Keep reading for more tips on how to manage Instagram followers effectively this year.
11 tips to manage Instagram followers effectively and efficiently
7. Limit trolls, spam, and bots
Ah, here we are the very worst part of social media. Not only are trolls and spam annoying to deal with, but they’ll also negatively affect your followers’ experience and perception of your brand.
To ensure your Instagram content is a positive experience for all, you’ll be able to:
- Moderate comments regularly and delete any that troll your account or you suspect come from bots.
- Report those users
- Create a social media policy so your brand’s team knows how to reply to trolls.
Instagram lets you automatically hide offensive comments. To do this, it’s essential to:
- Go to your account settings.
- Tap Privacy.
- Tap Hidden Words.
- Choose which comment controls you’d like to set.
And there’s a manual filter option, where you’ll be able to type which words or phrases specifically you’d like to hide, on the same page. You’ll be able to block comments from specific users by doing the following:
- Go to your account settings.
- Tap Privacy.
- Tap Comments
- Type in the names of the accounts you want to block comments from.
8. Optimize your account for business purposes
If you’re using your Instagram account for business, offering good customer service makes all the difference (no one likes being ghosted, whether it’s by a love interest or a brand). Answer inquiries quickly, provide resources and answers to frequently asked questions, and make your follower’s experience as painless as possible.
And if you sell products or services on this platform, why not bring the shopping experience to Instagram? Optimizing your account for social commerce could make for a frictionless shopping experience for your customers — and more potential sales for you.
Use Instagram Shops to sell your products
In May 2020, Instagram launched Instagram Shops — an in-app social commerce feature for retailers. It allows potential clients one-tap access to the products you post, without them having to search out the product on your e-commerce website.
That is how clothing brand Lisa Says Gah set up their Instagram Shop:
Learn more about selling on Instagram.
Use a customer messaging platform to optimize FAQs
As a social media manager, being on Instagram 24/7 isn’t affordable (or healthy). However, customers from different regions and time zones might try to get in touch with you at different times of the day.
Customer messaging platforms for retailers like Heyday offer easy-to-use tools to manage communications with your viewers and potential consumers. Heyday is an AI chatbot for retailers that connects your online store with your social media channels. It lets you automate as much as 80% of your customer support conversations. When clients reach out to you on social media with questions regarding your inventory or order tracking, the chatbot assists them in real-time (and passes more complex inquiries over to your support team).
Provide extra information in your link in the bio
The link in your Instagram bio is the first place your followers will go when they want to learn more about your brand.
Use that link wisely by setting up a link tree that directs your viewers to resources outside of Instagram (for example, your company website, blog, other social media accounts like Facebook or TikTok, or well-timed events and new product launches).
9. Track follower growth—and note the corresponding content
Keep up-to-date on what your followers love by using analytics tools.
Instagram analytics may help you determine who your core audience is, and also keep track of new followers. Instagram’s insights spotlight helpful data, including:
- Follower demographics
- Interactions with your account every day
- How many accounts found your Instagram account
- How many clicks did your link in bio get from Instagram
You can even use data to track which content is most engaging to your viewers. See if there’s a sample between the growth in your following and whenever you post a specific kind of content. For instance, does your following increase once you use geotags, polls, or a video? What about Reels? Once you’ve determined what content works best, create a publishing plan to capitalize on these kinds of posts.
10. Think about when to follow or unfollow other accounts
A follow isn’t always a two-way street: your brand shouldn’t follow back every account that follows you.
To ensure you’re following accounts that are helpful to your brand, think about:
- Creating brand guidelines. Clearly outline in your brand’s social media strategy what makes an account worth a follow from your brand. For instance, what do you consider location? The size of the account’s following? Do you only follow back accounts that interact with your account and have public profiles?
- Using Instagram’s Save function. This can help your brand monitor which accounts interact with your account the most and which accounts you should interact with back.
- The potential to collaborate. Following back other brands or social media influencers can start a conversation about working together.
There are additional advantages to cleaning up your list of followers, removing bots and ghost accounts, and blocking trolls and spammers. To manage Instagram followers successfully, you can also make use of apps to clean up your list of followers and allow you to determine which accounts to follow back.
Mass Unfollow for Instagram, for instance, is an app you should use to bulk unfollow accounts that are not useful to your brand and bulk block followers if you’re noticing spam accounts.
11. Create highlights for new followers
Instagram Story Highlights is a simple method to communicate information to your new followers: they’re usually one of the first things they’ll check when visiting your profile.
Create engaging, visually pleasing highlight covers and name every highlight clearly (for instance, FAQ for frequently asked questions).
Fitness studio Aarmy’s Instagram highlights include information on their coaches, pop-ups, and gear for sale.
