If you are a business owner, then you need to make sure to connect with your audience and establish a relationship with them if you wish to earn their trust and loyalty. Nowadays, you can achieve that through social media, and especially, the most popular among them is Instagram.
But if you are just starting, first and foremost, you need to define goals for your Instagram growth as this will help you figure out what you wish to achieve and how to get there. So, think about why you use Instagram.
Target Audience
Locate your followers. Instagram has over 1 billion users—if you’re looking to grow your audience, they’re probably already here. Publish branded content, spread your message, promote your products, and engage with your target audience. Slowly but steadily, you’ll begin to gain a following.
Get rid of the belief that if you build it, they will come. That is not correct. You can build all you want, but if your customers don’t know you exist, they won’t come. Instagram is already popular among your target demographic. They may not be visiting your website or subscribed to your email list, but they are on Instagram. Find them and grow your audience.
Increase Instagram Awareness
Whether you’re launching a new product or opening a second store location, make sure your target audience is aware of it. Use Instagram to share Stories, promote posts, and DM your customers with information.
Instagram can be used to build brands passively. Find relevant hashtags, use branded images, and become a part of the community. You want your company to be associated with their interests, and you want Instagram (and your followers) to recommend your brand consciously and subconsciously.
Find Leads
Your loyal customers will already be following your Instagram account, but you can also use it to find new leads. Get them to the top of your sales funnel after they’ve been drawn to your profile. Offer freebies and deals to entice your Instagram followers to visit your website or landing page by clicking the link on your profile. Make an enticing offer and collect their email address or phone number.
With that information, you’ll have a new lead in your pipeline to nurture toward a conversion. Continue to provide valuable content, acquaint them with your brand, and push the sale when the time is right. Find influencers and micro-influencers in your niche who will promote your brand. You’ll have to pay them and give them free products, but their promotion and validation of your brand could be worth far more than a pay-per-click (PPC) ad.
Make Instagram Followers Purchase Your Products
Instagram began as a photo-sharing platform, but it is now an eCommerce marketplace. You can now sell directly to customers on Instagram without the need for additional clicks. You can tag your products in your images, add price tags, and allow your audience to add items to their Instagram shopping cart directly from your posts.
You can also catalog all of your products, create collections, add product images and descriptions, and allow your audience to buy from the platform. Highlighting products in your Instagram Stories and encouraging viewers to “Swipe Up” to learn more or find an exclusive discount is a subtle tactic.
Increase Website Traffic
Website traffic can be used for almost anything, including brand awareness, leads, conversions, followers, and subscriptions. Create an Instagram following and you can begin pushing more traffic to your website. Make sure to include a CTA in your posts and Instagram Stories that links back to your website—you can use this form to learn more, make a purchase, download a freebie, or sign up for an event.
Replace your profile link with the one that corresponds to your CTA. You can do this once a month, once a week, or once every other day, depending on how aggressively you want to attract your followers to your website. Make an investment in converting your Instagram followers into Twitter followers, Twitch subscribers, email subscribers, and SMS recipients.
Increase Instagram Engagement
Whether you’re trying to raise awareness or drive sales, you’ll need an engaged audience—and the best way to get people to engage is to initiate contact. Find your target audience, like their content, and leave thoughtful comments. Begin conversations and give back to the community. Don’t be a robot or use an auto-like app.
Conclusion
If you want to reach a larger audience on Instagram, setting goals for your account can be an excellent way to get started. By setting clear goals and striving to achieve them, you are more likely to see success with your account. Hopefully, these tips will help to give you a starting point as you work towards growing your business’ Instagram community.
