The best tactics for Instagram growth
Instagram is the top-ranked app with more than 1 billion monthly active users worldwide.
Given the size of its user base, businesses on this platform have valuable opportunities to build audiences, build community and drive sales.
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To learn more about how to grow your business and create an engaged community on the app, the HubSpot blog surveyed more than 1,000 marketing professionals who use the platform. Here are some of our key findings.
The best tactics for Instagram growth?
How marketers increased their followers in 2021
In 2021, marketers reported that the key to growing an Instagram account to its first 1,000 followers was creating shareable content with quality captions. Growing their follower count beyond 1,000 followers involved posting engaging Stories, connecting with users and collaborating with influencers, which we discuss in more detail below.
If you're struggling to grow your follower count or losing followers, marketers report that this usually happens for a few main reasons: not posting often enough, being too salesy, and removing follower bots from Instagram.
How marketers are increasing engagement in 2021
In 2021, marketers increased engagement on Instagram by interacting with audiences and creating content that encourages engagement. For example,
Creating shareable content to inspire your audience to share it on their own profiles via Stories or repost it on their feed,
Tracking comments and mentions to find user-generated content to share on your profile, responding to comments and DMs from users when it makes sense.
The best tactics for Instagram growth?
How marketers were increasing Instagram ROI in 2021
49% of marketers said Instagram has the highest ROI of all the platforms they use. Here are the strategies they used to grow ROI:
Using Instagram's shopping tools.
This was the most popular strategy, as 79% of marketers have used Instagram buying tools in their role and 33% plan to use them for the first time in 2022.
Creating content focused on the brand's products and services.
It informs your audience about your offer on a platform they already know, and has the second highest ROI of any content type.
Create interactive Instagram Stories.
45% of IG marketers use this tool and 92% of them plan to increase or maintain their investments in 2022. Stories are also the number two format for gaining followers and sharing content on Instagram.
Tips for Instagram growth in 2022
Now that you know some of the key ways marketers have seen success on Instagram in 2021, let's take a look at how you can create an organic growth strategy on Instagram for your business in 2022.
1. Use different content formats.
Video and carousel posts are the most engaging type of content on Instagram, especially when compared to single images. To give you an idea, carousel posts contain multiple different media forms (image or video) in one, allowing you to create highly engaging posts.
Both forms of content keep users engaged longer, whether they're scrolling through a set of your 5 photos or watching a video. The longer a user stays interacting with your content, the longer they are engaged.
Although video and carousel posts are the most popular, you can also experiment with different content formats (such as Reels and Stories) to see what resonates most with your audience.
2. Post at the right time.
When posting on Instagram, it's important to post at a time that allows you to meet your audience at a time when they are online and more likely to engage with your posts.
The best way to decide what time to post on Instagram is to track your analytics, as mentioned above. However, the universal benchmark for ideal timing is posting between 6pm and 9pm, with Saturday, Friday and Sunday being the best days respectively.
3. Post consistently.
Your profile growth is related to how many posts you post, so try to post consistently. The more content you share, the more opportunities you will have to engage and grow your profile. So create a consistent posting schedule that will help you stay top of mind with your audience.
Many marketers state that four to six posts per week is the ideal time. However, keep in mind that there is such a thing as too many Instagram posts. Don't overwhelm your audience, but be strategic.
4. Collaborate with influencers who are relevant to your business.
Although it seems like best practice to work with influencers who have a lot of followers, according to HubSpot's Instagram Engagement Report, your efforts will pay off more if you work with influencers who are more connected to their audience and community than to follower counts.
When you do that, you're working with someone who has built trust with their audience, regardless of their size. And when an audience trusts an influencer implicitly, they're more likely to trust their opinions on products or services and be curious and eager to learn more about what your brand has to offer.
Micro-influencers with 10 to 50 thousand followers and nano-influencers with less than 10 thousand followers are considered the next wave of influencer marketing.
5. Keep track of your engagement.
You might be thinking "Yeah, I knew that", but tracking engagement on Instagram is important, so it's an important challenge. In fact, it's the most effective way to increase your engagement because you'll know exactly what's working and what's not.
For example, insights from your profile may tell you that users are engaging more with your videos. If you spend most of your time creating Stories, you're actively ignoring what your audience values most. Instead, you want to leverage the information from your insights and focus on sharing high-quality video content.
Track engagement analytics consistently so you can make informed decisions that help you grow better.
6. Write strong and persuasive headlines.
Always include a caption with your posts - using one can increase your engagement by almost 2%. Quick and short captions (1-20 characters) work well, but longer ones (over 2000 characters) work too.
Regardless of their length, you should always strive to create quality descriptions that are informative, engaging and relevant to the content being shared.
7. Use hashtags.
Using hashtags on Instagram will help you get your content seen by people who don't follow you but are surfing the hashtag you use on Explore.
If you choose hashtags relevant to your business and use them in your captions, people can find your posts, discover your profile, follow you and help you grow your account. Example: 81% of marketers say that using hashtags has been somewhat or very effective for their Instagram strategy.
Conclusion
Growing followers on any platform can be challenging, especially if you're starting from scratch. Use the tips on this list from other marketers who have been through it and reaped the rewards, and start creating your own Instagram growth strategy to help you build an engaged community.
