Does your business not have that many followers on Instagram? Instagram has consistently grown in the past few years and is expected to grow further. It is becoming a more and more important tool for businesses to connect with customers, share deals, and encourage repeat purchases and visits. But many companies struggle to gain followers. And although there are many get-followers-quick-schemes, your company really only benefits when your follower base is made of real potential customers that are in your area. There are a few ways to improve your following and your overall Instagram strategy.
Improve Your Instagram Content
The first key to growing a following is keeping your following. It is important that your content is consistently engaging and seen as worthwhile by your followers. There are a variety of ways to accomplish this. Restaurants can share pictures of weekly specials. Retail locations can show new arrivals. Mechanics can show vintage cars. No matter what industry you work in, there is definitely content that your fans would enjoy. Many businesses use their platforms to share their customer’s photos, run meet the team campaigns, and show images from the office. Overall the most engaging content involves a personal touch and shows your fans what is happening at work. Additionally, you want your photos to inspire conversions. Showing your products and specifically showing sales or other promotions is a surefire way to get your followers to not only engage with your pictures but to also consider stopping by.
Cross-Promote Your Instagram Account
Do you have an existing follower base on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn? You can share your Instagram account with them to encourage them to follow multiple accounts. It is important to note that this requires that each of your channels has unique, engaging content. You want content on each channel to be exclusive. If you unilaterally publish the same content to all of your platforms, there is no benefit for your followers to follow multiple accounts. If there is a specific social media channel you want to do well, focus your promotion and specials content on this account. Make sure that your fans know that there are Instagram-exclusive deals being offered on Instagram so they know to follow.
Run An Instagram Sweepstakes
This is a strategy that isn’t free like the others, however, it can be very effective for large short-term growth. There are many varieties of Instagram sweepstakes. Choose one based on your goals. For instance, if you are looking to increase followers set the rules as “1 entry – per five people tagged in the comments of this post”. If you are looking to increase engagement, set the rules as “Post a picture with our hashtag to enter”.
Other Social Media Strategies
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