Instagram is a powerful marketing tool for businesses of all sizes. With over 1 billion active users, it’s a great way to reach new customers and grow your business.Â
However, simply having a large number of Instagram followers isn’t enough. You need to be able to turn those followers into customers.Â
The following tips and tricks will help you learn how to do just that.
1. Don’t just build an audience, build a community
Your Instagram followers are more than just fans, they’re a community. Communities offer more engagement, with followers that DM you, share, like, and comment on your content.
When you build a community, you create a group of people who are invested in your brand. These are the people who are more likely to buy from you and recommend you to others.Â
To build a community on Instagram, start by interacting with your followers. Like and comment on their content, and respond to their DMs. Show them that you’re interested in them as people, not just numbers.Â
You can also create community-building content, like Q&As, polls, and contests. These are great ways to get your followers talking and interacting with each other.Â
2. Continuously research your community
To grow your community, you’ll need to be constantly keeping up with them. This is deeper than uncovering their engagement rates, demographics, and peak time online.
Get to know what their interests, pain points, wants, and needs are. Find out why they aren’t yet customers (or why they are), who else they’re following, what they like the most about your offer, and why they were attracted to your profile.
All of these are subject to change as the world changes. A great way to obtain such data is by running a survey, posting a poll on your story, or simply DMing your most active followers.
3. Vary your content
Never get too comfortable on social media.Â
You should always look for ways to switch things up to keep your community interested and engaged. This will help you stand out from all the other companies they’re following.
You can do this by varying post formats.Â
For example, designate one day a week to a single image post, another for video, a reel the next day, and maybe a carousel photo the next.Â
You may even consider going live and answering customer questions. This is one of the best possible ways to get in touch with your audience, allowing them to put a friendly face to your brand and get their questions answered in real time.
Strategizing Instagram content
Be consistent in your publishing. We can’t stress this enough.Â
Posting irregularly and infrequently will give you a bad rep and cause you to lose followers. It’s also important to note, however, that posting TOO regularly can annoy your followers.Â
You’ll need to find that perfect sweet spot–ideally, no less than twice per week but no more than 5 or 6 days a week.
What you do share will need to be powerful enough to improve the lives of your community. This may involve sharing new ideas, professional insights, or motivating them. Content like this will encourage your community to stick with you and anticipate your next post.
Posting behind-the-scenes content is another way to strategize your content. People want to see the work that goes into your products and services. This type of personable content gives them something to relate to and will tap into their emotional side.
4. Monitoring the right analytics
Are you looking at the wrong analytics?
If you’re feeling discouraged by your results, chances are you’re looking at the wrong metrics.
Your KPIs should match your goals. For example, don’t fret over post likes if your goal is to increase your sales. Instead, focus on conversions.
At Bizzuka, lead generation is our specialty. To get started gaining more leads via social media, schedule a free strategy call with our experts. We’ll help you tweak your strategy to get the most out of your marketing.