Did you know that Instagram and TikTok have surpassed Google as the preferred search engines for 40% of Generation Z users? That is, instead of using Google to find a place to eat tacos, people are instead looking for eateries on Instagram.
But that’s not all. Eighty-one percent of Instagram users who do so regularly use the platform to look for goods and services. What’s more, Facebook claims that 87% of users have admitted to basing a purchase on recommendations made on the social network.
One thing is now crystal clear: in order to get noticed, businesses need to boost their Instagram interaction rate. Instagram, after all, has other uses besides promoting a business. The commercial success is aided by the photo sharing platform.
The time has come to discuss strategies for boosting your Instagram following in 2023. Our comprehensive guide will cover everything from the most up-to-date Instagram features and best practises to the most useful apps and services for maintaining a regular posting schedule.
A guide to getting more likes and follows on Instagram
In order to get a high number of interactions with your Instagram posts, you may employ a wide variety of tactics. And no, none of these things are dependent on Instagram pods or groups.
Instead, we’ll provide you a handful of tried-and-true methods for boosting your Instagram presence in all the ways that matter most.
Concentrate on your intended readers
It’s not only Zoomers who use Instagram. Instead, those over the age of 65 are also utilising the app.
Indeed, the vast majority of Instagram users are young; in fact, Gen Z makes up more than a third of the platform’s user base. Yet, 7.8% of users are between the ages of 45 and 54, 3.7% are between the ages of 55 and 64, and 2.1% are 65 and over.
Instagram is a great place to locate your target market, whether you’re a business that targets 50-and-over retirees or a mom-and-pop shop whose target demographic is women in their 30s.
Provide engaging content for your intended audience on the platform. Here’s how you can make posts that really connect with your readers:
Create a buyer profile
You need to be as precise as possible while creating this buyer persona. Several data such as gender, age, location, occupation, and level of education should be included. Now you know all you need to know to do research and produce content that will appeal to your target audience.
Find out what other companies in your industry are up to
Find out what other businesses in your industry are doing to draw in customers. Can you describe the content of the posts they’re making and the captions they’re composing? You may take cues from their successful tactics while also making adjustments based on your own observations to develop a more compelling Instagram marketing plan.
Provide appealing images that motivate people to save
Instagram users share images that are simple, yet captivating. An appealing photo grid acts like a fishing net, bringing in new followers. In addition to having more followers, appealing images also have a higher chance of being bookmarked. In addition, your percentage of engaged users will increase if they save your images.
In this regard, be careful to:
- Take pictures of a high standard.
- It’s important that all of your visual material have the same typefaces and colour scheme.
- Maintain a steady stream of posts by always applying the same filter to your Instagram photos.
- Don’t share random stuff you find on Pinterest or Tumblr or something you took with your phone’s camera. Don’t simply publish any old picture of food; use your finest camera work and the greatest lighting and effects to make it shine. Don’t waste your company page’s space or your customers’ time with irrelevant photographs.
Caption your work with enticing calls to action.
Instagram allows for longer captions than the microblogging platform TikTok. There is a limit of 2,200 characters for your captions. Symbols like emoticons and hashtags can be used here.
The caption area is large, but you cannot insert links, so make good use of the opportunity.
Longer Instagram captions perform better, but only if they:
Produce something of worth. Captions may be used to engage readers by providing useful information about a topic.
are easy to read. Use brief sentences with paragraph breaks, bullet points, and appropriate emojis.
Use the voice of your brand. In this approach, you won’t dilute your brand’s identity.
Remember that a call to action at the conclusion of your caption is a vital part of making it effective. A call to action encourages readers to take action. While you can’t include a link in an Instagram post’s caption, a call to action (CTA) can point readers in the direction of your bio’s link.
Add appropriate hashtags
No matter what social media platform you use, your material may go unnoticed if you don’t use hashtags.
Hashtags are a useful addition to your Instagram strategy since they increase the visibility of your posts. To this end, a recent HubSpot survey found that 82% of marketers make use of hashtags on the app.
Instagram permits up to 30 hashtags. Is it necessary to utilise all 30 hashtags in your captions? No, because that would be really unprofessional.
You may increase your post’s visibility, though, by including relevant hashtags in the post’s title and adding additional ones in the comments section.
Use stickers in your narratives to increase interest
Using stickers in Instagram stories is a terrific method to encourage audience participation. A survey conducted by the social media platform found that 57% of respondents appreciated branded content in the form of polls and quizzes.
Here are some motivational stickers:
- The Questions sticker is designed to spark conversation. You may have even talked to someone sporting a “Ask Me Anything” sticker.
- With the Add Yours sticker, Instagram users are encouraged to share photos of themselves participating in the same action as seen in the user’s story.
- The Poll sticker stimulates participation by prompting viewers to cast a vote.
- With the Quiz sticker, your followers will be prompted to select an answer, providing them with even another avenue for communication with you.
- Stickers like Music, Countdown, and others may accomplish the same for your Instagram account.