As I told you at the beginning of the article, Instagram is a platform with a lot of potential to increase the reach of your brand and reach potential consumers real comments.
Given this, I present to you the 23 tips to grow on Instagram and improve visibility, I hope they are helpful to you!
1. Take care of the quality of your images or videos
Instagram is a 100% visual social network; The video and, above all, the image have an important weight in it .
The reputation of your personal or business brand is at stake depending on the quality of the image you upload.
Nowadays it is not necessary to buy a professional camera to upload a good image . Depending on the type of smartphone you have, you can achieve very good results.
In case you don’t have a good camera on your mobile, you can always use image editing programs to correct these image imperfections.
A very important tip is to know the size and measurements of the social networks , in this case, Instagram, so that the result is optimal.
2. Focus on a theme
If you want your brand on Instagram (whether personal or business) to be recognized, it is important that you do not diversify your posts. Focus on a specific market niche so that your brand is remembered for a particular specialization.
For example: if on a professional or personal level you are dedicated to the world of fashion, it is better that you focus on it to attract a quality audience that really follows you for what you do and teach .
If you diversify your publications into several topics, it will be more difficult for you to grow, since the user will not be clear about what you really do.
Finally, a factor to take into account, apart from your publications, is to let the user know what topics are going to be discussed in your account through the biography.
3. Advertise on Instagram
Let’s not forget that social networks live on advertising . Naturally you can grow little by little. But if your desire is to increase that growth rate, advertising is your ally.
If you are in the process of brand recognition, advertising on Instagram strategically will help you give yourself that push you so desire .
It is true that for this advice you need a professional, and it already represents an expense to your pocket, but it is really an investment, since it is in favor of your company.
Even so, if you currently cannot afford to hire an expert, you always have the opportunity to take free courses to advertise on Instagram.
4. Create quality stories that add value
More and more users are spending their time on Instagram Stories , instead of browsing the feed. This channel is very fresh and spontaneous, which is a great opportunity to attract attention and appear at the top of the news.
So if your publications do not reach the desired audience and you want to gain visibility on Instagram , we recommend reinforcing your brand through Stories.
But it doesn’t help to upload anything. I have to confess: before I only uploaded photos of food dishes to my stories, until one day I asked myself ” Do these photos really add value to my community? “.
It is true that stories, or stories (whatever you want to call them), only last 24 hours, but if you publish content of little value in that time, your brand can be harmed. It could be the case that some of your followers mute your stories if they do not consider them relevant, or even stop following you.
In my opinion, stories are another means of communication, apart from the Instagram feed , with a tremendous capacity for interaction with your community.
Another point in favor of the stories is that you can save them in highlights, this makes them visible forever and they are not lost once 24 hours pass.
5. Use relevant hashtags
Using relevant hashtags you increase the chances of visibility of your publication, since they will be impacting users from a larger audience that you would not reach directly, which will contribute to being discovered by potential followers.
The key to using hashtags optimally is to be very selective about which hashtags to use, and how many of them to use in each post. On the one hand, limit the number of hashtags you use, and do not reach the 30 hashtags that Instagram allows, an average of 5 and 11 hashtags is fine to gain visibility . On the other hand, to make correct and effective use of this technique, avoid those hashtags that are very crowded. For example, if you put the hashtag #Nike, you will be wasting your time, since it is a highly in-demand hashtag and your publication will be devoured by other accounts that are stronger and use the same hashtag.
To avoid this, I recommend using other alternatives that describe your publication and that are of interest to your audience (you should do a little research on hashtags related to your niche or sector), in this way you increase the chances of your image appearing in highlights.
6. Get closer to your followers, they want to meet you!
Instagram is a social network, not a commercial one; For this reason, it is essential to publish valuable content with an intention that goes beyond generating sales.
Show your followers who you are and who is behind your profile! This is a fact that helps generate a link between the brand and the end user. Interact with them and discover their tastes, preferences, suggestions, feelings. Get to know them and make them know you. When we give rise to an interaction, our engagement increases considerably.
Humanizing your brand will help build loyalty among your followers, leading to a subsequent relationship of greater value.
