Has your Instagram following reached a plateau recently? Posting high-quality content is the key, but what comes next? Here are six simple steps that can help jump-start your brand's engagement right now.
1. Optimize Your Bio
The Instagram bio is prime real estate, make sure yours is working for you. The name line allows up to thirty characters. Add a descriptive title if your company name doesn't fill the space. Add a website link and include the keywords and hashtags that are important to your products. Use formatting to break up information and make it digestible.
2. Organize Hashtag Groups
Rather than posting the exact same group of hashtags to every post, organize three or four different hashtag groups. This will make it easier to select the hashtags most relevant to each post and increase your exposure. Many Instagram planning apps offer the ability to save the most used hashtags into easily accessible groups.
3. Use Hashtags in Caption
Make sure to include your hashtags in the original caption of the image, not as a separate comment. This will help increase potential of your image getting included in a hashtag feed and avoid the dreaded Instagram Shadowban (i.e., having your posts hidden from users that don’t follow you because you’ve violated some unwritten rule!).
If you’re concerned about the cleanliness of your caption, use about eight hard returns at the end of your copy before adding your hashtags.
4. Post Stories
Use the Stories feature to highlight a different view of your brand and related topics. Posting a behind the scenes of a photo shoot will get followers excited about upcoming content. Posting a poll about a forthcoming product will give fans a stake in your next release.
Think of your regular feed as the more curated, higher-quality imagery that you want to stick around longer, and use Stories for quick glimpses into your brand or timely events. Stories should compliment your regular feed by giving fans a different perspective on your content.
5. Regram Influencers
Seek out influencers whose brands or focus align with your own and regram content with similar qualities. This can open up new exchanges with influencers' followers and open communications for future collaborations.
6. Engage, Engage, Engage
Building on the last point, engage with your followers as well as other brands and influencers that compliment your own brand. Respond to comments, questions, and direct messages but also reach out. Leave a genuine compliment for someone who inspires your own work and open conversations with others who follow them. It can be easy to get so wrapped up in organizing and planning that we forget the social part of social media.
With a few focused steps, growing your Instagram account will be a fun and creative way to take your business to the next level.