From starting out as a cool photo-sharing platform, Instagram has quickly become a competitive place for brand marketing. It outgrew its initial expectations and is still growing rapidly. The engagement rates on Instagram are also the best compared to other social media platforms. Even its parent platform Facebook is facing somewhat of a deadlock when it comes to growth and engagements. With such huge potential, it has become even more important now to build your followers on Instagram.
In 2019, Instagram is home to a number of innovative brands and influencers. Getting the attention of your audience has become somewhat difficult than it used to be. However, if you have the right strategies in mind, you can definitely grow your Instagram followers at a fast pace.
1. Get in on trending topics
Participate in trending topics and famous discussions to get yourself noted on the big stage. Gather attention by innovatively getting on these topics and participating in competitions. Tailor your content according to prevailing events or topics to suit the needs of the audience. Use innovative photos, organize competitions, ask opinions, and give promotions to engage the audience. Make sure to use relevant hashtags that are super popular to gain the attention. Your innovative replies can get you so much growth beyond your expectations. Use such events to gear up your marketing campaign and gain some followers yourself.
2. Use Instagram stories & highlights to introduce yourself
Properly introducing yourself through the simplest possible means is highly imperative. A user should immediately know what you are offering as soon as he visits your profile. Using Instagram highlights to give a brief introduction about your brand and your products is a great strategy. Through a minimum number of two or three touches the user can know everything important about you. These highlight stories should be very innovative and luring so that the user may stick around for more. Posting stories regularly are also a great way to engage existing and to lure new followers as well.
3. Collaborate with other brands & influencers
Influencer and brand marketing is more popular on Instagram than on any other platform. Collaborating with them not only allows you to attract your followers but also theirs as well. You are very much likely to gain a significant number of followers through this strategy. Even partnering with an influencer having 10k followers can produce significant results. Collaborating with other similar brands is another mutually beneficial relationship. Make sure to analyze the results of the collaboration for future initiatives.
4. Promote your own hashtag
You need to create and promote your own hashtag to gain followers. Promote your hashtag in your posts, stories, influencer marketing, collaboration with brands, billboards, pamphlets, menus, and other platforms. Gorilla marketing is another amazing strategy where you can use innovative and luring methods to promote your brand. This is very important, your hashtag is your identity which people will use to find you. So make sure you put your best efforts into this.
5. Quality over quantity!?
You have heard this phrase before, quality over quantity. This is true even in the case of Instagram, well more or less. If you are not producing quality content, instead of gaining followers you are in danger of losing your existing followers as well. On the other hand, if you are producing quality content but posting it like once per day. You are not likely to get the desired results. You need to be posting at least two to three times regularly to capture and retain the attention of your audience. Whether in the form of regular posts or stories, you need to constantly engage your followers.
6. Integrate content with other platforms
Integrate your Instagram account with other platforms like Facebook, Twitter etc. Get your posts and stories to be automatically linked with Facebook. You are much likely to gain followers once you integrate with multiple platforms. Regularly embed your Instagram posts on your blogs or videos to take your traffic directly to your Instagram page. Integrating and communicating across multiple platforms allows you to gain followers across these platforms. Your engagement rates will improve a lot and your sales will go through the roof.
7. Create creative ads to attract attention
Promoting through paid Instagram ads are probably the best way to gain followers. These customized ads are paid promotions that you use to reach your desired audience. Of course, the cost of these ads varies significantly with your target location, and with the amount of reach, age group and duration. Start with smaller ads and as you build up followers you can move onto bigger locations. Also make sure to cover up your local market first. As more often than not, you will face much less competition in your local market.
