Growing by the minute, Instagram is loved by businesses looking to establish a presence and encourage engagement. It offers brands a great way to increase their visibility and connect with their clients and prospects. If you want to build a strong community of people who relate to your brand and to ensure your products are seen by more people, Instagram is the place to be.
But with over 800 million monthly active users and lots of images uploaded every single day, it can be hard to know how to interact with the Instagram community and get loyal followers who keep coming back for more. But fret not, many users have achieved success, and so can you. Here are some ways you can optimize your Instagram posts and increase engagement.
Capitalize On High-Quality Photos
Instagram is image-centric, it is all about visual storytelling. But everybody posts images and videos on Instagram, so how do you ensure you stand out from the rest? Upload images that attract people at first glance; those that lure, captivate and enthrall.
Instagram now allows users to upload high-resolution images (1080×1080 pixels). While the images are not displayed as such on Instagram, they are saved in 1080px resolution, probably in preparation for making a switch to the bigger size. Upload high-quality images that make people linger on your Instagram posts. As well, add minimal text and relevant hashtags.
Schedule Your Posts
If you want to make posting to Instagram easier, start scheduling your posts. While posting in real time has its advantages, it is not ideal for everyone. There are many tools you can use to schedule your posts. Some are computer-only, others are mobile-only, and some work on both mobile and PC.
Some of the most popular scheduling tools help you set up a timer when to go ahead and publish your photos. The publishing will still have to be done manually, though. With JARVEE you can schedule your Instagram posts and also automate other tedious tasks that cost you a lot of wasted time, everything completely automated so you can focus on more important aspects of your business.
Also, use Instagram analytics tools to measure the effectiveness of your posts and to know the best time to post. If you use Instagram for business, you must track Instagram analytics. As with any other social network, you must have a strategy in place if you want to boost engagement.
Instagram does not have its own analytics dashboard (unless you have a business account), but there are many tools you can use including Iconosquare and Simply Measured.
Use the Right Hashtags
When a user needs to find something on Instagram, they use hashtags to narrow down their search. Hashtags are labels for content and help people to find information on different topics quickly. If you are a seasoned Instagrammer, you know that there are popular hashtags and not-so-popular ones. If you use unpopular hashtags, your posts can easily go unnoticed – no matter how captivating they are.
Use hashtag apps to choose the most popular hashtags in your industry. Some allow you to create your own set of hashtags so you can copy them whenever you want to use them. Always use some of the popular hashtags in your posts to increase the chances of reaching new users and getting discovered. But also look for targeted, niched hashtags to get more exposure in your target market. If you want to learn how to identify the right hashtags for you, check out this comprehensive tutorial.
To make your posts look clean, a good practice is to choose the most relevant 2 or 3 hashtags for the description and leave the rest for the comments. And don’t forget to include all the necessary hashtags at the time of the posting, otherwise, your photos will not appear near the top of the search results and your images could go unnoticed.
Utilize Photo Editing Tools and Apps
On an average day, about 95 million images are uploaded to Instagram. There is stiff competition for likes, and only outstanding photos attract the much-needed views.
Make your Instagram posts stand out by using photo editing tools and apps. You can use them to adjust contrast, warmth, brightness, and saturation. Images look so much better when edited. Instagram has its own set of editing tools, and there are many apps at your disposal. They help you to share the beauty of a moment as you remember it – right inside Instagram.
Tag People in Images
Tagging on Instagram is currently available for the Android and iPhone apps. The process is super easy. You simply add the names or usernames of the people you want to tag. If you can’t find a person, simply search for them. The beauty of tagging is that you can tag anyone in your photos – those who follow you and those who don’t.
When you tag a person, they get a notification and your post becomes a part of their profile. This means that your followers and their followers see the post.
Engage With Your Followers
Make your brand become popular by regularly engaging with your fans. Remember that your fans follow you for a reason. If they ask questions or comment on your posts, do not ignore them. Even saying “thanks” for good comments makes your followers know you appreciate them.
When you have time, leave nice and thoughtful comments on your fans’ posts. Be thoughtful and avoid posting multiple photos at once as you’ll clutter their photo feeds and they will not be happy. Spread out your posts evenly.
