Instagram is a wildly successful image and video social sharing network with over one billion active users. It’s a veritable visual feast. However, there are so many features to keep track of, it can get confusing. Bios, hashtags, stories, algorithms, IGTV, and the IG Explore page, can make your head swim. What’s the proper protocol for posting, and what are the best practices to grow your business using Instagram? Learn how to to grow your brand on Instagram by reading the tips below.
Whether you’re a blogger, influencer, internet marketer, or small business owner, Instagram is a fabulous tool you can use to boost your exposure and reach. Below are some simple strategies you can implement every day to grow your following.
Table of Contents
How To Grow Your Brand On Instagram
1. Keep It Real
Most people can detect insincerity a mile away. We’re experts at sniffing it out. What we all crave is connection and authenticity. Painting a picture of your polished life, in all it’s perfection, is not a good way to get more followers. In fact, it’s a great way not to get followers because you’ll probably intimidate people as they compare their not-so-perfect lives to yours.
We all want to be friends with real people. Share the good times, but also share your struggles, insecurities, and fears. Share your life it all its messiness. Being real is the best way to extend your influence and presence on Instagram.
Have you ever browsed an influencer’s profile, with their millions of followers, and thought to yourself: ” Their lives must be perfect!” This is a fallacy. That person is as human as the rest if us. One of the reasons they have so many followers is probably their ability to keep it real.
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2. Get Followers Organically
I know it may be tempting, but please don’t buy followers. Besides the fact that it’s not cool, you’ll have zero engagement, and most likely some shady followers in the mix. Targeted strategies that involve posting consistently, and engaging with your audience, are far more advantageous and honest ways to get followers.
Keep in mind, content is more than images and text. Try your hand at Instagram stories, IG Live, and IGTV. Shake it up and see if your following doesn’t grow. Be selective in who you follow. Following people willy-nilly, in the hopes of them following your back, can appear inauthentic. Follow people relevant to your brand and who you are genuinely interested in. Be intentional in who you follow on Instagram.
3. Be Active Everyday
Instagram likes consistency. People that follow you do too. The more you post, the faster you’ll see your following grow, which will provide more opportunities for engagement and interaction. Posting regularly is important, at least in the beginning when you’re first starting to grow your brand.
Once you’ve have been on IG for a while, and have seen significant growth, you’ll be able to relax a bit. However, consistency will always be key. There’s nothing better than unique, fresh content that’s available to view daily. Your followers will anticipate what’s coming next.
You can’t go wrong if you post a variety of content that is personal, entertaining, motivational, educational, and thought-provoking. And don’t forget to include witty, sincere, and eye-catching captions to supplement your content and images. I find that creating a posting schedule helps immensely, and is one of the best strategies for success. Content will always reign supreme. There are a number of automation tools you can use to automate your posts while you sleep. Tailwind is my favorite.
4. Connect First
It’s true, Instagram is an incredible platform in which to promote your products and services. However, being too salesy or over-promoting is a turn off, and could backfire. Resist the urge! Most of us have pretty good BS meters, and know when someone is all about the money.
The first order of business for any social media platform is connection. Connection, engagement, and interaction is the best way to build trust. Trust is an indispensable factor if you want to eventually turn your followers into paying customers.
Post a lot of content and interact by responding to the comments you receive. Not only will this help your business, it sends a message to IG’s algorithm that you’re engaging in an open discussion with your audience. Commenting and liking others’ content is also a great strategy to facilitate connection, relationships, and potentially future collaborations.
5. Use Linktree
Linktree is a brilliant workaround for not being able to add more than one link to your IG bio. It’s free to use and is a great way to optimize your Instagram traffic. All you need to do is add one Linktree to your bio. When someone clicks on it, they’ll see all the links you would have added to your bio if allowed.
These links could include URLs to your social media accounts, your website, a specific post, a training, an ebook, a landing page, or a product you’re selling.
You can customize your Linktree in regard to colors, fonts, and button styles. It doesn’t take more than a few minutes. Linktree is an incredible tool that I use for all my Instagram accounts. Read more below:
[Read More: How To Add Multiple Links On Instagram]
6. Use Hashtags
Using hashtags to your advantage on Instagram is good practice, but using too many can be annoying. Keep your hashtags to a handful of meaningful tags that reflect your brand, your personality, and your business. Having a few set hashtags makes it easy to automatically add them to each piece of content you post.
