Instagram is an excellent tool for promoting your business, especially if you offer visually appealing products such as trendy clothing or fashion accessories. However, even if your products don’t translate well into photos, Instagram remains an exceptional platform for increasing brand awareness. Here are five surefire ways to gain more followers and enhance your business visibility on Instagram.
1. Consistency in Posting is Key
Keep your followers engaged and capture the attention of new ones by posting on Instagram every day, ideally multiple times if possible. If you don’t have enough unique photographs, consider cross-posting other interesting images you find online. Additionally, you can share images consisting of overlaid text, such as intriguing quotes. Quotes are generally effective because users who relate to them tend to tag their friends in the comments section, thereby increasing your profile’s visibility.
2. Harness the Power of Hashtags
Maximize the reach of your posts by including relevant hashtags in the caption box. Research trending hashtag expressions and incorporate them to boost your content’s visibility. Also, create a unique hashtag for your business and periodically include it in your posts. This automatically generates a distinct category for your content, making it easier for users to find tagged photos through Instagram’s search function.
3. Offer Special Promotions
Occasionally, provide special promotions to your followers, such as free or discounted merchandise. Encourage users to share your photos or use your business’s unique hashtag to be eligible for each promotion. This strategy essentially generates free marketing for your business: participating users will promote your profile to their own followers. Moreover, new users will be incentivized to follow your profile to participate in future promotions, expanding your potential customer base.
4. Cross-Promote Your Instagram Profile
Instagram’s search function lacks the advanced capabilities of other social networks like Facebook and Google Plus. Therefore, users might find it challenging to discover your profile unless they already know your username. To mitigate this effect, share your Instagram profile on all other social networks you use. Set up automatic cross-posting of your photos to Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus, so that followers on those sites can easily navigate to your profile. Additionally, set up an Instagram widget on any external blogs or websites your business uses to encourage visitors to follow your profile and receive future updates.
5. Advertise in the Real World with Stickers and Business Cards
Invest in inexpensive stickers and business cards featuring your Instagram username and/or your business’s unique hashtag. Offer them to customers who purchase your products or services, thus promoting your business in the real world. Advertise locally by placing stickers in high-traffic public areas. This will inspire users to search for your profile on their mobile devices while commuting.
Every successful social media marketing campaign should leverage the vast user base of Instagram. Regardless of the type of business you’re promoting, Instagram provides an easy way to increase brand awareness while acquiring new customers in the process.