A successful Instagram is key to successfully scaling your marketing efforts on the platform. Instagram followers today are more than just a number — they’re members of your community. One whose support and love add greater appeal to your brand/s. But earning those followers is now tougher than ever. Gone is the era of fake followers, overused hashtags or unoriginal content. Now, such tactics are likely to do more harm than good, and you can end up losing followers, see decreased engagement, penalisations, or even face bans from Instagram.
If your main goal is to grow on Instagram, you could see an increase in traffic, sales, and engagement in a hundred different ways that go beyond optimised content, scheduled posts, and relevant, targeted hashtags. So if you’re a small business or brand wanting to up the Insta-game, you’re at the right place. Here’s a quick guide on how to grow your followers and work on community building on Instagram in 2024.
- Share more user-generated content
User-generated content has power to work magic. If people see a regular person endorsing a product on Instagram, they’re more likely to believe the claim and act. Think of this like the reviews you read on online business platforms. Honestly, user-generated content is an excellent strategy to increase brand awareness and trust in your products or services.
- Post educational content
When you work towards building a community, it’s important that the content you curate is more than just brand posts. Creating more engaging, educational content in the form of Instagram carousel posts or reels is a popular way to educate audiences on an idea or topic. Post more ancillary content, which your audience can simply share with their followers and friends. This will boost your brand engagement and reflect on your numbers for organic growth.
- Show off the human side of your brand
There’s a whole breadth of visual content you can post on Instagram, which will make your brand more real. Like the video of your team trying out the latest Instagram challenge or snippets from your team dinner. If you’re into e-commerce or shopping, share more reels that show your packaging and manufacturing process, or what goes into the planning of a launch event. Encourage your team to share more content and give them the due credits. This will help your followers feel included and reward you with brand loyalty.
- Host an Instagram account takeover
Collaborate with influencers, followers and other brands, and host an Instagram account takeover regularly. You can let them take over your stories for the day, interact with your audience and promote your brand on their own stories.
Collaborations help with discoverability, can expand your reach and get you new followers. Now that’s a win-win.
- Diversify your content to resonate with different types of audience
To grow your Instagram reach, it‘s important to know who your audience is. Begin by posting several types of content formats and take note of which posts perform best – is it interactive content, behind-the-scenes stories, educational content or something else? Then, come up with a strategy which allows you to create more content that your followers want to see.
As your follower count grows, divide your audience into sub-groups and target your content to various demographics. There’s no way your content can satisfy everyone at once — and you shouldn’t try to.
At the end of the day, remember that quality over quantity still matters. It’s important to focus less on the number of followers you have, and more on the quality of your content. Your audience will ultimately grow organically if you put effort and time into creating engaging and informative content without worrying about the numbers.
Are you a new brand looking to make it big in the market or an existing brand competing to top the charts in your industry? At 3 Dots Design, we focus on creating high-quality content that resonates with your audience and engages authentically with your followers. Our expertise in the digital realm and slew of digital marketing services allows us to be the growth accelerator your brand needs. For more details or inquires reach out to us on [email protected]