4 Incredible Ways to Make the Most Out of Instagram
If you are looking for ways to make the most out of Instagram, then you are in the right place. Today, we are going to cover the best practices for Instagram engagement, using Instagram Stories, and working with brands to level up your Instagram game.
You can use any content, even from your everyday life, just know that Instagram, or any social media for that matter, evolves over time. It’s never going to be the same, so you’ll have to constantly learn and adapt as you use the platform.
Always Be Testing
If you want your social media accounts to flourish, you have to learn about what your audience likes. To do that, your only option is to experiment with different types of posts. People react to posts that inspire them or entertain them or make them think. The best type of posts really is those that tap into people’s emotions. Experiment and figure out if your audience is into inspirational or funny stuff by posting different content. See which posts get better hits and get you more follows.
Most people think that to have a successful Instagram account, you have to be a model or someone famous and post iconic shots and bikini photos. While that works for some, there are others who found success in posting other kinds of content. That’s why the most basic thing you need is to learn and understand your audience by experimenting with different posts.
Maybe your audience will like video posts, or thought-provoking quotes and graphics. Maybe your audience is geared more towards appreciating artistic shots or funny skits. Whatever your brand is, the way you can attract more audience is by listening to what they want to see on your page.
Moreover, aside from experimenting with different types of content, also test out when to upload your posts. Find out when your audience is most active on the platform and play around with the timing of your posts until you get it right.
Here’s a trick I’ll share with you when you have absolutely no content to upload: re-post stuff from other people. Of course, don’t forget to credit and tag them. There’s a re-post app you can use for this which I will share in a while. There is always a solution to a problem. If you don’t have any content to post, don’t be afraid to improvise and get content from elsewhere. Just make sure that you’re tagging the original content provider, no harm, no foul.
The bottom line is, don’t be afraid to experiment and test out different content types. Don’t just focus on your content, focus on what your audience likes to see from you. As you begin to learn more about your audience, you’ll figure out if they are more receptive to pictures or videos. Figure out your platform and find out which helps increase your engagements.
Instagram Stories
Instagram Story is a feature a lot of people love, including me. It’s freeing to play around with Instagram Stories because the stuff you upload in it only lasts for 24 hours and it stays at the top of the feed without disrupting your follower’s feed. This can give you the flexibility to try out a couple of techniques without the pressure of putting something permanent on your feed.
Instagram Stories allows you to upload video clips and photos with fun filters to spice up your content. You also have the ability to do a live broadcast. You can go live anywhere whether you’re at a basketball game, your living room, your studio, in your car stuck in traffic, or wherever. Lastly, if you want to save your stories for longer than 24 hours, you can save and put them on a “highlight” which can be seen on your Instagram profile for however long you want.
Instagram Stories are great because it gives you immediate feedback from your engaged audience when your content is relevant to them. So, for example, when you upload a post on your main page, you’ll have a comment section where people can say anything they want to say. With Instagram Stories, your followers can react to them and even send you a dm when your post highly resonated with them. This is when you’ll learn that your stories are a hit or miss.
You can post on Instagram stories for as much as you like or as little as you want, you don’t have to worry about annoying your followers because they won’t pop up on their Instagram feed. You’re not going to overbear them if you’re posting too much.
Using hashtags and locations in your stories also helps increase followers. If you’re trying to gain attention to get people to visit your website or subscribe to your newsletter, there’s a feature where you can put a link on your stories that will directly take them there.
Building Engagement
When you’re using Instagram for business, the thing you probably want to achieve is to increase your followers. To do that, you have to focus on building engagement.
Engagement with your fans will boost your posts to the top of people’s feeds. If you have a post that has a higher amount of likes and comments from someone else’s post, your post will be promoted over the other person’s post.
Instagram is ever-evolving and constantly changing, and one of the biggest challenges is to beat the algorithm when they got rid of the chronological order. The algorithm includes everything from likes, comments, direct messages, or any other interactions your posts are getting. That’s why you don’t just focus on likes, you focus on everything that will get your posts engagements.
How do you get more comments? The first trick is to respond back to all the people who have commented on your post. This will instantly double the number of comments on your photo. If you want to have a genuine connection with your audience, you have to engage. You can’t just upload something and leave, you have to interact with your followers in the comments section.
Another way to increase engagement is to ask a question in your captions. Instead of having a long and detailed description, you can add a question that will entice people to reply to it in the comments section. Research shows that when you ask a question, people are going to want to answer it. So, that’s a plus for building engagement.
Always be on the lookout for new trends and techniques in the community.
You can also comment on other posts to grow your audience. Go on other accounts that you genuinely vibe with and leave a relevant comment. People like reading through comments. If they like yours, there’s a big chance that they’ll visit your page and follow your account, too.
Another tip is to use hashtags and locations to get people to stay on your post. The algorithm takes into account how long a user spends time looking at a post, that’s why having a good caption, asking a question, implementing locations, and using hashtags can help your post have engagements.
Go look at your posts. Are you using hashtags? Are you asking questions? Are you using a location? If you’re not using these tips and tricks, try it out and see if you’re garnering more engagement and growing your fan base.
Working With Brands
Let’s talk about brands. Over the years, I’ve learned that audiences really don’t mind ads as long as they’re done in moderation and in a unique and genuine way. That’s the challenge of making ads. Also, space them out because you don’t want to have back-to-back ads that will annoy and frustrate your viewers.
What are the Different Types of Sponsorship?
There are different sponsorships on Instagram. There’s a one-time-only deal in which a brand offers your an X amount of dollars for a one-time post. And then there are others where a brand offers partnership to a person that they believe could be a great representative of their brand. There’s also a unique sponsorship where companies hire people to go out on events and cover those with their Instagram Stories or their main feed.
The coveted sponsorship is where you get to have a relationship with a brand. You can build trust in both ways and these brands can then give you more freedom to talk about their product in your own unique and genuine way. When you do well with brands, they’re gonna want to continue to work with you. It’s a win-win situation when you’re helping increase their fanbase and getting their products out there.
How do you get started working with brands?
You’re not a celebrity, or an athlete, or an influencer with millions of followers, so how do you get started working with brands? The first tip is to go after them. Search for brands that you genuinely want to work with and send them a direct message. There’s nothing wrong with this method, really. A lot of times when you start reaching out, they’ll send you products, you can try the product out, interact with your fans, and continue to grow those brand relationships from there. Don’t forget to tag or hashtag the brand.
At the end of the day, this is another reason why you should grow your followers organically and not buy them. If your goal is to get brand sponsorships or promote products, you’ll want to get your messages across to a real audience.
Final Thoughts
Instagram is a great platform and if you are someone who wants to make the most out of it, always work on your engagements. Don’t be intimidated because when you do things the right way, you can absolutely conquer this platform. Make the most out of Instagram with the tips we shared and enjoy success as you build your account.
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