Growing your account is important. Consider interaction and engagement rate.
Growth can have different stages with different priorities. So make sure to know which stage you are in and what your current goal/ priorities are.
Different stages
What not to do
-Buying followers: Will hurt engagement rate
āFollowers will come naturally with strategy and valuable content
Through stories
Factors that determine rank (Story line: Be showed to users first)
-How recentā The further up
-Interaction: If people engage through a poll/ reply/ rewatch the storyā Ranked higher
Use Reels
-Instagram is prioritizing video content (More likely to push your Reel out to new people)
-Reels have the biggest ROIā 28x the potential reach of any other type of content
-Your audience wants to watch themā Reels are easy to consume, engaging and fun
Use the right Hashtags
-Niche hashtags: Look up hashtags relevant to your niche and engage with the posts that are listed there
āA great Instagram hashtag strategy doesnāt just reach more people ā it reaches theĀ rightĀ people for your businessā
-You can add 10 hashtags to each Instagram story
āDonāt make your hashtag text too small in stories (Could become illegibleāWonāt appear in any hashtag searches)
āInstead: Blend your text-based hashtags into the background (Same colour)
Which hashtag do i choose
-Aim for hashtags with between 10k-200k posts (Activity around the hashtag, but wonāt instantly drown out your content in the masses)
-Can add a few popular ones, a few niche ones
Where do I find hashtags
-Related hashtags show which hashtags are used most often alongside any given hashtag
-Look at what other successful brands in your niche use
-3rd party offerings: Examples: Later
-Through the Instagram Explore Page (Instagram Explore Page typically only displays posts that are performing well, so it can be an excellent place to find strategic hashtags)
-Analytical approach: Look at the performance of the hashtags you used
Amount of hashtags
-Maximum number of hashtags allowed by Instagram is 30 in a post
āWhile using a few hashtags is good, using 20-30 relevant (and targeted) hashtags is even betterĀ for your overall reachĀ andĀ engagement rates
Interact with others
-Look up some big accounts in your niche & interact in the comments
-Let creators know how valuable their content is
-Engage with other people in the comments
Through Shoutouts
-One user promotes another user on their own Instagram account
Type of shoutouts:
-Paid shoutouts
-S4S (shoutout for shoutout)
-Voluntary shoutout
Important steps in creating a relationship to get a shoutout
1. Be picky about who you choose
2. Build relationships before pitching them (Before you ask a stranger to vouch for your integrity, give them a taste of it authentically)
3. Start a conversation with a thoughtful message or email
-Example: Canon (@canonusa):
-Photographers who use a Canon camera can include the hashtag #MyCanonStory in caption
-Canon regularly reposts some of the most captivating shots, as well as a quote from the photographer and shooting details like the camera model, lens, and exposure settings
-Win-win for both Canon and its loyal users
āBoosts in their credibility and following
Through Collaborations
Similar to the idea of using other influencers reach to promote yourself, collaborations with accounts in your niche can be helpful to grow your account:
-Find the right businesses to collaborate with on Instagram (Identify businesses or influencers that have your ideal customers in their following)
Possibilities:
1. Co-Create Posts and Reels with the Instagram Collab Feature
2. Invite guests to join you in an Instagram Live Room
-Instagram will notify the audiences of both the host and guests and throughout the live broadcast followers see live stream at the front of their Stories feed
-Promote Instagram live room prior to even
3. Feature Multiple Contributors in Instagram Guides
-Each post within a guide links back to an existing Instagram post, reel or product page
-Add saved posts from multiple contributors to your guide
āOriginal post creator will get a notification letting them know their content has been featured
āWhich can trigger them to share it with their audiences (Similar to a shoutout)
Press Features
-Can make small influencer into media hit overnight
āI went from a popular blog to thousands upon thousands of followers overnight just because Business Insider featured my Afghanistan trip!ā
-Major Press companies do sometimes reach out to bloggers and travel influencers
āBut mostly you need to reach out to them
Go on in the suggested order with: