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Social media presence has become a big part of modern-day marketing. A large part of what we can accomplish in today’s age in terms of success comes down to one word: PERCEPTION. Whether we are an individual looking to become the next top model in NYC or a small business owner who wants to capture more market share in his town, sales and opportunities seem to be more abundant when we are perceived as important and prestigious.
This social norm has been what has allowed Social Revelation, a social media agency, to capitalize on helping individuals and business owners around the globe meet their short-term and long-term goals. Social Revelation has spent the last 5 to 6 years studying social media strategies, with an extensive focus on the lucrative Instagram platform.
Here are the top 5 marketing strategies everyone should be utilizing when trying to grow their brand — especially on Instagram:
- Utilization of hashtags: Most people understand hashtags and how they work but still do not fully optimize their benefits. Instagram allows you to use 30 hashtags. Therefore, everyone should use them. Hashtags are proven to increase engagement on posts by as much as 35%!One technique I use is I break my hashtags in to various categories: 10 hashtags with over 250,000 hits / 10 hashtags with over 500,000 hits / 5 hashtags with over 1,000,000 hits / 5 hashtags that are branded specifically to my company. These hashtags should be related to your image and your niche. Also, place them as your first comment. Never in your captions. Nobody wants to see your tags.
- Consistent posting: Posting is key to consistent growth. The more your posts are out in the world, with your hashtags, the more likely you are to become discovered. This is not rocket science, but many people fail in this area.The goal is to develop a feeling of anticipation with your audience. Be consistent and post around the same times each day. This allows your audience to expect when you are likely to post and begins developing a since of anticipation to see the content a page they love is putting out daily.
Be careful not to over post. We do not want to spam our users where they feel every time they log on they only see your images. Rule of thumb: Less than 10k – no more than 2x daily / 20k-50k – 2 or 3x daily / 50k-100k: 3 or 4x daily / 250k and above: 4 to 6x daily. From my experience, there is no need to post more than 4 hours apart or 6x daily.
- Build your network within your niche: Networking with people within your niche is huge. Cross-promoting one another is one of the fastest ways a page can grow. Stick with people relative to your size if you are wanting to utilize cross-promotion without reaching into your investment money.Sure, if you have some investment money – feel free to reach out to larger pages within your niche and pay for a story or post shout on their page. Paid promo and cross-promotion are quick and efficient ways to grow your brand.
- Understand the algorithm to reach explore page: If I had to guess, you probably spend a little time on the explore or popular page when you are logged into your Instagram. Have you ever wondered how people land their photos there? Is it from pure chance or luck? No, it is not. I have been able to land on the Explore page time and time again consistently.Understanding how the algorithm works is key. One of the biggest factors in the algorithm is quick and real engagement in a brief time frame after posting. This tells the algorithm that your post is considered popular and is worthy enough to land on the explore page.
Comments carry more weight than likes and engagement from LARGE pages is what really makes the difference here. If you can generate a lot of likes and comments within 30 min to 1 hour after posting from big pages, odds are, you will reach the explore page.
Viral content is another key in reaching the explore page consistently. Don’t think you can post an infomercial and reach explore over and over. You better have access to a very large network to pull this off as in millions in reach.
- Utilize IG stories: Instagram stories give a brand the ability to interact with their followers and thus increase engagement. People like to connect. Posting daily on your IG story helps users feel connected! Don’t be afraid to show them the face behind the page!
People LOVE to know who is working behind the scenes. Be personable! Use the poll feature in IG stories to take your engagement to a whole new level!
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