Instagram is a popular platform for marketers’ to reach out to their audience. It has given its users a platform to prioritize their trust and stay au fait with competitions and modern trends. Every day, millions of people share their daily life and inspiring posts through social media accounts.
The platform became very competitive, especially in the past few years, for striving influencers and marketers who are aiming to boost their engagement rates. The new Instagram algorithm prioritizes posts from friends, family, and accounts that you engage with. So, the algorithm uses your interactions to piece together who is closest to you.
You need to find creative ways to attract more followers to your account. But the real question is, what’s the most effective method to boost engagement on your profile?
If you search for the answer, you’ll find that there is a long list of do’s and don’ts for attracting people in your niche. Everyone writes about something that helped them boost their niche. But that niche is only relevant to that specific demographic. Don’t worry, we have got a guide that is applicable to any industry. This comprehensive guide includes the most effective methods to help your account to flourish and reach the sky.
Identify interests and passions within your demographic
A business niche is a segment of a larger market that can be described by its uniqueness. Businesses need to tell compelling stories in a specific niche in order to connect with the audience on an emotional level.
Instagram is a platform that gives your niche a visual identity. It motivates the reader or viewer to step into that experience. If you’re starting out, consider the individual nobody else targets, the overlooked crowd. Once Jacamo came up with a business idea, he found that crowd that wanted to listen.
Photos that showcase your business/brand
The photos you post must be a reflection of your business niche and identity. Choose the words or quotes carefully to make easy associations with the images posted. Take care to make a connection between what’s depicted in each image and how you contextualise them.
Fenty Beauty by Rihanna was created with the promise of encompassing all women. It provides us with an unmatched offering of shades and colors for ALL skin tones.
This brand becomes popular for its broad inclusivity across skin tones and gender.
Multi-image Instagram posts are great for story-telling
Use multi-images to create a narrative about your product or tell an interesting story about your team. Multi-images give you the opportunity to be more creative with how you display your products. You can post multiple images instead of videos to exhibit different aspects and specifications of one product to let the customers get a wider image of the product. Nike shoes is an unofficial Nike page. Each post consists of a pair of shoes shown in different perspectives.
Using Multi-Images Instagram posts is a great tactic for the company’s prestige, which is built on creating real-life experiences for their users. The ideas are limitless if you focus on them.
Behind-the-Scenes Shots
Want a great way to humanize your brand? Just show your followers what goes on in your business. It is a fascinating idea to show them how their favorite product is created. From the layout of the product to the final result. It depicts the efforts it took to make a simple object. Just like “How it’s made?”, the show aired on Discovery Channel. Show off the fun side of your workplace.
It’s transparent and honest; the two qualities that consumers admire in a business. Do not rely on the usual view of your business through finished products and planned posts. But make your audience feel special by giving them the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of everything that goes into your business and what makes you unique. Make your posts natural and honest, because this is what customers want to see in a brand.
Reposts from Fans and Followers
Reposting something on social media made by a user or follower is the best way to effectively state that you appreciate them. And you’re not all about YOUR business, you want to see others succeed, too.
Make sure to keep a track of your business’s name and related hashtags on Instagram. If someone else uses it, give their post a signal boost. You will earn the respect and gratitude of your followers, as well as spread the word about your brand. Apple has an official Instagram account reposting multiple photos taken by iPhone users and telling their stories. Use hashtag #shotoniphone, if you want to tell your story.
You can also repurpose posts from users that used your product and loved it. This can build trust of new users who are hesitant to use the product.
Ask Your Customers to Share Their Opinions
No matter how hard you try, you can not understand the pros and cons of a product unless you walk a mile in the shoes of your customers. Keep track of customer feedback. Feedbacks are the key to make your product effective for the customers and your organization. Positive feedback plays an important role in improving your reputation. You can post photos of positive feedback DMs, this also helps in building customers’ trust and knowledge.
You can ask your followers if they have any questions regarding the new product or existing product that have less engagement so that you can make it satisfactory and more appealing.
The quickest way to get creative ideas for the next product launch is asking your followers questions, e.g., “Guess what’s coming next?” These types of questions create opportunities for customers and followers to reveal their thoughts and this could become a way of getting ideas for new products for your niche.
