Instagram today is one of the most popular social networks in the online world and guaranteeing your company’s territory on it is a smart move in the search for new leads buy comments.
The network has grown impressively in recent years, reaching more than 500 million active users, even surpassing social media such as Twitter, Pinterest and the beloved Snapchat.
Knowing how to communicate with your audience through this means guarantees a good advantage for your company, but, before that, it is necessary to know how to win over followers who get hooked on your publications.
With that in mind, today we separated 28 ways to gain new followers on Instagram for your brand. Continue reading to find out more!
Why invest in Instagram?
If the number of more than 500 million active users on the network does not convince you, perhaps it helps to know that the use of images in content marketing brings surprising results for any type of business.
And not only that. Instagram has more than 60% of users logged in daily and an average of 80 million photos shared per day. On the other hand, according to Global Index , the network doubled its size in the last year, with even greater growth predicted after the implementation of Instagram Stories .
If your person interacts on Instagram, there are no excuses for not being online as well, taking advantage of the communication channel to create increasingly closer links with your audience.
Investing in Instagram does not require much to guarantee a good first step, just:
Pay attention to trends
Be careful with the tone of communication
Post frequently
Interact online
What if I want to… buy followers?
If you still think that buying follower packages is the best alternative for your business, it is better to stop and rethink your marketing strategy. The same thing happens with purchasing email lists.
Buying users on Instagram means that you are adding, in a non-organic way, a huge amount of numbers that will later become decoration on your profile. Those additions include a good number of fake profiles, inactive users, and worst of all, active users who are not in your niche.
Always remember that numbers, in and of themselves, do not guarantee sales or popularity. You need to take into consideration engagement, conversions, and other metrics that aren’t just vanity.
Before starting with our main topic, I invite you to download the ebook about Instagram to learn more about the social network, strategies and best practices:
Best posting time
According to statistics, the best times to post images on Instagram during the week are between 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. The ends of the week (Saturdays and Sundays) in the afternoon hours are when most users are on the social network. If we talk about posts for Instagram Stories, (the famous posts that are deleted in 24 hours) we could apply the same rule.
However, this may not be a rule for you, in many cases these times may not work for your audience, for various reasons, the first of which is knowing your audience and understanding what time they might be entering the social network. and how often.
So if you have an Instagram profile dedicated to people who work night shifts, for example, perhaps the hours dictated by statistics are not correct, or if your audience is women who are housewives, with more than two children, they could have time to see your Instagram at different times.
To gain followers on Instagram, there is a tool called Iconosquare , with it, in addition to knowing the best time for your publications, you can know other data, such as the users who like your publications the most, and the filters that generate the most likes. .
Most used filters
Do you think that a photography filter can be key to gaining followers on Instagram? When editing photos, Instagram has 24 default filters (and 11 filters for posts in Stories), however, you can manipulate photos with many more functions such as brightness, shadows, saturation and more.
Filter Tips
According to the famous Instagram specialist Curalate, images with bluer and lighter filters can generate more traffic compared to red or orange tones.
Generally, the Instagram profiles with the most interaction, in number of followers and likes, are those that use a certain filter for all photos, in this way, the feed looks more organized and professional.
One of the latest trends in photography filters on Instagram is making customizable filters with more professional quality, with the VSCO application. This application offers a greater variety of filters and although it is not integrated with Instagram, it has been a success, the famous hashtag #VSCO
The same thing happens with the sizes of the photos, with Instagram you can frame your photos in different sizes, it is best to choose one of the two options and always work with that type, this will help give a more organized and dedicated face to your photo. profile.
As for Instagram Stories , there is still no statistics on the color filters applied to images, however it is recommended that you let the high-contrast filters rest, as they take away the focus of the message.
If we talk about the famous filters, in addition to entertainment, they generate a lot of interaction, of course, you must be consistent with the message you want to give to your audience.
If you manage a company profile, face filters are probably not the most appropriate to use on your profile, leave them for your personal profile or for the Instagrammers of the moment. You could lose your followers on Instagram.
What type of content to publish
The type of content you should publish depends a lot on your objective with the social network and with your followers.
Many companies and entrepreneurs make the mistake of publishing the same type of content on all social networks, whether on Facebook, Twitter, or even LinkedIn. Have you already thought how boring it is to see the same thing on all social networks?
Instagram, by its essence, is a simpler network, which should have a more concrete and totally visual type of information.
So, for example, you could use simpler language on this social network, show what day-to-day life is like within your company, or tell some more human and real stories about your brand and leave the more elaborate content for LinkedIn.
Instagram is content. You must study your audience well, and understand their characteristics, know what they expect to find on a social network like Instagram and what makes the most sense for you as a company or brand.
In Stories, we could talk about much lighter content, short and specific messages. Whether it’s photos, videos or written messages.
Always be careful not to suffocate your audience with “too much of the same.” Always remember that if you have followers it is because they think your content is interesting, so give them what they are asking for.
Many Instagram profiles make the mistake of publishing many Stories too frequently, this ends up tiring your audience and will cause you to lose followers.
Use of emojis on Instagram
Emojis came to our digital worlds and occupied a large space when it came to communicating.
Happy faces and hearts among others give a sense of closer proximity to your audience, however, you should not confuse and know the limit of use of emojis, because if you have a more serious company, writing and commenting with emojis will not give an good impression on your followers, who are most likely clients or could become clients in a short time.
You must study your audience and know if the emoji language is the most suitable for them.
If we talk about Emojis for Stories, we can say that they are more than welcome here.
As its name indicates, this Instagram tool is used to tell stories and emojis are excellent allies when it comes to reinforcing a feeling.
Don’t forget to set limits, be careful with the size and the emoji chosen, although it may seem harmless, it can be a double-edged sword.