6 key tips: how to be successful on Instagram

Instagram is currently the fastest growing social network and has already reached the striking milestone of more than 1 billion users. And if you think that Instagram is merely an app in which you can post photos with nice filters, you are quite mistaken.

For those who have their business related to digital marketing, this app, when used correctly, can become one of their main sources of income.

With a multitude of interactive tools that make this social network accessed daily by millions of users it’s increasingly important to be present with strategies and to pay attention to its innovations in order to stand out.

Therefore, we’ve gathered a few tips to help you have an expressive profile on Instagram that attracts lots of followers.

1. Business profile

The first step to obtaining a more assertive analysis and to be reached by a broader audience is changing your account into a business profile.

A number of Instagrammers use their profile commercially (20 million) and are advertisers (2.5 million).

When you register your profile for business purposes, Instagram makes important information available so that you can use it to benefit your performance.

For example: reach, impressions, profile views, demographics, among others.

Instagram provides multiple numbers so that you can understand and optimize your strategy’s results in this social network, in addition to being able to insert clickable links into your bio, such as phone number and email address, and have the advantage of promoting your posts directly from the app.

Check out the step-by-step process here to change your account.

2. Understand the data and create goals

Once your business account is set up, you’ll get a lot of data at hand, but it’s essential to remember that you still need to interpret it and know what you wish to achieve.

Who is your target audience? How do I define my persona? How to reach it?

Keep the answers to these questions in mind so you can plan ahead and achieve your goals.

Always check if the figures are leading you to the answers you seek, because they will attest your performance throughout your posts.

3. Planning

With the data and goals readily available, check the days and times that your followers are usually more present on Instagram and start scheduling your posts for greater engagement.

You’ll be able to build a series of constant content that will be posted at the right time to achieve a wider reach among users.

Schedule your posts. This way you’ll have plenty of time to analyze and always look ahead, without needing to post last-minute content that doesn’t always achieve the outlined goal.

There are several tools on the internet that allow the scheduling of posts on Instagram. All you need to do is some research and find the one that suits you best.

As to post frequency, it can vary greatly depending on the amount of content you wish to, and can generate according to your audience.

Test different times, analyze your data and avoid excessive posting. Ideally, there should be an interval of a few hours in case you post more than once a day.

4. Invest in quality

Since we’ve mentioned quantity, let’s talk about quality. There’s no point in planning well if your posts aren’t attractive to your audience.

It’s essential to have content standardization so that people recognize and relate to your content.

Using eye-catching images that are easy to understand and are consistent with what you wish to convey is key. But be careful so as not to confuse eye-catching with extravagant!

Try to use photos and videos with good resolution (preferably with ratio 1:1 -1080×1080) and it needs to follow a certain aesthetic, with consistent themes and filters.

Focus on similar filters that don’t vary much from one image to the next, so that your profile is harmonious and your followers can quickly identify it.

There are apps that enhance photo editing, such as Vsco, LightRoom, Canva, among others.

Besides the visual part, we’re talking especially about content!

If your goal also involves understanding what your personas want, you need to keep in mind which content will make them want to follow your posts.

It’s necessary to generate valuable content to spark your audience’s interest and to make them understand that you’re helping them to solve problems and pains they may have.

Also, focus on good writing and be precise with the first few words so people will click on “more” to continue reading what you have to say.

5. Talk to your audience

Interacting with your followers is important on its own, so that you can learn about their perception about your posts and what they are seeking, among many other factors that you can notice through a quick direct chat, as well as with posts on your feed.

Another factor to make you interact with your audience is the Instagram algorithm itself.

This social media is the one that generates the most engagement, so try to do this as much as possible.

The probability of posts with a lot of likes and comments appearing on users’ timelines is greater, especially if it is immediately after you post them.

Therefore, try to reply to users as soon as possible in order to ensure that you boost your post’s reach.

Have you noticed that your feed displays the stories and the posts of those profiles you usually interact with the most, first?