Also, don’t just lock yourself in your account and look at the posts of the people you follow, comment on them, interact with them. This method ensures that they see you 100%, but, also, if you do it constantly, you will be able to leave a mark on their mind. By using this method, when you post an image or video you increase the chances that the people you have interacted with will return the favor by interacting with your posts.
7. Upload specific and quality content
It seems obvious, but many times rush can play tricks and lead you to publish recycled content from your other social networks. Don’t make that mistake. It is important to generate specific creatives for Instagram.
On the other hand, we also advise you to identify your posts with the most likes and/or comments to recognize the ones that work best. This way you will discover the taste and interest of your audience, focusing on similar content to achieve greater performance.
And finally , always ask yourself the same question before publishing: is what I’m going to upload to Instagram valuable content? If the answer is no, think twice if it’s really worth uploading that post.
8. Create a good description
Even though we are on a visual social network, the text or caption of the image plays a great role, don’t waste it.
It is the ideal place to captivate and tell a story that reinforces the image or video you publish.
Here you can tell your followers about the sensations that the image conveys to you or reinforce the message of the publication so that the user goes even deeper into your story.
Additionally, if you are a business account , a good description can help you humanize your posts, as well as make your posts more likely to be shared among your followers, which will help you have more reach on Instagram.
9. Post daily and at the right times, but don’t overwhelm your audience!
If you post at times and times with a low percentage of online users, your content will not receive enough interaction and Instagram will understand that you are not generating enough engagement. This will penalize your future posts and create a vicious cycle.
On the other hand, if you post when there are a greater number of users online, then you will have better opportunities to generate engagement. And how can you tell if your followers are online? Very easy. Analyze your Instagram statistics.
As you already know, when an Instagram user interacts with content, this activity is visible to their followers.
As for the publication rhythm, it is good to have a rhythm and a publication schedule on your social networks, and doing so for Instagram is no less important. But overusing posts can bore or burn out your community, which could lead to unfollows. Publishing daily is not synonymous with uploading content every hour. Publish frequently but in the right amount, and always attractive and quality content.
So you know, neither too much nor too little! You will find the ideal frequency after analyzing the number of posts and the interest they have generated. And over time, you’ll reach the sweet spot that’s right for your audience.
There are multiple tools, including Facebook’s own Meta Business Suite, that allow you to schedule your posts so that the task of uploading content on the appropriate days and times is much easier and more optimal.
10. Move your account from private to public
If you want to grow on Instagram from scratch, one step you have to take is to change your account from private to public. How do you want people to start following you if they don’t know what you offer?
In this article I am talking about how to grow on Instagram quickly, and if you have a private account, these tips will be of little use to you if you want to continue maintaining that privacy.
11. Collaborate with influencers
A good way to gain visibility on Instagram is to collaborate with influencers who work on the same or similar theme as yours, since, if not, this advice will fail.
Influencers have a community that is very committed to them, and many of their followers will take into account what they are told.
So, if you create a good strategy with the influencer and carry it out, it can be very beneficial for both parties.
12. Accompany your text with emoticons
Whether you like them or not, emojis have become a form of digital language. You can reinforce the message with an emoticon that represents the text you are writing.
They also add a visual touch to the text, but try not to abuse them or, otherwise, you will cause the opposite effect.
13. Respond to comments on your posts
The first hour is important for the Instagram algorithm . Depending on the interactions your post has, the algorithm will determine if it is an interesting post for your community or not.
For this reason, it is important that you be as attentive as possible to the comments that your followers leave you in order to respond to them.
It is an important detail to take into account, but don’t get obsessed and don’t stay glued to your cell phone.
14. Create a business account and start using Analytics Insights to see what’s working (and what’s not)
Whether you are a personal or business brand, I recommend in both cases creating and optimizing your company profile for the following reasons:
You can know what type of publications have been most successful and which ones your audience likes the most.
You know the hours and days of the week in which your community is most active on the social network to be able to make your publications and reach a greater number of people.
This allows you to analyze your actions to find turning points and improvement. To figure out the formula for success, you’ll have to measure and optimize!