Everyone loves to give opinions and advice, make sure to use it for your own good. You can capitalize on that fact by asking your customers for their thoughts.
Question stickers is another Instagram feature that helps to understand more about your customers’ preferences. Make sure to ask a simple question that doesn’t require much thought. You’re looking for maximum engagement.
Share Captivating Illustrations
Instagram has become really competitive over a few years, that it’s become a need for brands to leave a good impression in the life of potential customers. Incorporating illustration into your branding is a method to try to do that. Team collaboration tool Slack uses bold color without restraint, resulting in illustrative posts that are engaging and memorable.
We are attracted more towards the articles and blogs that include images and illustrations rather than just bland text. We find ourselves taking more time to explore the images. If you don’t know how to use illustrations to boost your posts on social media, then you are in the right place. At Volume99, our team would provide you with a marketing proposal that aligns with your company’s goals.
Create a variety in your Instagram posts but keep it within your niche. Choose a color theme, or use vibrant colors to attract engagement. Multiple images, GIFs, videos, and IG TV shots are appreciated by the audience plus it showcases your product in detail. The detailed description of features and specifications through these mediums couldn’t be shown in static images. You can add illustrative images about the usage of certain products.
Images with the Ideal Visual Composition
Whenever we scroll on any profile, we find some images appear more attractive and appealing than others. We can’t always put our finger on something we like in an image. But we have done some research and found out that:
As everyone is locked in their homes, we are attracted to images that are satisfying and natural, rather than commercial ones.
But if you have to show any of your products, use an appealing blurry background so that your product might not lose its essence and get the attention it needs. Don’t use blank or no background to exhibit your product. Just like Starbucks’ Christmas Themed Cups.
Edit in such a way that gives a texture to your images, rather than smoothes it. Smoothness makes your images uninteresting.
Choose one color that intensifies the appearance of your product rather than a truckload of different colors. One color should be used to highlight the characteristics of your products. Choose a theme but make one color to be your priority and essence of your company.
Pastel colors are trending in 2020. You can also use tropical colors. Or if you have specific brand colors, choose only one of them to highlight the images.
You can contact our team if you want any assistance with editing your images. At volume99, we also provide services like virtual assistance for social media. So, if you do not know what to do with your images then maybe this post is god-sent for you.
Showcase Your Products in Action
As I stated above that you should use multiple photos, GIFs, videos, or IGTV to demonstrate your products’ features in an Instagram post. You can use these mediums to show user-generated content. Nowadays, everyone gives positive as well as negative feedback on Instagram after using a product. Especially the influencers use the products and present them to their followers to increase their engagement. You can report those feedbacks and their positive reviews. This type of behavior sends social signals to others and shows the worthiness of your product.
Do not ignore the negative reviews, rather try to improve the mistakes. Images that feature your product in action create imagination and encourage your followers to engage with your content. For example, Marriott Careers is one of the most well-known names in the hospitality industry, with more than 6,000 properties and 30 brands across the globe. The company’s name is enough to attract potential customers, but rather than that, it posts on Instagram about customer and employee reviews.
Host Contests and Giveaways
Instagram contests are an excellent way to drive attention and engagement towards your products. Who doesn’t love to win free stuff? Most small businesses use such tactics to attract potential customers. A giveaway is a great way to get highlighted. Make sure to add a hashtag with your business’s name and use it in all the contests and giveaways you post, so that people can get recognized with your brand.
Propose unique contests such as, ask your customers to write their story to win a contest. Mention the value of the giveaway you post, followers are more attracted toward the posts where a price is mentioned.
Instagram stories and story highlights
Did you know that more than 500 million people use Instagram Stories on a daily basis? If you are thinking of ways to boost your engagement then it’s the best time to experiment with Instagram stories. It’s fun to post Instagram Stories and tell your audience about what’s new in the market or ask them about their preference about your products. The images and videos of your products will be visible only for 24 hours in the stories.
If you want some assistance to make an absolutely perfect and engaging Instagram Story, you can get help from our hard-working and determined team. Visit our website for more info.
