Most Brands are using Outdated Instagram Marketing Strategies, You too?

Understand that Instagram rewards accounts that keep users on the platform.

Thus your aim as a business account should be more than just getting a few hundred likes on a post.

In fact, you want to give your customers something to engage with to keep them there.

Understand that Instagram like many other platforms requires time and effort.

There are no quick tips and tricks on the road to popularity.

It's about repeatedly giving your audience what they want on a consistent basis.

I am going to be focusing mainly on your feed.

Do understand that there are strategies for your IG profile bio, IG stories, and IG Live as well.
There are even DM strategies too.

So where do you start?

Know Your Audience

Have you spent time identifying your audience? If not then stop reading this immediately and figure that out.

Your audience informs your strategy. Not just for IG but for any platform/niche/marketing in general.

You have to have a deep understanding of your audience and the tribe you are trying to attract.

It is more than saying I want “millennials interested in the laptop lifestyle”.

Good start, but you want to think deeper.

A 20 year old millennial and a 33-year-old millennial want two different things. Also, not every millennial who is interested in a laptop lifestyle is willing to go about it in the same way.

Hone in on who you are serving because once you know who they are you can then give them what they need, over and over again.

[Tip: If you have 500 or fewer persons following the account, slide into each person’s DM with the following script:

Thank you so much for following me. I (We) am humbled that you would do so. I (We) would love to know why you decided to follow us so that we can bring better value to you.

Doing this may sound tedious but the treasure trove of information you will find out know doubt will help you target future followers better.]

(Valuable) Content (That Works) is King

It's not just the quantity of your content that is important (I will discuss that below), it's the quality.


This might seem too obvious to mention, but it’s actually a critical point when thinking about how to get followers on Instagram. Every post on your Instagram grid needs to be of high quality and visually engaging.

When a new user visits your profile, the content should make them want to see more. It’s that wanting more that inspires a new visitor to click Follow.

Great content also encourages people to like, comment on, and share your posts. That engagement gives you an Instagram Algorithm Boost and helps you get more reach and new followers.

And, of course, consistently posting great content ensures that your Instagram followers stay followers.

You want to educate, entertain and inspire your audience.

Give them what you know they want.

How do you know they want it?

By identifying what’s working.

Make a list of accounts that serve the audience you would like to serve or accounts that are doing what your business does.

I suggest 3 categories of accounts.

• A large account with millions (or mid to high hundreds of thousands) of followers.
• A mid-sized account that has thousands of followers.
• And a small account that has hundreds of followers.

Do an audit of these accounts, take note of the following:-

• Their account size.
• Which of their pictures get the most likes.
• Which of their pictures get the most comments.
• What hashtags they are using.

Then…

Start posting pics and videos similar to or exactly to the ones they are posting that are receiving the most engagement i.e. likes and comments.

Once in a while, you can even repost one of these accounts' most popular pictures.

Consistency

If you want to build quickly you better be posting (valuable content) at least 3–7 times a day for 6 months straight.


Visual marketing tool Tailwind studied more than 100,000 Instagram profiles in 2017 to understand how posting frequency affects follower growth and engagement rate.

They found that the more often you post, the more likes and followers you get.

According to the study, profiles that posted seven or more times a week (or at least once a day) get more likes and gain more followers faster than those that post less frequently.

People need to know they can rely on you every day for what they need.

And guess what, like anything in life, doing something consistently is going to reward you.

And just when the Instagram algorithm starts to reward you for that consistency by sending even more engaged followers your way, what should you do?

Increase your posting schedule of course.

You see, most people start to ease off the breaks when they start to get traction.

I advocate the opposite.

I suggest putting the pedal to the metal and ramping up your efforts.

Meaningful Questions for the Win

Engage with your community. What does that even mean???

If you are in the raw vegan niche then hit up other raw vegan profiles, follow and leave comments.

But not just any old comment.

Did you know that comments with 3 or less words are usually perceived as bots by the Instagram algorithm?

Sooo… you want to say more than just “yea” or “love this” or “(leave a litany of emojis)”.

Instead, go for something a bit more insightful.

Like: I enjoyed this recipe video, can you tell me what type of spiralizer you used?

Leaving a thoughtful question does two things:

#1 The account owner is more likely to check out your account and follow you back.

#2 Others who look at the post are more likely to check out your account and follow you back as well.

Hashtag Strategy

This is yet another way that your audience is going to find you.

Think about what hashtags your audience is already using.

This is a great way to build community and gain new content for your account. First of all, create a unique hashtag (make sure it’s not already being used!) and ask others to use it. It works best if the hashtag has a specific purpose.

Once people start using your hashtag (and YOU use it, too!), then you can repost images from your followers (giving them proper credit, of course!). 

Not only does this build community by showing your followers that you appreciate their photos, but it also gives you content for your own account.

One way to do this is by identifying long-tail keywords.

So if knitting is your niche, simply using the hashtag #knitting is not enough.

Why?

Your post is going to get lost in the hundreds of thousands of other posts under that hashtag.

Better hashtags may be #coolknittingpatterns #knittingmadesimple

[Tip: Turn on the notifications for larger accounts (or accounts that have really honed in on the audience you wish to serve. Within an hour of them posting start following the accounts that liked their post who satisfy the following criteria:

#1 A real person’s face is in the profile pic.

#2 The account has significantly fewer followers than the following.

#3 The account is set to private (the increased likelihood that they are a real person).

This MUST be done within an hour of the posting because this means that the persons who liked that post are likely to still be online and therefore have the opportunity to follow you back.)]

If you can consistently post valuable content that you know your audience will enjoy, all the while engaging the community with questions and hashtags, you should be on your way to the most popular account in your niche in no time.

Use Instagram Stories!

Believe it or not, Instagram Stories are rapidly growing in popularity, to over 400 million daily users. Many users even report they love watching Stories more than the endless “scroll” of their feed


Get creative with your Stories. Take your followers behind the scenes and show them the most interesting parts of your day. 

Ask questions. Use polls, quirky GIFs, and music. Play with filters and Boomerangs. This is an amazing way to start getting comfortable on video and connect with your followers in an even deeper way.

Link your Instagram account to your other networks.

If you have a blog, Twitter, or Facebook, then you might assume your people are already following you on every platform. Hint: they probably aren’t! Share a quick tweet or Facebook post encouraging them to follow you on Instagram…it will reel in more followers than you think. 

This will help your followers on other networks discover your Instagram account — and proceed to follow you there, too!

Final Note

You need to realize that the newer generation of buyers is more used to older branding and marketing schemes. A sweet scripted method of engaging with them will no longer work.

Being out-of-the-box, vocal, real, and vulnerable. 

These are the relatable and required qualities for any new brand to survive in the new Instagram.