Instagram has over 1 billion monthly active users, making it the one-stop social network for businesses, brands, and marketers looking to raise awareness and build a serious following.

^^^^ Old news, right?

If you’ve visited any content about Instagram in the past few years, you’ve surely read an introduction somewhat similar to the opening of this article.

Although this message is frequently sent home (wherever I look) – it’s true!

If you are marketing to a digitally-leaning (albeit slightly) target market and are between the ages of 16 and 49, Instagram is definitely a great place to market your business.

Access Instagram posts

When you have made the (right) decision to market your business with Instagram, your next step is to optimize your profile and posts to reach as many people as possible.

In the remainder of this article (AKA 500 words left) I’ve picked out some of the best methods for increasing the reach of your Instagram posts – giving you tools to grow your followers and increase awareness.

publish timing:

Make sure your Instagram page is a business account (this is free by the way), then go to their analytics page to see the days and times you get the highest density of followers and “discoveries.”

Improve the timing of your posting about this information!

correct-publish-method

Improve the timing of your posting about this information!

Posts Drive Engagement
When someone interacts with your posts, the Instagram algorithm is more likely to show them your next post.

This is why you sometimes have to post content that leads to high levels of engagement. A great example is the contest (which requires like, comment, and participation to enter).

hashtag

Hashtags effectively act as tags that categorize your content on social media.

It allows people to find content easier, and in recent times, users can even follow hashtags on Instagram.

Insta allows you to use up to 30 hashtags per post. Use the hashtag generator to find the top and trending hashtags in your niche, and copy and paste them into your insta comments!

User-generated content

UGC are posts made by your followers that are directly related to your brand, products or social media account.

When you paste them into your account, they are more likely to be shared on Instagram – especially by their creators.

UGC is relevant to your target audience, and encourages other members of your followers to post about your work (and appear on their page).

Stories

If you’re posting something of great value that’s more than a simple photo, eg a video, a carousel or a long comment on Instagram, use Instagram Stories to promote it!

Stories are highly visible at the top of Insta, and may be seen by followers who don’t see your content buried in the newsfeed.

Use story posts to promote a small portion of your content, eg 15 seconds of your video, a carousel, or a short version of a teaser!

That’s 500 words!