So you want to be Instafamous huh?
Or at least, you want your brand to be.
Well, we’ve got good news for you. Globally, Instagram use is on the rise (yew!) and us Aussies just can’t get enough with Instagram rapidly on the way to becoming the most dominant social platform, especially for consumer engagement and perception.
In Australia alone, Instagram has 5 million active users meaning it’s almost doubled its reach since 2013 (snaps for that!) mostly by 18-29 year olds who make up 58% of users #sorrynotsorry.
So if ever there was a time to get your brand to Insta stardom, it’s now! While it may seem daunting, we’ve put together 5 key areas to focus on so that you can grow your brand or business to a socially acceptable follow to following ration in no time.
Here at L&A we grow over 40 client Instagram accounts per day (woah, even we’re impressed!) which means we know a thing or two about those #follow4follows, hitting the golden 10k mark and making the most of all those double taps (which you will no doubt be flooded with after you read this blog).
Here’s our definitive list of the most effective ways to grow a targeted Instagram following and make it a good one, cause ain’t nobody got time for ghost followers!
Content
First things first- I’m the realist get your content on-point!
You’ve got to give users a reason to follow your Instagram account and with 600 million active Instagram accounts out there, it had better be a good reason!
Make sure you’re only posting hi-res, quality images and that your page has a strong, clear aesthetic. Each post should match the last and you should be conscious of your image layout when deciding what like-worthy post to upload next.
Content should also be frequent (we recommend 4-5 posts per week) and be uploaded with a clear purpose – don’t just post for the sake of posting!
While we recommend both, quality over quantity definitely applies when you want to get your ‘gramming game on.
Engage
Now that your page is lookin’ sufficiently envy evoking it’s time to make the most of the two-way communication platform that is social media. You’ve probably got some followers and if you’re savvy, some might even engage with you. When this happens, grab them! Grab them and never let them go.
Like, reply, follow back, send them a smoke signal, do everything you can to show that you value their engagement with your page, because keeping followers (especially active ones) is just as important as gaining new ones.
Get double tapping
Go fourth and double tap! The best way to make sure your dream followers discover your page is to discover them first. To make sure your followers are actually, truly, 100% interested in your page it’s important to make sure you like and follow users from accounts within your industry, accounts you aspire to or the followers of those accounts that have a similar product offering or brand proposition to yours.
Hashtag
No, you’re not #instafamous just yet, you’ve gotta get your hashtag on first. Why? Hashtagging relevant (key: relevant) words or phrases puts your content up there when your fellow ‘grammers search for things under that tag. Use 12-15 hashtags that are specific to your post – bonus points if you can include one that is trending!
Double bonus points if you put the hashtags as your first comment- you know, so it doesn’t get in the way of your awesome status.
Track your success
Ahem, just because your followers are going up (and up and up), doesn’t mean you should stop there. It’s just as important to make your new found fans are ya know, real fans. Discover what your fans are loving about your brand by testing different content styles and then give them more of what they’re engaging with.
Track when, where and who is giving you the best brand growth and ensure this is in line with your bigger brand goals weather it be reach, engagement or a shift in brand perception.
Now go ahead and grow little one, grow!