Captioning
A picture may be worth a thousand words, and a moving image may be worth more than that, but you are hugely mistaken if you think that captions are not as important as your pictures. Always write captions that will help you get the attention of potential customers. You can put down an interesting fact about your company that others don’t know or pose a question about your products. Make sure that you inscribe something more than just a simple description of the photo. 86% of Instagram users prefer your brand to have an honest, authentic, and personalized social media presence.
In this picture, LEGO is highlighting its product through the hard work of one of its users. You can build the image of your company with Instagram captions by telling a story that builds emotional attachment with your customers. This could be a story about your employee or about your company’s growth.
Share an action shot
A great way to show your company’s progress is through the hard work of employees. It can give your followers an understanding that how your brand creates awesome products and services. Are you a coffee shop owner? Your followers need to know how your barista gives an authentic taste to your coffee. Are you the owner of a big firm? Your followers need to know how your employees worked to take your company to reach heights.
Choose you theme Color Palettes and Fonts
Brands that are famous on Instagram typically have a gorgeous aesthetic, consistent tone and style, and authentic engagement. There are plenty of design tricks you can use to improve your graphics, but the choice of color palette and font is the major one. All famous brands are recognized by their theme colors.
The choice of your theme describes what feelings, emotions, and sentiments do you want to evoke from your social media audience. Do you want something fun and summery? Try some reds, oranges, and warm browns. Are you looking for something calming and soft? Try faded colors, pastels, and pale hues. Inspire a feeling with a carefully chosen palette.
Share Interesting Facts with Infographics
The brain processes visual content 60,000 times more quickly than text, and 90% of information that is transferred to the brain is visual, which is why images help you stand out on social media. Infographics allow you to convey interesting information in a visually captivating way.
Instagram is all about the representation of your brand in the most creative way possible. Visually appealing content is a great way of attracting engagement to your posts. Posting high-quality images and video is the secret to increase your post’s reach.
Try using Instagram Shop
Shoppable Images have been introduced on the Instagram Business platform. They are a great way to showcase your products. Just tag your products in an image and users can tap the image to see more details. Tapping on the image will then take them to your website, all within Instagram’s creative medium, and allow them to make a purchase.
This feature gives businesses new options on what to post on Instagram. And also gives the users the best experience on IG platform.
Engage them with posts around their favorites
First of all, you need to find the niche in which the customers are most interested. Because they will continue to explore the things they favor the most. Set up your target audience, then find the intriguing content. You can create posts that make your followers inquisitive about your products.
Farmacy Beauty is a natural skin care brand that knows very well the importance of organic products. The company responds to every question and comments in their posts. Farmacy Beauty’s post style is clean, soothing and sustainable.
Tutorials & Demonstrations
Everyone loves “how-to” videos. They are a great way to attract your followers, share information about the products and services you are providing, and build engagement on your posts. If you’re a makeup artist, then you’ve probably been asked tons of “how-to” questions from your customers.
Instagram is a perfect way to demonstrate your skills and answer those “how-to” questions, not just to your customers, but also to millions of people in the world. Huda Beauty posts videos from their followers and appreciates their makeup skills.
These tutorial posts can improve your customers’ experience while using your products. This is the best way to get to know what kind of products and posts are appreciated by your customers and followers.
Spread the cheer of national holidays & festivities
Everyone loves a brand that is celebrating their favorite holidays along with them. You can take advantage of the easily available annual festivity calendar, or you can design one of your own calendars, in which the events you will be organizing would also be mentioned. Annual calendars are a must-have for every household. Also, post about special promotions your business may be hosting during the holiday season.
Most of the people are online during the holiday season, so make them a part of your celebration, let them know what you are up to. A seasonal post is a great time to launch a sale or thank your followers for their continued support.
Inspirational Quotes
Lifestyle brands post in such a way that boosts emotional engagement by adding inspirational quotes and stories. These text-based images do a great job of connecting with potential customers based on the sentiment or values expressed in the quote. Dove is well-known for making inspirational content.
Have fun
The purpose of Instagram Stories is to enjoy and have fun! It helps in capturing the moments that are present in between a series of individual posts. But keep in mind that people will be associating your stories with your brand. So, you have to think twice about what to post, as your brand is recognized by your posts.
Remember that your goal here is on Instagram to make an emotional connection with your Instagram followers, rather than hard-selling your products. Compel them to follow your brand journey and get to know their needs and likes.
