5 TIPS TO DOUBLE THE SUCCESS OF YOUR INSTAGRAM MARKETING
A picture is worth a thousand words. Or so they say...
If this is true, why is it that so many marketers struggle to grow their brand on Instagram while their Twitter and Facebook accounts take off? After all, a picture has got to be at least worth more to your audience than 140 characters, right?
It’s true that visual marketing and Instagram, in particular, seem to be the future of social media. However, most entrepreneurs are clueless about how and where to start on their path to Instagram domination. Luckily, with the tips and tricks I am going to layout in this article, you can easily double your Instagram success in a very short amount of time.
1. Research your market
This may seem blatantly obvious. Like getting-slapped-in-the-face-with-a-frozen-fish obvious, but before anyone complains, let me ask you a question. Have you done it? You see, most people think that they know their audience. Most people are wrong. Even if you have done extensive market research on other social media platforms, that does not mean that you know what your Instagram audience is looking for.
Set aside some time to do some serious Instagram market research. Figure out what accounts your audience is following. Look at which hashtags they are using.Examine the competition associated with popular hashtags in your niche. Really dive deep into your market until your understand their habits better than you understand your own.
2. Create a consistent theme
The next step to improving the success of your Instagram marketing is to pick a central theme for your posts and stick to it. This point is predominantly for businesses using Instagram, not personal Instagram accounts to boost your brand.
Post pictures that are congruent with your main theme. Avoid posts that are not 100% in line with your company and values. Pick a color palette that is similar to your company’s website and logo and use it for all of your photos. Also, make sure that you are using the same filter across all of your pictures. This will help your posts become instantly recognizable to your audience.
3. Ask your audience to turn on post notification
It never hurts to ask. Yet, you would think it’s the most painful thing in the world. When I tell brands to ask their users for anything, they tend to freak out and think it will scare away customers. In fact, the opposite is true. Asking users to retweet your post on Twitter resulted in a 4X higher retweet rate (compared to just “hoping” they would do it on their own).
Now, I know that Instagram and twitter are completely different platforms. However, the same psychological principles apply to both. Occasionally post pictures that instruct your users to turn on post notifications for your account. Use bold, colorful, eye catching text with a giant arrow pointing to the settings button. This will result in increased post engagement and will indirectly result in more followers. Don’t overdo it though. Include one of these posts maybe once every two weeks.
On this schedule, your audience will still have a gentle reminder to turn on their post notifications without feeling that you are being pushy.
4. Test out your hashtag use
Hashtags have been the topic of much debate since Instagram became popular. Everyone and their third aunt have an opinion on this topic. Some people suggest that you focus on smaller, niche hashtags. Other people tell you to only select big hashtags. Experts suggest that you only use 5-7 hashtags per post. Other experts say that you can use as many as you please.
The truth? It depends. While there are certain marketing axioms related to human psychology and platform algorithms, hashtags are not an exact science. Our brain did not evolve to like or dislike pictures based on the number of hashtags the post contained. And Instagram doesn’t have an advanced algorithm specifically for hashtags either.
So what is the solution? Experiment. I recommend that you start by using 5-7 hashtags, selecting 1-3 large hashtags and 2-4 niche hashtags, but like with everything in marketing, the key is to test.
Spend a month or two using as many 15 hashtags per post. Then spend a month using only 2-5 per post. Spend a month focusing purely on niche hashtags. A month focusing on large hashtags. And then spend a month using an even split of both. In the end the data will not lie.
5. Join an Instagram community group
Instagram is competitive. Yes. But, there are still entrepreneurs out there who would rather work together than try and out-compete every other user. By joining Instagram community groups you will have access to hundreds and even thousands of other marketers in your niche who want to collaborate, not compete. These groups will often comment on each other’s posts, like photos and use follow-for-follow to help every member quickly grow their Instagram accounts.
Combining social media marketing with blogger outreach is a potent recipe for growing naturally Instagram following fast. Surprisingly, the vast majority of Instagram marketers that I know do not use this tactic, which is a shame. If you implement this powerful strategy, you will see your numbers soar. And after using this growth hacking technique for a while, your engagement and following will start to grow organically.
Conclusion
Instagram is a powerful tool for marketing yourself, your products, and your business. But you have to use it right. Equipped with the above guide, you are well on your way to achieving massive success as an Instagram marketer, but remember, these things take time.
You need to be patient, test out different approaches, analyze the data, and make your marketing decisions based on the metrics. By doing this, you can slice your growth curve in half and quickly build up a massive, highly engaged Instagram following.
Article by Neil Patel