Love it or hate it; one thing is for certain – Instagram is a social media platform which is undeniably here to stay. There are over 400 million Instagram accounts which are active every single day, and 51% of Instagram users access the platform daily. It’s one of the most rapidly growing social media platforms, and presents an excellent opportunity for ecommerce businesses to market themselves and gain customer acquisition. As a unique visual platform, Instagram offers businesses the option to visually represent themselves, which is why it’s such an exciting platform to work with – but how do you increase your engagement? Here are some great tips for improving your rate of engagement on Instagram.
1. Embrace Hashtags!
Hashtags have a time and place, and Instagram is both the perfect time and place to get involved in hashtagging. On Instagram you can work with up to 30 different hashtags per post, allowing you to describe and categorise your post, increasing your exposure to new audiences. You can hide your hashtags by adding them as a comment to your image, rather than spamming your Instagram caption, and each hashtag presents an opportunity to expose your brand to new customers. Similarly, browsing hashtags is an excellent opportunity for you to find new customers searching for keywords that relate to your brand. Embrace hashtags, incorporate them into your posts and utilise them for customer acquisition.
2. Engage
Following on from the previous point – engagement is absolutely everything on Instagram. It’s a conversational platform built for engagement, and engagement equals exposure. If you get comments on your images, it’s imperative to reply. Similarly, leaving comments and likes on accounts you’re following will help to encourage engagement on your account and build your brand exposure.
3. Follow
Instagram is a platform built for following. Following back your customers to engage with them, following accounts which compliment your business, following potential clients and indeed following competitors to assess the market! Don’t be scared to press the follow button – and you should see those results replicated in your analytics.
4. Analyse
Speaking of analytics; analysing is everything! In order to succeed on Instagram you need to analyse your content and determine which types of images do well for your brand on this platform. Assess your engagement and likes for each image and analyse which types of imagery is benefitting your brand.
5. Be Consistent
Once you’ve established which types of content works well with your audience, consistency is key. Think of your Instagram feed like a digital storyboard to represent your brand. You need to regularly post content, building your account and offering a host of different images for your audience to engage with. Consistency will bring more exposure, which in turn will bring more engagement.
6. Repeat
The key to Instagram is finding what works for you and repeating it. Using the right hashtags with lots of exposure, regularly engaging with a host of different potential clients and customers, following plenty of different accounts for inspiration and exposure, analysing your content regularly and consistently posting content designed to encourage engagement. Repetition is everything, and dedication will help you ensure Instagram is a vital platform for your business.
Following these 6 simple steps will help you increase your Instagram engagement in no time! Keep your finger on the pulse of the competition, suss out what works and keep at it. Instagram will quickly become one of your favourite social media platforms.
