Josh Barney — March 12, 2020 Instagram has more than 1 billion monthly active users, making it an integral social network for businesses, brands and marketers looking to grow awareness and build a serious following.
^^^Old news, right?^^^
If you’ve visited any content about Instagram in the last few years, you’ve almost definitely read an intro that looks a little like the opening to this article.
And although this message is repeatedly hammered home (wherever you look)- it’s true!
If you’re marketing to a target market who are digitally inclined (even slightly) and aged between 16-49, Instagram is definitely a great place to market your business.
Instagram Post Reach
When you’ve made the (correct) decision to market your business with Instagram, your next step is to optimise your profile and posts to reach as many people as possible.
In the remainder of this article (AKA the rest of my 500 words) I’ve picked out some of the best tactics to increase your post reach on Instagram- giving you tools to grow your following and increase awareness.
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Post Timing:
Make sure that your Instagram page is a business account (this is free btw), then get over to their analytics page to see what days and times you’re getting the highest density of followers and ‘discoveries’.
Optimise your post timing around this information!
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Engagement Driving Posts
When somebody interacts with your posts, the Instagram algorithm is much more likely to show them your next post.
This is why you should occasionally post content that drives high levels of engagement. A great example of this is a contest (that requires a like, comment and share to enter).
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Hashtags
Hashtags effectively act as labels that categorise your content on social media.
They allow people to find content easier and more recently, users can even follow hashtags on Instagram.
Insta allow you to use up to 30 hashtags per post. Use a hashtag generator to find the top and trending hashtags in your niche, and copy and paste these into your Insta comments!
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User Generated Content
UGC are posts made by your followers that have a direct relation to your brand, products or social media account.
When you paste these in your account, they are much more likely to get shared on Instagram- particularly by their creators.
UGC are relatable for your target audience, and encourage other members of your following to post about your business (and appear on their page).
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Stories!
If you’re posting something with tons of value that is more than just a simple photo, e.g. a video, carousel, or long-form Instagram caption, use Instagram stories to promote it!
Stories are highly visible at the top of Insta, and might be seen by followers who do not see your content buried in the newsfeed.
Use story posts to promote a tiny part of your content, e.g. 15 seconds of your video, one of the carousel slides, or a short piece of teaser copy!
And that’s 500 words!
Check back to my author profile to discover more marketing content explained in 500 words, or discover 4 more ways to increase your Instagram post in How to Reach More Instagram Users in 2020
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