Instagram, the photo-based app, is now an app where users can create videos and shop. But, the Facebook-owned app is often changing its algorithm. One day your profile is doing fabulous, reaching tons of new users and getting engagement, and the next visibility seems to be gone.
Keeping up with changes to make sure your visibility can be difficult. For many companies, Instagram is an incredibly important channel for engagement, branding, traffic, and in some cases, sales. Check out these 4 ways to grow your Instagram in 2021.
Here are some current quick statistics about Instagram:
- The second most downloaded free app in the Apple store is Instagram.
- 71% Of Young Adults Use Instagram
- More people comment on video posts by brand than images.
- 1 billion people use the platform monthly
1️⃣ Optimize your Profile 📊
Switch to a Business Account
The first item we recommend to optimize your profile is a change to a “Business Profile” if you haven’t already. This unlocks many new features, such as Facebook integration, reporting, and more.
Make Your Grid Flow
This can be done by choosing a style for your photos like a color scheme, the shade of them and you can organize your gride by type of posts. Remember three photos are one row. Also, using a scheduling app can help see what your grid will look like.
Enhance Bio Section
Be very clear, concise, and to the point. Add hashtags for what you do. To make your profile stick out, use emojis and different fonts that match your business.
URL in Bio
Business profiles can have one link in their profile. You can have the link directly to your website or to a third-party tool, like LinkTree, that has links to all your social media. This is an important part of your profile, it can bring you more business through your website.
Use Highlights
Highlights are the circles that are above your posts and below your bio used to save posts and stories. Saving posts that get engagement or have valuable content are good posts for highlights. You can repost these with a couple of clicks on your story whenever you want. When creating the highlights section remember to use icons, photos, and colors that match your theme and the category.
2️⃣ Create Video Content! 🎥
Video continues to grow and Instagram organically pushes videos more than photos. You don’t have to be a professional, you just need to seem real. Often, people prefer less edited videos as they show personality and style.
Create Reels
This is a great and easy way to push videos that are 15-30 seconds long. The type of content you create with Reels is up to you, just stay on brand. Reels can drive big numbers in engagement!
Go Live
This is another great way to connect with your audience and let them know who you are. While your video is running you can see people’s comments and answer questions. Looking for help creating better video content?
3️⃣ Use (the right) Hashtags #️⃣
Using hashtags will tell users and Instagram what your posts are about. The more detailed, the easier it is for Instagram to know which users may be interested.
- Use trending hashtags, look on the explore page
- Be specific and relevant
- For ideas look at competitors and similar posts
- The amount that the hashtag is used depends on the size of your company
- Don’t use too many! And avoid “spammy” hashtags!
4️⃣ Get Local with Geo-Tagging 📍
This is important for local marketing. When you utilize geo-tagging on Instagram, we tell people in the area know about the post and page. This article tells us “Posts that include a geo-location receive nearly 80% more engagement than posts that don’t.” This can be done by simply clicking on the post when creating it by clicking add location but can only be done on stories and feed posts.
These are our top four tips to grow on Instagram in 2021. We hope they were helpful!
If you would like a FREE consultation on setting up your Instagram for success, you can check out our social media services and send a us message!
