A popular question I get: “how do I grow my audience on Instagram?”
People want to know how to make their follow count go up, how to get more people talking to them, talking about them, engaging with them.
It is important to continually work on growing an audience because these are YOUR people, your customers, your audience.
Here are some ideas on how you can grow your audience:
Be consistent
Consistency is key- always be consistent.
Be consistent with your theme. Be consistent with what you post. Be consistent with when you post.
For new followers, your Instagram bio and the last nine posts you have posted are their first impressions of your business. What you want is for those to be cohesive, informative, and posted recently. What you do not want is for those nine posts to be confused, disjointed, and posted months ago.
Post at your optimal times
Go into your Instagram insights and find out WHEN your people are online.
If they are online in the morning, post in the morning.
If they are online in the evening, post in the evening.
Post when people are already online.
Use hashtags
You have thirty hashtags you can use on each feed post and eleven you can use on your stories. USE THEM!
People go searching for relevant hashtags, people follow hashtags, people DO still use hashtags.
Use a diverse range of hashtags- geographical hashtags, content relevant hashtags, industry-relevant hashtags, niche hashtags.
Do not forget to include a personalised hashtag- make one up that is basically your brand name and include that in every post you make.
Share User-Generated Content
If your people are posting about you, about your brand, if they are posting images of your products, if they’re posting ABOUT your products, use that content on your own feed.
You can find existing images from people who have tagged your account, or you can ask people to send you some images.
You can make the request on your stories, you can put up a main feed image, you can add a little request into your next newsletter, even add in a little card saying “please share your images with the #....” when you send out your products.
Use the “Tag Location” Feature to Find Local Followers
Add your location to each and every post you post to your main feed- this is just another way for people to find you!
Each location has its own Instagram feed AND its own story. Post regularly to these feeds for more local people to find your small business.
Hop on trends that fit your brand.
If a current trend aligns with your brand and would not look out of place to your followers- don’t hesitate to jump on it!
This can include trending topics, current world events, hashtag holidays, viral challenges.
The most important thing is that you keep things aligned with your brand and make sure what you add to the conversation is meaningful
Use Paid Advertising
There are multiple Instagram options for using paid advertising on the platform- you just need to find the budget and the method that suits your business.
There are MANY ways to grow your audience but do not forget to focus on engagement and not the number of followers you have.