Knowing the habits of your audience and analyzing your content can help you create publications with greater engagement and interest. You can carry out these analyzes both in the feed and in your stories. The options are countless!
15. Take care of your profile and biography
Your Instagram account profile is your home. If you have it well cared for, people will want to enter it. Therefore, it is very important to personalize your Instagram profile, so that it has an attractive appearance. Transmitting a good image is something that the potential follower appreciates from the first moment.
The first thing is to choose a good profile photo, aligned with the rest of your social networks. If you are a business Instagram account, using your logo is an ideal option.
Secondly, add a well-crafted Instagram biography, where you offer relevant information that shows your potential followers what they will find on your account, who you are, what you do or why they should follow you.
Finally, you can also add a link to your website, blog, or another of your social networks, making it easier for your followers to access it.
16. Don’t use bots
If you’re thinking about using bots to auto-message other people’s posts, get it out of your head.
It is perfectly obvious that they are bots, and, instead of looking good and making the other person believe that you are interested in their publication, the most likely thing is that you will get them to block you so that you will not bother them again.
17. Follow hashtags
On Instagram, apart from being able to follow users, you can also follow hashtags. This way you can interact with people where you both have something in common.
It is one more way to make yourself visible to people or brands with whom you share the same tastes: you increase the chances that they visit your profile and, perhaps, decide to follow your page.
18. Collaborate with other brands
By collaborating with other brands you can reach a community that could also be interested in your content, achieving an increase in our brand awareness and visibility.
A very common form of collaboration is contests, but not all collaborations must involve a large cost or involve taking actions on your Instagram account. You can collaborate in different ways!
The “mention by mention” practice is a clear example of this. It consists of reaching an agreement with an account that has a similar theme to yours and, through a publication or a story, recommending each other to each other.
19. Do giveaways and contests
One contest a year doesn’t hurt…not two, not three, not four! On the contrary, you will help create interaction and increase your engagement. In the same way, with this action you can get new followers and reach a new audience.
It is important that what you draw is related to the theme you are promoting in your account.
An example of a very simple and extended giveaway is:
For a person to participate, they must leave a like on the publication, they must name a number of people and they must follow your account.
These people have to share it in their stories so that your brand reaches their community.
Set a giveaway end date.
And you use some tool to choose the winner randomly.
You don’t always have to offer physical products in your giveaways. In cases of offering services, you can offer a free class for a certain time, a free audit, etc.
20. Optimize your username
If you enter a keyword in your account username, you’ll have a better chance of Instagram recommending you in its search results.
21. Geolocate your photos
A simple method to gain visibility and help you grow on Instagram in 2022 is to indicate the place where you took the photo.
In this way, for people searching for information about that place, there is the possibility that your image will appear in their search results, increasing the visibility of your brand.
22. Add an “Alt Text” to your Instagram posts
Alt text on Instagram photos is a new feature with multiple functionalities. These attributes are on every website on the internet, and now, on Instagram too!
On the one hand, it acts as an “alternative” description for those with visual problems . You will be able to provide a context for them to understand your content, making your creativity (and even yourself) more accessible to many more people in this community.
And it will also help you boost your SEO strategy so that your photos appear in search engines. So you may be wondering: does Instagram SEO exist? Yes that’s how it is. In the alt text of your images you should add good keywords. The ones that people would type into Google to find your photos.
And most importantly: you will reinforce the understanding of your photos by the Instagram algorithm. This image recognition technology helps it “see” what’s in your content, so it can show your post to more people with similar tastes.
And what a bomb! With this small action you will help the Instagram algorithm to grow your account naturally.
23. Attract traffic from other channels
We all know that there are countless social networks available. Why not take advantage of its potential? Enter the world of Pinterest, YouTube, Flickr and Facebook (among many others), and relate your Instagram content to these platforms.
This way, you will reach and attract a much higher volume of potential traffic. For example, you can advertise your Instagram profile on Facebook through a post with a redirected link.
Finally, we also recommend linking your account to other platforms or websites. For example, to your business or personal website, to your email, in press releases, blog articles, etc.