It’s no secret that Instagram influencers can earn more money. However if you’ve spent any amount of time on the platform, posting without a plan, you also know that getting those coveted likes isn’t as easy as you’d like to believe. It requires a bit more than just snapping a photo and posting it with a pithy caption. If you want to get more likes on Instagram, you need to have an Instagram strategy in place. Luckily, if you’re wondering the way to get more Instagram likes, you’ve come to the best place. In this article, we’re going to stroll you through everything you’ll want to do to get more likes and engagement on your Instagram posts, Stories, Reels, and IGTV.
Instagram likes are a way people telling you that they like your content. And, admit it, it is good to open the platform and see all of those nice little notifications letting you realize that your content resonated with people, isn’t it? Of course, while it’s good to get likes on your posts, those little hearts mean quite a bit to Instagram influencers who are hoping to increase their reach and authority on the platform. Instagram likes are one of the techniques the Instagram algorithm decides which content gets pushed out to a larger audience and which creators have an easier time sharing their content. Think of them as ranking signals similar to what search engines look for when determining the way to index and rank websites.
And, just because Instagram is playing around with hiding the number of likes a post gets, don’t think they matter any less. Even when the number of likes isn’t public, the number of likes is still an essential influencer signal for the platform, so you have to create an Instagram marketing strategy designed to get more likes and engagement on your content. Keep reading for our hot tips to get more Instagram likes!
How to Get More Instagram Likes: 11 Ideas
Getting more likes and follows on Instagram isn’t simple. Just ask any of the top Instagram influencers about the time and effort they’ve put into creating their following—and how much time and effort it takes to keep growing. However just because it’s not easy doesn’t mean it’s impossible. In fact, there are three areas you’ll be able to address to start on your path to racking up more likes right now:
- Create Better Instagram Content: What you publish on Instagram matters. Since Instagram is such a visual social media platform, your content must be visually appealing. The content that you post has a big impact on who you attract to your account and if it’s not great, people aren’t going to stay around.
- Promote Your Content: As soon as you’ve created great content, you need to promote it using cross-posting, hashtags, and more.
- Collaborate With Other Creators: Brand account takeovers, partnerships, and even just engaging on the content other creators are posting can go a long way towards getting more likes and engagement for your content.
Now that we’ve covered the three key areas you should give attention to, let’s get deeper into exactly what you can do in each of these areas to increase the likes and engagement for your Instagram content.
1. Find Your Target Audience Early
One of the most essential things you can do to set yourself up for getting more Instagram likes is to find your target audience. You don’t need to be everything to everybody, and you shouldn’t try. Your target audience is your people, the ones who are interested in what you have to say. Write your Instagram profile with that target audience in mind and build your content marketing strategy to engage them. This type of targeting practically guarantees that you’ll get the genuine likes you crave.
2. Research Your Competitors
Just as you need to know who your target audience is, you should know and understand your competitors. This can also allow you to get new ideas for the content you want to create and share on your own Instagram account. That doesn’t mean you copy them, of course. However definitely take a look at what they’re posting, paying particular attention to the content they share that gets their audience excited. Adapt that content to match your own style. You can even take a look at who their most engaged followers are and start following them and engaging with them to lure them away.
3. Test Different Content
While Instagram started as a place to share beautiful pictures, it’s grown into a multi-dimensional platform that offers tons of opportunities to experiment with the form of content you provide. Testing out several types of content will keep your content fresh and your audience. Over time, you will figure out what kinds of content really resonate with your audience so you can focus more on that. Here are a couple of ideas for different types of Instagram content you can try out:
Actionable Quotes
Yes, we all know. Posting quotes on Instagram can be a snoozefest. We’re talking about quotes that directly relate to your brand and your industry like fitness influencer Hayley Madigan does:
Behind the Scenes Photos
Moreover, users are interested in what goes on in the day-to-day of their favorite influencers and brands they follow on Instagram. Your audience follows you for a reason—usually because they like you, your products and services, or the content you provide. Sharing what goes on behind the scenes is a simple method to connect on a deeper level with your followers. That’s why influencers for businesses like Chalene Johnson are so popular. She regularly shares what’s going on in her life, giving lots of value to her followers even if they aren’t members of her marketing academy. If you’re not interested in the thought of sharing about all aspects of your personal life, you can take a page from the Lobmeyr Lighting page and just show behind the scenes content from the business side of things:
Use Carousels (Multiple Photos)
Carousels are an effective way to share collections of images with your followers. You can show off multiple products, many photos from a photoshoot or event at once, sets of user-generated content, or even tell a story with your carousel posts.
4. Share Eye-Catching Photos
Instagram is an extremely visual social media platform. As such, you should share visually appealing content if you want to get more eyes on your content—and the increase in likes that comes from reaching a broad range of people. There are two simple things you can do to be sure that your content is eye-catching: take high-quality photos and use filters consistently.
Fortunately, you already have a high-quality camera on your smartphone that’s perfect for capturing stunning images. To get the most out of your smartphone’s camera, choose a place to take pictures that has great natural light, and ensure that there’s not too much going on in the background. Beyond that, select a filter that makes your photos pop and stick with that filter. While it can be fun to play around, using the same filter on all of your photos adds to your visual identity and makes it easier for your followers to identify your photos in their crowded feeds because they “look” like you.
Travel influencers are amazing at both beautiful imagery and consistent use of filters. Just take a look at this feed from travel..rose: