instagram. Because, well…why wouldn’t you? More followers and more engagement mean better results overall for your business – and perhaps, even more sales as a result.
The ‘trick’ to creating a winning Instagram growth strategy is to, quite simply, actually create a strategy – and stick to it. Forget posting just for the sake of it. In this blog, I’m going to give you best tips that will help you improve your Instagram growth strategy: from how to use hashtags strategically for maximised results to what to post and to how to engage your followers, there’s everything you need to put together a growth strategy that on delivering, time and time again.
Join Lilach Bullock, Content Marketing and Outreach Specialist, for a practical webinar on How to improve your social media results using your analytics, as part of Smart Insights' Digital Priorities Summit.
There’s no denying the impact that hashtags have on Instagram success. Use the right hashtags and you’re almost guaranteed to reach more people, get more engagement, and even more followers – provided, of course, that you also have a good image to post as well.
So, how do you use hashtags strategically in order to get the most out of them?
In research conducted by the Social Media Lab, they found that using hashtags with your posts can lead to an increase in likes of 70%, on average.
But, how do you choose the right hashtags? And how many should you be using?
Ideally, you should put together a spreadsheet with relevant hashtags that you’re likely to use:
Once your list is done, you’ll get to kill 2 birds with one stone: always have relevant hashtags at the ready and save time.
As for how many hashtags to use per post, that is debatable; the consensus seems to be around 5 to 15 hashtags per post, however, there are lots of different opinions and studies over what exact number of hashtags will get you the most engagement on Instagram.
Buffer, for example, claim that 11 hashtags is the way to go; the afore-mentioned Social Media Lab, have found that 8 hashtags gets them the most likes. I could go on and on – the best thing to do is keep your hashtag usage at about 10 per post, and experiment with different numbers yourself to see how it affects your results.
Of course, you can always try for 30 hashtags per post, the maximum allowed on Instagram.
However, if you’re going to post that many hashtags, use Neil Patel’s advice and put the hashtags in your post’s comment, rather than its caption.
Otherwise, 30 hashtags at once can look a bit spam-y…
If you want to be a more efficient Instagrammer, save time and get better results, then spend some time putting together a daily content strategy:
By creating a daily schedule, you’ll know exactly when to post and what, you can make sure that you’re always posting new things, and ultimately, it will also save you time.
Here are a few ideas on what you can post on Instagram:
Try taking photos from around the office, as well as from when you’re out and about with the team; for example, when on company retreats or team building exercises, team lunches, and so on.
Here’s Mobify showing off their team at the Google io7:
Mobify reppin' at Google #io17
A post shared by Mobify (@mobify) on
Or Agorapulse, showing off their team working at a beautiful location in France:
Or, even Smart Insights, hard at work with...with some cider for beer o'clock on a Friday.
A post shared by Smart Insights (@smart_insights) on
There’s nothing we like more on Instagram than food – except maybe for the Karsdashians and cute pets. Definitely in the top 3 though!
Your business doesn’t have to have anything to do with the food industry; anyone can take a photo of their lunch, lunch or dinner with the team, food you’re thinking about, and so on. Instagram is informal, so posting this kind of content won’t damage your brand, and in fact, will only help you attract more people’s attention.
Be honest with yourself: wouldn’t you rather look at some delicious looking cake, rather than a photo of a product being sold – any product really?
For example, Postplanner is sharing a pic of what they want to eat for brunch the next day…
As I mentioned earlier, pets are up there as one of the most liked and shared social media posts. The cuter, the better.
Once again, just like with food before, your business doesn’t have to have anything to do with pets to post the occasional overly cute dogs, cats, and any other cute animal you can think of.
Buffer, for example, use cute animals to make people go “aww” and to motivate them:
FedEx, too, have found a great way to promote their product using cute pets:
Don’t forget about your own business, either. There are plenty of ways that you can highlight your business and your products or services in a way that will still garner likes and comments.
If you’re selling a service, you can post photos and videos of your team getting ready – or in the process.
If you’re selling products, you’ve got even more options: photos and videos of the product being made or being used by someone, promotional pics, and so on.
FedEx, for example, share images of their vans at work:
A post shared by FedEx (@fedex) on
People also love inspirational updates on Instagram (and social media in general, if we’re being honest). These are super easy to do, all you need is a good quote, and a tool like Canva to post it over a compelling image.
Like this motivational quote from WeWork, that generated thousands of likes:
Monday mantra. What's yours? #tgim #wework
A post shared by WeWork (@wework) on
The main thing to understand here is that you need to diversify your content: promotional, cute, fun, entertaining, motivational, and so on. And furthermore, that you need to be consistent; post new content regularly and try to change things up every day.
User-generated content (UGC) is very big on Instagram; it’s a great way to get your fans and followers involved, get more engagement, and reward your customers and brand ambassadors.
One of the options is to start your very own UGC campaign, where you come up with a concept and hashtag and ask your followers to take pictures with the hashtag.
Aerie is a brand that does this beautifully; they claim never to photoshop their models and have started a campaign called #AerieReal. Their fans can take pictures of themselves using this hashtag (close to 90k photos at the moment) and Aerie posts the best on their profile – for example:
Keeping it cozy with @thinkblush in our Chenille Crop Sweater. #regram
A post shared by aerie (@aerie) on
With over 14k likes, it’s safe to say the campaign is very successful.
But you don’t necessarily have to create a campaign to use UGC. You can also repost photos of your fans using your products/services, and other awesome content that you think would fit with your image.
This is what I love about Instagram for business. If you’ve got great pictures and videos, use the right hashtags, and you’re consistent, you can get very far and build a very successful business profile.
What are your top tips for using Instagram for business?
Smart Insights are holding their fourth digital marketing Summit on the 12th December, where they will explore the key digital trends for 2018. Join Lilach Bullock, Content Marketing and Outreach Specialist, for a practical webinar on How to improve your social media results using your analytics, as part of Smart Insights' Digital Priorities Summit.
How to improve your social media results using your analytics
Research shows that marketers often overlook the importance of measuring your social media ROI. Even more so, they don’t use their analytics to inform their strategy and improve it.
In this webinar, you’ll learn:
- Why you need to pay close attention to your analytics
- Why you always need to measure your success
- Practical tips on how to measure your social media success
- How to use analytics to test your ideas and improve your results!
By Lilach Bullock
Lilach Bullock is highly regarded on the world speaker circuit, Lilach has graced Forbes and Number 10 Downing Street. She’s a hugely connected and highly influential entrepreneur. Listed in Forbes as one of the top 20 women social media power influencers and was crowned the Social Influencer of Europe by Oracle. She is listed as the number one Influencer in the UK by Career Experts and is a recipient of a Global Women Champions Award for her outstanding contribution and leadership in business. Check out her site Lilach Bullock or connect with her on LinkedIn
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