Firstly, Instagram uses a detailed algorithm to solve specific problems. This system is used to predict things the user may be interested in, accurately. The algorithm decides what people see when they open up their discovery and what shows up in ads. The software is based on machine learning AI that changes the ranking on your feed.
But how does it work?
Five key factors affect the visibility or ranking of your account/firm. As a business owner, you must understand why some of your posts perform better than others. These five are:
1 Interest
This is a more obvious one, depending on what users have liked in the past Instagram will recommend ads with similar items for sale. For example, if an account holder continuously wants posts on necklaces and rings the algorithm will display more jewellery. If they like watching funny animal videos, the algorithm will bring up more of those.
2 Timeliness
Posts on Instagram are stacked over time. The more recent posts will appear at the top of your feed. Therefore, figuring out when your clients are usually online is crucial to getting found on Instagram.
3 Session Time
The more time a user is active on Instagram, the more posts they will see. The average Instagram session can last up to 45 minutes per session. But you must see what this time is for your clients.
4 Frequency of Use
If you design your posts well enough, they will still appear on your users’ feed. Almost half of the users log in to their accounts multiple time of the day. And will therefore be more straightforward to target due to less “here is what you missed’ competition
5 Relationship
Finally, brands and marketers must put a large focus on retaining good communication and engagement with users. The algorithm prioritises the posts that a user has already interacted with previously. The first step is to concentrate on DMs and comments. Then you should also begin to tag certain users to increase engagement. You can also like to share or reshare posts.
With this information, what do you need to do to take advantage of these in 2021? Instagram is a superb platform to grow your business. However, developing a following and turning those followers into customers is challenging and time-consuming. Here are seven hacks that will help you create a large, quality following:
Name for the Account
The username and the name of your business online are essential for your Instagram profile. They are the two methods that Instagram holders will use to search for your business. Once a user searches a keyword associated with your business name, a list is generated depending on the search words.
You must choose a username that is the embodiment of what you do. Your username should represent your brand, and it must be recognisable. It’s a simple way to increase awareness without putting in much effort.
Remember, your username is right at the top of your profile. The name of your account appears below the logo picture. Choosing a name to be different from the username will increase your chances of visibility, as it doubles the likelihood of you being found. Unlike the username, the name should be grammatically correct and proper capitalisation, structure, and spacing.
Something to note is that your name is not tied directly to the URL of the account, so you are free to adjust it as you see fit. Doing this will allow you to alter the name to see what works best for increasing traffic.
Switch to a Business Profile
Given that it is a business account, your photo should be a seamless Logo. Using your firms’ logo as the profile picture will streamline brand identification for visiting users. A good logo is one of the key elements to a business Instagram as online selling requires buyers to trust in your firm’s professionalism and expertise using solely visual.
It is also vital that you adjust your account type from personal to business. The added features allow you to access a lot of business resources on Instagram.
Be sure to immediately input your business category right after adjusting the account type. There is a wide range of choices that cater to all kinds of business. With your business profile, you will add relevant information such as email, phone number, and even address. We also suggest you add the business address to the bottom of the bio to help people find your physical location.
Upload When Customers are Active
You are wasting your time posting great content to your Instagram if nobody is there to see it. It is crucial to post onto Instagram when your customer be logged in. How the algorithm works by showing your post to a small segment of your market, if it receives positive feedback, they will send it to more users. If a post does not get the engagement it deserves due to poor posting time; it will not be forwarded to others, a double aged sword for your marketing campaign.
Now you ask, “so how do you determine the best time to post?”
Well, there are two main ways to go about this.
- Check Instagram analytics. These will show you how well your posts have done for the past several months. Take note of when they were posted, and you will start to see trends emerging in time.
- Use common sense. Are most of you customers full time working adults? Then you should avoid posting from 9-5 as they are unlikely to see it. Your product market should help you to select the best time to post. For the travel industry, make sure your post occur in peak booking season(January and also on Mondays and Thursdays)
Instagram Stories
The stories section appears at the top of a user’s Instagram feed. It allows users to post and access stories for just one day. Over 500 million people watch Instagram Stories every day, so it is vital to publish user-generated photos of your firm to reach a wider audience.
Use Instagram ads
If you want to grow organic reach, you first might want to consider using Instagram ads. They will cost you money to post, but it will be a great way to propel yourself into the market in the beginning. Ads are a crucial tool for aggressive marketing goals.
The advertisement costs depend on a multitude of factors, time of the year, format, ad placement, target audience and ad specificity. You can tailor Instagram ads by setting a campaign budget and strategy. There is a variety of Instagram ads offered online. These include Instagram Shopping ads, IGTV ads, video ads, story ads, and photo ads. All these ads feature different calls to action that entice potential customers to follow, like or purchase from the business.
Go Live
Live video is powerful on Instagram; it is three times more likely to be seen then a post. Live is an excellent way to boost engagement and gain more attention for your firm. You can quickly get Instagram video ideas from the comment section. Take the most popular topic and curate the perfect content to grasp attention. They do not get lost in other posts as they show up first on the feed, giving them an added benefit over other content.
Using Hashtags
If you want to stay relevance on Instagram, you should use hashtags. These are keywords associated with the image or video put in front of a hash. They are instrumental in identifying particular topics. People can easily access your posts by searching a keyword in a hashtag. Using hashtags will boost your audience because your post will be visible to people who follow you and those who follow the hashtag.
Conclusion
Instagram is viewed as one of the best ways to market a company’s brand. According to research, people tend to respond positively to videos and images rather than text, making Instagram the perfect platform for advertising. Creating content that is unique, consistent and enjoyable is the best way to utilise Instagram to benefit your business.
