Did you know that Instagram has the second-highest engagement rate out of the plethora of social media channels, following suit after Twitter? Boasting more than 500+ million accounts, Instagram can be the ultimate gateway to Narnia with the biggest traffic source! If exploited right, Instagram is a gold mine of potential leads ready to drive in more sales. Since its advent in 2010, Instagram has been a favorite among all generations – from Gen Z to millennials to boomers – everyone has an Instagram account. With the newest addition of reels, shopping stories and Instagram stories, the platform is the best option to boost traffic and drive sales.
Why is it difficult to gain followers on Instagram?
Your sales figure is directly proportional to the number of followers you have and how well you engage with them. Even when you gain followers, how do you stop them from unfollowing? Most users miss posts or ignore them if not engaging enough making it difficult to gain followers and retain them. Again, the entire process of engaging followers on Instagram goes beyond posting pictures with quirky caption. Instagram is like Pandora’s box – it is full of opportunities, but one wrong step can break your image.
To make sure that the platform only boosts your brand image and brings in more sales, I have enlisted certain steps that will help you gain followers and retain them. Implement these eight superb tricks and see the fate of your business change almost overnight.
8 Tips to Help You Gain Followers Fast on Instagram
1. Use relevant hashtags
While the birth of hashtags was on Twitter, the scene today is very different. Hashtags are what makes Instagram fun, interesting and more accessible. In fact, the better your hashtags, the better your chances to be found by more people. And you know what that means, right?Better engagement will lead to a steady gain in followers, increasing traffic!
That said, you must remember that overcrowding your posts with hashtags, especially the irrelevant ones, can spell doom to your efforts. So, when unsure about which hashtags to use, use tools to develop the best hashtags specific to your business. You can also check out what hashtags your competitors are using and use the same in your posts.
2. Link your posts to your store
Why do you want to gain followers? Certainly not to brag! Unless your followers are investing in your products and services, there is no point in having a huge following. So, how do you turn your followers into prospective buyers? This is where shopping stories and Instagram lives come in to play.
Now, you can showcase your offerings and link them to your website. You can also post the link in the bio of your brand’s Instagram handle. When a visitor clicks on previous posts on your page, the link will take your followers to your store, turning them into customers and fans.
3. Use influencer marketing
Influence marketing is the IT thing these days! While free samples can impress your customers to an extent, millennials and Gen Z are more demanding. They need substantial evidence of the quality of what you offer, preferably coming from a fellow human from their age group. And the only way to do so is by getting influencers in the mix.
Influencer marketing is one of the best ways to gain followers from the huge following of an influencer, thus increasing the sales figure by a substantial amount. To reach out to influencers best suitable to your brand and budget, you can use tools like Influence.co and Klout.
4. Play with the images
The very foundation of Instagram lies in posting pictures, making the platform a shared public gallery. If you want to attract followers to your account, positing low-quality images is a big NO-NO. And it just isn’t about the quality! Unless you edit the images properly to serve the purpose and pair them with relevant captions and hashtags, your efforts might go down the drain.
Make sure to post vivid pictures to tell a story, something that people can resonate with. Now, that isn’t as difficult as it sounds. You can use these hacks and tricks to take better photos and give your feed an aesthetic feel. Edit images using tools like Canva to get that professional edge in your posts.
5. Run contests
Customer engagement can not only retain your existing customers but usher in new followers as well. To keep your followers on the toe, run contests and host giveaways. Play a pass-the-baton game with your followers, where you ask them to tag their friends and acquaintances and move on. The chain reaction will help you gain followers in huge numbers and create a positive brand impression.
You can also host simple contests like Like-To-Win, a perfect blend of fun and engagement. Your followers will have to like a post on your account, and you can choose a lucky winner and send them a voucher or a gift. You can also ask your followers to submit a photo featuring your product and using your hashtag, which you can re-post on your account. The mention on the post will bring you a bevy of new followers.
6. Use the Stories and the Live feature
Following the super-successful feature of Snapchat, Instagram rolled out Instagram Stories that lets you post minute-long videos on anything and everything. You can capitalize on this feature to share daily activities with your followers. You can also go “Live” on the app to engage with your followers, have a fun Q&A session, etc.
Now, what makes followers lose interest and exit is the inferior quality of videos. Therefore, make sure that the videos are not blurry. Also, make sure that the video share relevant and showcase your products properly.
7. Quick respond to comments
Whenever someone new comes across your posts and comments on them, make sure to get back to them ASAP. Most buyers are impatient and impulsive, and they won’t wait for you to reply and switch to another brand that offers the same things. Always remember that more comments mean that more people are interested in your brand. So, try to respond within 18 to 24 hours never to miss the chance of engaging with new people.
Another thing to keep in mind: when you come across a negative comment, do not make the rookie mistake of ignoring or deleting (which is way worse) the comment. Instead, address it politely and try to resolve the issue.
8. Use the Gen Z lingo
The best part about the internet is the quirky trends and uber-cool language. Today, as the world expresses in 160 characters, all you need is emojis and cool abbreviations toput across your message.
You have probably come across acronyms like LOL on social media, right? This is your cue to be “Lit” like Gen Z and millennialsby including phrases and emojis that your young customers connect to. Jump on the reel trends, and you’ll gain followers like crazy!
Parting thoughts
With 800 million users already following active shopping business accounts, this is your time to attract followers on Instagram and boost your numbers. Moreover, the fact that 200 million users visit at least one business profile daily assures you that you can get the best out of the app if you try enough. With the above tips, I am sure that you are going to up your game. All the best!
Author – Karen Hamada is a social media analyst associated with myassignmenthelp.com, through which he extends assignment help to students pursuing marketing. He is an active blogger and a social media guru.