I bet that you already know how big Instagram is and why you have to be on that platform.
You can also find an article about the 4 reasons why your business should be on Instagram, here.
I started looking at Instagram back in 2012 when it was just a simple platform for filters and hashtags. And I knew that this platform will be a big player in the mobile advertising game.
I am a big fan of Instagram. And the funny thing is that many agencies and marketers starting asking whether I’m working for Instagram or not.
But no, I’m the Brand Evangelist of Bannersnack and I’m very proud of it.
Instagram became like my personal blog or my personal social media network. I’m doing it because I’m passionate about it.
When it comes time to learn about Instagram and how to gain more customers on Instagram, we need to look a little deeper in this platform and observe how the big brands are doing it.
So, to help you have a more clear view about this, I’m going to share my own thoughts on what your brand should do to have a better presence on Instagram.
And I will do this by looking on the following two points:
- My personal experience
- The last Report TrackMaven launched about “The Fortune 500 Instagram Report”
After reading my article, you will understand the trends in Instagram adoption and usage, what components perform better, the most effective time to post and benchmarks for Instagram followers.
1. When is the right time to Post on Instagram?
This is the most common question I hear every time I’m talking about Instagram. And I’m trying to let my audience know that there isn’t a specific time when you should post on Instagram.
Why? Because my audience is way more different than your audience.
But how you find out when is the best time to post on Instagram? You try and experiment, measure and see which post engages better and which doesn’t.
Yes, there are statistics and data that prove a certain time is right for posting on Instagram. Before you follow these rules, don’t forget to look at their context (when the report was made, who made it, who were the subjects, what metrics & methodology they used).
My audience is different than your audience
If we take a look at the Fortune 500 brands we can see that the days in which they (the brands) are most active are Thursdays and Fridays, followed by Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
You can try their strategy and see if it works for you, but my recommendation is to experiment and create a personalized strategy for your brand based on your audience.
2. What components to use in your posts?
How many hashtags are enough to engage more people on Instagram? Should I ask people in my description or should I say something funny? Should I use a quote or just write a catchy description?
Most of these questions are normal for someone who is posting on Instagram, but let’s analyze how the Fortune 500 brands use these components.
Videos and photos that include a question or a hashtag see a marginal boost in engagement. So, posts that have a question mark in the description have with about 45% more engagement that those that don’t have one. Or when they have hashtags, you will see 43% more engagement.
My recommendation on this is to try generating something creative for your audience to click with. I found myself that many of my followers are engaging better when my description when there’s funny or more personal content.
People react to emotions
People need emotions. So use your personal touch in your description.
3. What Filters should you use?
Think about that: 89.03% of Instagram posts from Fortune 500 brands have no filter.
So what that means? That the filters are meaningless for Instagram users? Or that Instagram made a bad choice on developing these filters?
No way.
Instagram started their journey with these filters and they stood out of the crowd because of that. Then, they developed a platform that got Facebook’s attention.
The filters you can find on the platform right not are very important for many instagram users. The thing is that users don’t use the filters at 100% of their “power”. Many of them are applying these filters on photos and reduce the opacity. What does that mean? That people want to see more clear and native photos.
Big and successful brands are using strategies that include using a more personal, human and transparent touch. And it works! That means you need to try doing the same for your brand.
Yes, you can use filters to give a classy feeling to your account, but don’t forget:
The best content you put out there should be as natural and transparent as it can be.
4. How to measure your Instagram success?
What do I mean by Instagram success? How many followers does an account have? How many comments you have on a post? How many times people clicked on the link in your bio?
Yes. Yes. Yes. And all of these together combined with the one classic theory:
What value did you offer to your audience?
And by value on Instagram I mean:
- Entertainment
- Information
- Relaxing moments
- Inspiration and Motivation thoughts
And you know this by asking your audience every time they engage with your posts. Maybe many of them just like your posts and that’s it. But what about challenging just a few of them to comment on your posts and ask them what they think about your content? Try doing this.
Also, you can see how many of your followers will talk with you if you reach them via Direct Message.
Another success you can measure is trying to go to their timelines and comment on their photos and see if they comment back or if their followers start commenting back.
That’s one way to get new followers.
Conclusion
Here are the 4 tactics and strategies you can borrow from Fortune 500 brands to leverage your game on Instagram and make the best from it.
These tactics don’t request investing money. All you need is time and giving them a little more attention.
Which one of these tactics will you use in your Instagram game? Are you ready to be one of the MVP on Instagram? Let me know in comments.
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