As mentioned in content quality, always create something that people will talk about or even share. Use CTAs as much as possible and develop a lasting relationship with your user base.

Focus on relevant posts, use informal language, and why not include emojis? 😋

6. Use tools as much as possible!

And how do you build engagement with your target audience?

In addition to all of the tips above, Instagram provides several tools that enable you to interact more with your users. Check out below, the most relevant ones:

Stories

Stories are one of the app’s most used features.

You can share photos or images with your followers, but keep in mind that your “story” will disappear after 24 hours. Whether you’re planning to show a little more of your daily activities, a behind-the-scenes view of your company, the development of a project, or even telling a short story, this feature gives you a chance to connect with your audience and absolutely boosts engagement.

There are several strategies when using “Stories”, which regardless of the algorithm, will be available for anyone who wants to see it at the top of the app.

Within this feature, you can do the following:

• Create polls (with text as well as emojis).
• Inform your location.
• Use customized stickers and gifs.
• Mention a clickable profile (where any profile that is mentioned in a public story, can repost it to their own stories, thus increasing the chance that others will be drawn to your profile).

We can’t stress enough how important it is to make the best out of Instagram stories!

Certain people post a huge number of stories during this 24-hour period, which may cause people to stop following the profile due to excessive content.

Stories were created to be practical, 5 seconds for images and 15 seconds for videos. Also, there are other tools that will be mentioned below.

Highlights

As mentioned above, stories last for a day only on the timeline. However, you can save them on your profile with the “Highlights” feature.

To do so, simply click on your desired story and click on the “Highlight” heart button on the lower right corner of the screen.

You can create a specific group for the stories (recommended) or leave them separate on your profile.

And don’t worry; you can highlight stories after the 24-hour period has elapsed.

Go to your profile and click on the clock icon on the lower right corner of the page, also known as story archive. Check the image below. There, you can select any story posted by you and add it to the highlight that suits your content the best.

In the image above, you can also see how the highlights are placed on the profile.

In order for them to attract more attention, it is recommended that you create a cover, making it more visible and didactic for those who visit your profile searching for more content.

Tip: The maximum number of grouped highlights is 100 stories.

Bio

Still regarding the profile, many people end up forgetting about a very important tool: their own description.

Your bio is your business card. It’s the first impression a user will have when clicking on your @ sign. Therefore, pay careful attention to your definition, it should be concise and straight to the point, so that those searching for your content can immediately identify with it.

You can mention clickable profiles and hashtags, and also place a clickable website link.

Hashtags

Hashtags (#) are an interesting feature in the Instagram world, considering that links posted on the feed are not clickable.

This feature gives you the option to follow profiles with a specific niche. It works quite well as a type of search and users can follow the content of various profiles instead of only one account.

But be careful! Avoid using numeric hashtags and those that have nothing to do with your segment, because you might attract an audience that isn’t interested in your content.

IGTV

 

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Uma publicação compartilhada por Hotmart (@hotmart.en)

With a 15-second limit per story, IGTV increases this range to compete with other video platforms.

It also has a vertical format and this tool can be used by those who wish to post videos with a maximum duration of up to one hour (for verified accounts).

We remind you that, by 2021, video consumption will be up to around 80%, confirming the importance of this tool.

Instagram Ads

Last but not least, ads!

This feature is quite useful for those who wish to redirect users to a website.

Unlike regular posts, ads can lead users to a specific link within a photo in a normal feed, with the “learn more” button.

You can boost your post more conveniently via Facebook, with the same features as the other social media (carousel, for example), or via Instagram itself.

Remember to target the right audience to boost engagement with your posts, attract new followers and increase profile views.

Invest time on your Instagram

So, what did you think about our tips on how be successful on Instagram? Are you currently using all of these tools?

If you’ve enjoyed this information and wish to learn more about this social media, which is nothing short of revolutionary, make sure you also read our post about How to sell on Instagram.