Partner with Influencers Who Support Your Brand’s Values
Many businesses and brands on Instagram share and promote their partnerships. Partnerships increase brand awareness, reach, and revenue. When you partner with an Instagram influencer, you showcase your brand’s offerings the best way.
Bear in mind that social media influencers are today’s celebrities. Instagram has more than 40,000 influencers who cover all fields. Their opinions are trusted and they can give credibility to the products and services they promote. Look for influencers in your industry to partner with. You can team up to create Instagram takeovers, contests, or product campaigns. Your posts will not only be viewed by many people, you’ll increase brand awareness and get more fans.
Wrapping It Up
While Instagram is one of the best marketing tools for business, most brands do not go the extra mile and optimize their Instagram posts for further reach.
Do not be like them.
Use Instagram to make the most of your posts and to enjoy marketing success. Remember that Instagrammers are shoppers, if you post the right content, your fans will soak up your marketing messages without getting hard sales pitches from you.
Instagram allows you to appeal to customers without selling to them directly. Which other social media platform allows you to do that?
Damian says
Adding high quality, high resolution and of course, eye catching images to Instagram surely increase engagement and attracts lots of eyeballs. Sad to see many people ignoring this.
Iker says
For scheduling posts I use the best of the best, jarvee. For analytics, I use Iconosquare. I find it much better then simply measures, of course both have their own advantages, but I tend to incline towards Iconosquare.
Adam says
Haha, glad to hear you’re one of us 😉
Ryan says
It’s a pity to see so many people not using hashtags in their posts. Hashtags are a great way to increase visibility in the search, but as the article mentions, one shouldn’t’ overcrowd their post with hashtags, as that looks quite unprofessional.
Adam says
An alternative is to post them inside the first comment.
Oto says
This post has a golden nugget. I never used to tag anyone but as soon as I started tagging I started to see an increase in the number of followers I get. Start tagging, people!
Adam says
Thanks for sharing your experience Oto
Jamil says
I have seen even the best of the brands not engage with the followers. Some do but in a very dull manner. Your followers are your prospects/customers, one should also treat them as such.
Adam says
Indeed you’re right!
David says
Finding influencers can be a bit hectic but once you get the gist of it, influencer marketing is highly HIGHLY effective
Adam says
You can always outsource their finding 🙂
Jessica says
Is jarvee really as good as people say it is? I want to purchase the subscription but I have second doubts. I run a small gym and was thinking of social media automation and have heard a lot of positive remarks about jarvee.
Watson says
Jarvee is excellent for social media automation especially for instagram, you can read their tutorials and blog posts to get a better grip. Best of all, you can try jarvee for 5 days, completey free!
Adam says
It’s definitely a great tool to have, your accounts will grow a lot faster and if you set them right they’ll be on auto-pilot! Just give it a try as there’s a 5 days free trial!
Joseph says
How do I find the right people to follow and automate my following?
Clark says
Jarvee has its own built in search tool with loads of different methods, test it out if you haven’t already.
Adam says
That is true 🙂 Thanks Clark!
Adam says
Well, targeting the right people is a skill that is acquired over time, try and think like the people you want as followers and see where they hang out and how you can get them over to you.
Kloe Marin says
Scheduling posts at the wrong time can cost you some likes and follows. Don’t be lazy to check when your posts are preforming the best, so that you can take advantage of that and schedule your posts to get more views and engagement.
Nick Simons says
Don’t forget to switch your account to business account, since there are many features that are available only for business accounts. 🙂
Maria says
I have read couple of similar articles on Jarvee and I always find something new and something that i can apply to my marketing strategy.
Reading is the mother of knowledge.
Arwen Wise says
Social Media is in some situations same as real life, you need to give in order to receive. If you engage with your followers posts, if you are open and responsive to their comments, messages, and questions, they will be willing to appreciate your content as well. This is how you build strong and powerful social media profiles. You need to make a strong relationship with your followers.
Ludovic says
Making a partnership with Influencers is very profitable and at the same time, it’s very expensive. I recommend You to use so-called Micro-Influencers, those users that have pretty big engagements and the number of followers between 5000 and 10.000 followers. They are less expensive but efficient.
Sonja Volugin says
We all preatty much know how to optimize our posts,but reading it again and again can never hurt