Do you already have an established Instagram account, but are not sure where to go next? Or maybe you aren’t having the influence you were hoping for and are looking for ways to increase engagement?

Bob Milliken

Either way, I can help you. My 6 simple steps will point you in the right direction to becoming a power influencer in your Instagram community.

  1. Know your audience: Knowing your audience is a must do. Whether you are just starting out or have an established following, this first point is critical.

Who are you posting for? What people are interested in your niche? Why are these people interested in your account in particular, not competitors? Have a good understanding of your followers, or the followers you want to get, and you’ll easily be able tailor content to their demands.

  1. Commit to a posting schedule: Be consistent. Posting frequently and consistently is the most successful strategies on Instagram. Consider how often you want to post and when you want to post. Accounts targeting businesspeople often have the most engagement when posting during morning or afternoon commute. Commuters will often use this time to scroll through their newsfeeds and social media. Post when visibility is highest.
  2. Use a range of social media platforms: Instagram makes it easy to share your photos across a range of platforms, including Facebook. Make the most of this feature to reach out, share your content and engage with a much wider audience than otherwise possible.
  3. Keep an eye on trends: Take the time to notice what is popular and what posts are trending. Use this information to jump on board and use your #hashtags to get more visibility for your own content.
  4. Provide opportunities for participation: Having thousands of followers is great, but your influence is not maximized unless they are engaged. They need to be doing more than liking. You want them commenting and sharing your content. Create opportunities for people to get involved: run competitions, have polls for relevant topics, start conversations and, most importantly, respond (quickly) to all comments.
  5. Use Instagram’s analytical tools: Last but not least, there are some very useful analytic tools on Instagram to track the success of your activities. Use these assets to assess what types of posts are most successful, what times are best to post and what content causes the biggest increase in followers.

Take Away

Experiment with these techniques to maximize your influence on Instagram. Find out what works and what doesn’t, use the analytics to fine tune you post, build and consistently follow a schedule, and go beyond just Instagram. The results will astonish you.

Bob Milliken is a master marketer specializing in helping businesses achieve outrageous levels of success. Bob can be reached by phone at 604.270.1730 or by email at bob@rfmholdings.com