9 Tips for Increasing Your Brand's Instagram Following

As Instagram continues to be one of the most popular social media platforms for consumers, businesses are catching on. In November, Instagram announced that it reached 25 million active business profiles. And it’s not only businesses that are on it, but consumers are interacting with brands, too. The platform reported that 80 percent of Instagram accounts follow a business and 200 million users are visiting a business profile every day.

If your brand is not utilizing Instagram’s platform and growing your audience, you are missing out on an opportunity to reach new customers. Following these nine tips will help grow your brand’s Instagram following and brand awareness:

Set up a Business Profile. For those who may still be using a personal account or are creating an account for the first time, you need to be set up as a business. Business profiles provide additional insights and analytics about how your content is performing. This profile will also prominently feature your business’ contact information on your profile.

Get Creative With the Link In Your Bio. A frustration for many social media marketers and brands that have grown accustomed to providing links to further information on social media, is that Instagram does not allow for this. One area in which you can include a link to your website or content is your bio. Whether you are promoting an article you were featured in, a landing page to sign up for your services or your website, updating the link to your post content is critical when engaging followers.

Use Hashtags. Although hashtags may have originated on Twitter and are used on multiple social media channels, Instagram is arguably the most valuable social channel to use them on. Common hashtags are how many users discover content and therefore are a way that brands can significantly increase engagement. Using a branded hashtag for your company, campaigns and industry keywords are all ways to engage interested users who can then connect with further.

Follow Accounts. By now, most people are aware at this point that social media is not a “set it and forget it” type of medium. The more engaged your business is with users, the better your ROI will be. Following other accounts on Instagram is one way to easily engage followers and many accounts will follow your brand back, increasing your following. Making sure you are connecting with those in your industry, those who follow you and those who engage with your content should be part of your ongoing strategy.

Publish Consistently. Without a regular stream of content, your brand will not be top of mind for users. Posting once a month and then fives times in one day will also not move the needle. Having a consistent content strategy for Instagram that aligns with brand messaging and design will get the attention of your target audience and keep them engaged over time.

Include a Call to Action. Start by asking your followers to “Like if they agree,” “Double tap if they love this menu item” or “Tag a friend who should see this.” Similar to other social media platforms, asking for engagement provides users with a simple action to take if they are paying attention to your content and enjoying it.

Ready for them to do more than like your post? Include a call to action directly for them to view a video, check out your website or subscribe through the link you have provided in your bio.

Post at the Right Time. While research may show that posting at 5 p.m. receives the highest level of engagement, this might be different for your brand. Try testing out different times and think about what makes the most sense for your audience.

Provide Exclusive Content. Some users only follow brands on social media to receive discounts or coupons. By offering coupons, discounts or giveaways, you can create value in having a user follow your account. Give back to your followers and provide a positive experience for them to remember your brand by.

Utilize Instagram Stories. The Stories feature was created to give users the ability to show more than just the highlights of their lives–and businesses should follow. Live, real-time photos and videos provide behind-the-scenes status updates that can show the human side of your brand to your customers.