Instagram has emerged to be a top social media platform, popular among millenials of today’s times. Its recent boom in reach and popularity is due to its easy to use interface, mass appeal, and diversified geographical reach. It has quickly evolved to a platform well suited for brand and product endorsements.
Registration on the platform is free, and users just have to provide a unique user ID to get started. Users have the option of creating public or private profiles. As the names suggest, a public profile is one, which anybody on Instagram can view and access. A private profile, on the other hand, is only viewable by the user’s Instagram friends and followers. Users can also change their user ID in future if so desired.
Instagram Marketing and its Mechanism:
Users with a large number of followers can even earn from Instagram by product and brand endorsement deals. Marketers seeking to increase their brand recognition and reach in the target markets extend these deals to users. Both online and offline sellers and marketers use Instagram heavily for this purpose.
Users with more than 10,000+ active and engaged followers are often approached for brand endorsement deals extended by social media marketers. Having an active and engaged audience is essential for Instagram marketing to work well, for this ensures increased brand/ product awareness, and is the first step to lead generation online. Users are either paid by post numbers, impressions, leads, or lead conversions as decided by each corporate.
How to increase followers on Instagram?
- Analytics: Instagram provides free analytical insight to understand audience reach and engagement better. Instagram marketers can do well to pay heed to analytics to improve the content timing and classify target audiences better.
- Frequency of posts: Higher audience engagement is possible only with more frequent posts by users. Balancing the frequency is an art that influencers need to perfect- to not be labeled ‘spam’ accounts and also to have positive memory value for their followers.
- Interaction with followers: With the comments and liked features of Instagram it is possible to build a more personal and one to one relationship with followers. Influencers should place special focus on interaction with followers in the comment section, to increase credibility and face value among their followers.
- Consistent and original content: In order to increase a follower count on Instagram, it is essential for users to post consistent, original and refreshing content. Consistency is important to stick to the minds of the followers. Originality is important to stand out from the sea of other influencers and online marketers.
- Hashtags: Instagram has a unique feature wherein similar posts can be viewed together. This is through the use of hashtags in each post. Influencers can easily gain visibility by using apt hashtags in their Instagram marketing stories. For example, a shampoo endorsement can be supported by the hashtag #stronghair. As the hashtag grows popular on the platform, so would the brand.
- Collaborations: Smart video collaborations with popular Instagrammers is sure to catapult audience influence and engagement. It is also a good way to increase following on the platform.
- Live videos and stories: Other features of the app should be fully utilized to increase popularity on the platform. Youngsters are hooked onto watching live videos and stories on Instagram. Product endorsements are sure to reach the target audience with a wise usage of live videos and stories features on Instagram.
- Contests and Giveaways: Any consumer is sure to get attracted to freebies whether offline or online. With this logic, influencers must engage with followers by arranging contests, lucky draws, free giveaways etc. This would help generate a buzz online, and also garner real unbiased consumer feedback at a very marginal cost.
