We’ve been talking lately about how exactly to boost your business marketing with Instagram. Unlike what lots of people still believe, Instagram is not only a fun app where you can post food, holiday and family pics.
Instagram has turned into a powerful brand-building, audience-building and content-marketing tool for businesses. It has over 200 million active monthly members sharing 60 million images and 1.6 billion likes per day.
A note of caution: there are numerous people on the market who promise to cultivate your Instagram followers by the thousands, but beware. Most of them use fake accounts developed by bots to inflate your numbers.
These kinds of followers have zero value. In fact, they are able to even be dangerous, wanting to steal your password or photos or infect you with a virus.
According to the data security company Imperva, these bad bots take into account 28.9 % of bots on Instagram.
The ultimate way to build your Instagram followers is by being authentic to your brand and your audience.
Here are 3 tips to help you get real Instagram followers:
Tell a tale with Hashtags
It’s great to use your organization name as a hashtag, but you have to think beyond that.
In order to use your Instagram posts to obtain followers, use other hashtags that tell the story of the image you’re sharing. You would like to start a conversation if you are sharing posts for things such as:
Events
Promotions
Contests
Product launches
A good example of a brandname would you this well is @Tostitos. They use the hashtag #GetTogetherAlready to encourage people to get together and share their chips, and to use the hashtag when they share photos of their meetups.
By using engaging, relevant hashtags, you may be discovered in Instagram searches and hopefully build-up followers on Instagram.
Get Creative
Instagram is all about photos, so many people think of the caption being an afterthought.
Don’t neglect the image caption! You can generate engagement and promote sharing by using descriptive words that will engage, inspire and entertain your followers.
Here are some ideas to help you build-up followers on Instagram together with your posts:
Use questions in your caption. Write your question at the start of the post in order that people see it first.
Get personal with your post. Tell a tale about yourself, or how your product helped or inspired someone else.
Ask people to tag others. Asking people to tag three of their close friends or tagging someone they are grateful for brings other potential followers in to the equation.
A great example of a brandname that does personal posts well is the @NatGeo Instagram account.
They create breathtaking Instagram Stories with informative captions to educate the user on the plight of animals all over the world.
Remember in free instagram followers of using Instagram posts to obtain followers, it’s all about being authentic. Don’t use questions atlanta divorce attorneys single post or tell a personal story that isn’t genuine.
Go Local
One of the best methods to build your Instagram followers would be to get to know your neighbours!
Whether you’re creating Instagram ads or want to promote your event in a particular area, you can see what’s happening near you by going to the search page and simply clicking the Places tab.
Type in the location to see the geotagged posts for that area. Then visit relevant and recent tagged posts – not those of competing businesses, obviously – and leave a comment as well as an emoji and follow the individual if you like everything you see. Hopefully, this will be the start of a natural interaction.
For example, if you offer life coaching services, you can type in your location accompanied by “entrepreneurs.” Local entrepreneurs may be looking for more work and life balance or help with life goals or career challenges.
Similarly, assuming you have a physical location that folks have checked into on Instagram, touch upon those posters’ pictures to ensure they’re alert to your Instagram presence, and follow them.
These are among the best ways to build Instagram followers the proper way: no bots, no shortcuts, just tried and true ways to engage with your audience and turn them into followers!
Susan Friesen, founder of the award-winning web development and digital marketing firm eVision Media, is really a Web Specialist, Business & Marketing Consultant, and SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING Advisor. She works with entrepreneurs who struggle with getting the lack of knowledge, skill and support needed to create their online business presence.