It’s been shown that posts that include at least one hashtag get more engagement than posts without one. This shows the validity of hashtags in helping people find your content more readily. You can also use hashtags strategically to get more likes and followers. Instagram has recently added new hashtag features you can track using post insights.
You will need a business account to access this information. Analyze how your hashtags are performing by visiting “View Insights.” Swipe up to view data for specific posts. Analyze data for profile visits, website clicks, follows, impressions, reach, and data regarding how people are finding your posts. Under “Impressions,” you can see how many visitors arrived to your profile from the specific hashtags you used. You can view this info next to “From Hashtags.”
7. Check Your Accounts
Getting familiar with how Instagram Insights works will help you determine which strategies you’re implementing are working, and which ones aren’t performing well. Insights is an IG analytics tool that will help you improve your marketing. You can then put more effort into the tactics that are working, and troubleshoot the ones that aren’t.
For instance, how many clicks are you getting on your website and posts? How many profile views and impressions are you receiving? Knowing this information will help you work smarter on Instagram. You can then promote your best-performing content and spend the most time on your highest-converting campaigns. You’ll also need a business account to access Insights.
[Read More: How To Create An Instagram Business Account] for step-by-step instructions on creating an IG business account.
8. Branding Your Business
What is a brand? In a nutshell, a brand is a product or service that is easily identifiable from other products and services. Examples of branding would include, your company name, logo, tagline, colors, and fonts. Brands help consumers effortlessly recognize a company or concept. Beyond colors and logos, a brand is how people emotionally feel about you, your products, and the services you provide. Focus is the secret of establishing a strong brand.
How does this translate to building a memorable brand on Instagram? An effective way to build a strong brand on IG is to create a theme for your feed. Ask yourself: “What emotions and feelings do I want people to associate with my brand?” Then use images and colors that reflect that aesthetic.
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Key Points
The absolute best way to be successful on Instagram and expand your network is to build relationships, foster connection, post fresh content regularly, and check your analytics to see what is and isn’t working. Navigating the various features on Instagram can be intimidating, especially when you’re just getting started.
My advice is to choose one feature, get comfortable with it, then move on to another feature. For instance, start sharing stories daily until it becomes second nature. After that, branch out and begin using IGTV. The more features you use, the more compelling your profile will be.
With over a billion monthly users, Instagram is a remarkable tool to grow your business and your personal following. What is one thing you can do today to build your brand? Let me know in the comments:)
I need help! I am on Instagram and I have a decent amount of followers, but I suck at engaging. I suck at posting everyday. Like seriously, what am I suppose to post everyday? My life is just not that exciting lol
Any advice would be helpful. I do add hashtags to all my pictures, and hope people will engage, but it never happens!
Kira,
Try commenting on two posts every day. Every time you write a blog post, share it to your profile. That’s good that you’re adding hashtags. If you spend just five minutes a day on Instagram, it will make a difference. Good luck to you and thanks for reading and commenting!
If there is one thing I have learned about Instagram, and it is something you pointed out, it’s that being authentic is key. So many people attempt to portray or be something they are not and for me it is such a turn-off. Everyone knows life isn’t perfect, so why try to fake it? In fact, knowing a person goes through the same types of struggles we do leads to a greater connection (something you also bring attention to). You bring up some awesome points and definitely a few that I had not thought of before. I had never heard of using Linktree in the bio section! Great job on revealing that one! Thanks!
Thanks for your comment Steve. Authenticity is a huge factor in growing an Instagram following. It really is a turn off when people portray their lives as perfect. There isn’t any need to fake it because we are all struggling in some way or another.
Linktree is awesome. For sure set it up on your IG profile.
I’m so glad I found this. I love the idea of using Instagram to attract more business. I hadn’t heard of Linktree but I’m definitely interested in the free tool to optimize Instagram traffic and add more links to the bio.
Hashtags are great, but I’ve heard that using some of the most basic ones could actually penalize the account and cause the content to be shown less.?? What is your take on the optimal number of hashtags to use in a post? And are there any good ways to figure out which ones may be currently trending before submitting the post? Thanks so much!
Hi Aly,
Thank you. Social media is such a terrific platform to gain exposure, build your brand and attract more business. Linktree is easy to use and it’s free. I’ve found it very helpful and now have several links for my followers to click on if they choose to You can check it out here.
Yes, hashtags are great. I didn’t know that basic ones could penalize your account. I’ll be looking into that issue for sure. You can use 30 hashtags on a post and 10 on a story. If you try to buck the system and use more, your comment won’t show up.
Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Hello Holly
Thanks a lot for sharing this post about Instagram marketing strategies. I just joined Instagram recently and am currently still learning the best methods to establish my brand. I will follow your strategies and see how it goes for me.
I have bookmarked this page for future use. I will definitely come back here for reference. Thanks!
Samm
Hello Samm,
Thanks for following my tips to grow your brand. It takes awhile to learn the ropes on Instagram, but you’ll get there. Much success to you on growing your following.
I appreciate your comment!
Instagram is a social platform that I am just now exploring and learning more about. I do have accounts for the various e-commerce stores and make money online websites we operate, but truthfully I have not worked very hard to learn how to use these accounts effectively.
This is why I was so happy to find your article that was chock full of great advice on how to get started with the 8 marketing strategies to build brands. I really needed this post and information. Now I have a solid base to start from, and together with our team, will dive down and flesh out each of the areas you have highlighted.
You recommend not buying followers, and this is something I agree with. We have done that in the past with other platforms and it is a waste of time and money. If you have people that are not interested in what you have, why have them as followers?
The rest of the strategies also make a lot of sense to me. I am having my team look through this post and we will have some brain-storming meetings over the next few days to get this Instagram marketing ramped up into high gear. I know that it is a rich platform to get leads, followers, and sales and we need to cultivate it for our business. Thanks!
Hi Dave,
Thanks for your detailed comment. Instagram is worth exploring and learning about. My advice is to choose one tip and work on that until you develop a comfort level. Then move on to the next strategy.
Yes, I don’t recommend buying followers. It will most likely backfire on you, wasting both your time and money, and possibly your reputation. You want a certain subset of people to follow you anyway so it doesn’t make sense.
Best of luck to you whipping your Instagram accounts into high gear. Have fun doing it. It’s an amazing platform for making connections and ultimately sales!
This is one of the better articles I’ve seen on Instagram Marketing. The advice of starting off with keeping it real is vital in today’s social media marketplace. I loved the idea of sharing struggles, triumphs, and fears too.
I can see the need for daily posting and connection. I have seen so many people on Instagram trying to make it all about selling something — and that falls flat quickly.
Do you think a brand needs an Instagram business account or have you found it more productive to be an individual on Instagram representing a brand?
Great article — my takeaway from your advice is to master one aspect of Instagram before moving on to another. It can be SO easy to try to do it all at once.
Hi Bill.
Thanks for your comment. Keeping it real on social media is so essential. People are craving connection and authenticity. It’s pretty difficult to connect with someone who isn’t authentic, and who has a seemingly picture-perfect life. Like you said, sharing struggles and fears, along with triumphs and successes, makes people real.
Just focusing on selling is a total turnoff for most people. I think it’s vital to establish connection first before selling. I suggest getting an Instagram business account for your brand. And yes, dialing in one strategy at a time is a good idea, otherwise it can be overwhelming!
Thanks so much for reading!
Hallo there Holly,
I am just stepping foot into social media marketing and needed some guidance on how to succeed at it, especially instagram.
Your post has really been helpful and has gotten me re-evaluating some goals I had made for this project.
I see you recommend someone to be patient and grow their reach the right way instead of just trying to buy followers or follow people who are likely to follow back.
Your tips have really opened my mind into things I didn’t think of which make me glad to have read your post. I have to say that you have been really informative and I will definitely be stopping by again to get more useful tips for growing my business. Thanks.
Hi Dave,
I’m glad you found my post helpful. Yes, online marketers need to be patient as it takes awhile to build up a following. I hope my tips help you. Thanks so much for reading!
Hello,
I have been struggling with Instagram. I still can not understand how it works and how can I get more followers. Probably because I’m not active every day. After reading your article, how to do it makes more sense. Thank you.
Can you tell more about Linktree? It is a free tool or I have to pay for it?
Hi Oana,
Sorry to hear your struggling with Instagram. It takes awhile to get the hang of it. Be active every day posting on your feed and stories, and comment on other people’s post. Over time, you’ll build up a following.
Instagram only lets you post one link. Linktree is a great workaround to that rule because you can post your Linktree link. When someone clicks on it, they’ll see all the links you would have liked to share but couldn’t.
You can use it for free or upgrade to the PRO version, which is $6.00 a month. The logo will be removed and you can see more detailed analytics. I’m finding the free version meets my needs at this point. Check it out here.
Thanks for reading!