Instagram has more than 700 million users with 200 million active users daily. This is a platform, which one can use to market themselves and grow, more so as a brand. Today, you can even blog via Instagram. Social media has grown over the years and these such platforms have made it easier for people to educate, inform, and entertain just by the touch of your smartphone.
The marketing opportunities on Instagram are countless. It is therefore important for your brand to be able to pop out and be the lead in whatever you want to bring out. Best practices such as user-generated content, visual consistency, and on-point messaging are one of the options to consider.
To be able to make your brand pop out on Instagram, here is what you will need to keep in mind.
Be creative
To build a following on Instagram, you need high-quality content. You need to be creative in creating such content. Create content that people care about. Instagram is a platform where you get a real chance to engage with your followers, and being creative is very important. Be creative, and show the human side of your brand.
Work on the Hashtags
Hashtags are a great way to make your content pop out. Using hashtags to your caption can raise the visibility of your Instagram posts to other users. According to research, Instagram posts with 9 hashtags perform best in terms of engagement. However, each photo can have 30 hashtags.
Hashtags are also the only way to search on Instagram. Therefore, if you want to be found, you have to use hashtags. People follow hashtags on Instagram, and there are many that you can use to increase likes and comments from the start. Stick to hashtags that make sense for the photo you are sharing and use it often. Build a hashtag around your brand. Encourage others to use your hashtag to be featured on your page.
You can search within Instagram itself to sort the trending ones from the not so popular ones. An article done by HootSuite goes in depth on the use of Hashtags on Instagram.
Tell a Story
Do not just share a visually interesting photo. You are posting to market your brand, so make sure your photos or videos also tell a story. Know what image will tell your story and make sure your photo captures that image.
For instance, the page Humans of New York on Instagram always showcases stories which people can relate with. Brandon Stanton, the photographer, gets his subjects to open up about life details that even many family members may not know about them.
Kenyan blogs like KaluhiKitchen.com and Bikozulu.com also share amazing Instagram pictures with stories on their pages Kaluhi’s Kitchen and Bikozulu respectively on Instagram.
Engage
Engage with your followers. Comment and like on their posts, and respond when they comment or like your posts. Keeping engaged with your followers will create a good impression, and your followers will also be more likely to share your posts.
Engage with followers, be human and have fun. Do not focus too much on numbers in the beginning, but focus on building your community and building your brand around it.