Instagram Marketing Made Easy: How To Successfully Grow And Monetise A Following

Are you tired of seeing your competitors crushing it on social media while you create posts that get barely any interaction at all? Do you have an excellent product and you want more people to learn about it so that they too can benefit from it? If so, read on and we’ll share some tips on how to successfully grow and monetize a following on Instagram for Instagram marketing.

1. Who are you marketing to?

It might sound rather silly, but do you really know who your audience is? You might have a general idea about their age, gender, and location, but how far into their psyche have you delved?

The key to successfully attracting more followers is knowing exactly who they are and what they are most interested in.

So, begin with some in-depth market and audience research. You need to paint a very clear buyer persona before you progress any further.

2. Who are your main competitors?

And of course, just as understanding your audience is critical, who are your main competitors?

Conduct extensive competitor research and look at what they are doing on their social accounts. How often do they post? Which posts are getting the most engagement from your audience? How have they optimized their profile? Gather as much information as you can and use it to your advantage. Remember, the goal is not to copy your competitors, but to identify what works and then put your own unique spin on it.

3. Find your brand voice for Instagram marketing

This is another one that might sound obvious. But do you have a clearly defined brand voice? The key to resonating with your audience and growing a following is having a recognisable brand voice that people enjoy engaging with.

1. Conduct a Brand Voice Audit: If your brand already exists, conduct a brand voice audit to assess past content and interactions with your audience. Determine what has worked well and what hasn’t in terms of engagement and brand perception.
2. Craft a Brand Voice Statement: Summarize your brand voice in a short, clear statement. This statement should include adjectives that describe your brand’s personality and the emotions you want to evoke in your audience.
3. Use Storytelling: Storytelling is a powerful tool for connecting with your audience on a deeper level. Share behind-the-scenes content, customer stories, and narratives that align with your brand’s values.
4. Experiment and Learn: Finding your brand voice is an iterative process. Experiment with different types of content and messaging to see what resonates best with your audience. Learn from your analytics and insights to refine your approach continually.

4. Set up your profile properly

Next, you’ll want to set up and optimize your profile accordingly.

• Fill out the contact information (and make sure it is consistent across all social accounts, your website, and GMB profile).
• Write a key-word optimized bio with emoji.
• Make sure your profile photo is clear and recognisable (a high-res logo works best).
• Use clickable, branded #hashtags (branded #, contest #, general appeal #, niche-specific #, seasonal #, entertaining #).
• Add clickable profile links to the relevant websites.
• Use Story Highlights (and create awesome stories on a regular basis).
• Make sure you utilise the “View Shop” button.

5. Create your content strategy of Instagram marketing

Instagram is among one of the most active social media platforms in the world with 63% of its users logging in at least once a day. This gives you a lot of opportunity to put your brand in front of your ideal customers, often.

Of course, in order to get the most engagement out of your audience, you need to know what kind of posts they resonate with best.

• Do they like photo carousels?
• Short videos?
• Stories?
• A standard photo gallery?

When creating graphics for your socials, remember these interesting aesthetic facts about Instagram users and their preferences:

• Light images typically perform better than darker images.
• Images with more background or white space are preferred.
• Images with one dominant colour as opposed to multiple colours work better and blue tends to outperform red.
• Contrasting textures generate more engagement.
• Images with well-written accompanying captions improve visibility.

Remember, Instagram is a very visual sight, so getting the right aesthetic (and being consistent with it) is paramount.

6. Show up consistently

This is the big one: consistency for instagram marketing.

If you wish to grow a following on Instagram, you need to be present and active. That means posting as often as possible on set days and at set times. The longer you commit to this the more accustomed your audience will be to seeing you and thus the more inclined they will be to follow you, trust you, and ultimately purchase your products.

7. Engage often to grow Instagram following

Respond to your comments. Some may be clearly spam which can be ignored, but all real engagement must be acknowledged and responded to. Not only that, but it’s worth being active in your Newsfeed as well. Follow some big names relevant to your industry and add high-value comments to their posts. This will invariably attract more followers to your cause and authenticate you.

8. Hire the pros of Instagram marketing

Finally, if you feel like you are too busy to be investing in your social media marketing (which is incredibly time and resource intensive) then we strongly recommend hiring the pros. The best thing? The best agencies offering Facebook advertising services can help you with your Instagram and other socials as well.

The bigger the net, the more fish you’ll catch!

Tags: grow instagram following how to monetize instagram instagram follower tips