Instagram has rolled out tons of features the last year, so you can know where to focus your efforts for the highest results. Here is a complete guide for a great Instagram strategy that helps you achieve your goal on Instagram this year.
Part #1: Reach New Audiences on Instagram
If you’re serious about your Instagram strategy, the first step is that you should focus on reaching new audiences.
And the good news is that there are many features, as well as tips that you can use to increase your Instagram reach.
Instagram Tips for Reaching New Audiences:
- Instagram Collabs: Engage with new audiences by having a collab with another Instagram user to create a feed post or Reel.
- Reels: Frequently share Reels that are relevant to your niche to reach new audiences via Instagram’s suggested content feeds. Include 3-5 relevant hashtags in your captions to help the Instagram Reels algorithm realize your content and categorize it. Keep in mind to share a preview to your Instagram feed to boost your reach.
- Carousel Posts: Carousel posts are a great format for sharing educational or insightful content – from step-by-step guides to customized recommendations. And they’re super shareable. More shares mean greater reach.
- Include a Keyword to Your Instagram Name Field: Include a commonly searched term to your Instagram name field to raise your profile visibility via the Explore Page.
- Giveaways: Hosting a giveaway is a great method for boosting reach, especially when the entry requirements include tagging friends or sharing a post on stories.
Part #2: Convert Profile Visitors into Followers
When you’ve successfully reached new Instagram audiences, the next step that you should do is to convert them into followers.
To use a fishing analogy, you can cast a line out as many times as you like. However, without the right bait, you probably won’t get a catch.
So always keep it in mind, here are methods to convert visitors to your profile into followers.
Instagram Tactics for Converting Visitors into Followers:
- Profile Picture and Bio: A great profile bio and picture show your audience all information about who you are. It’s the sign above your shop door that compels people to walk in.
- Content Niche: Having a clear and consistent niche shows visitors that your content is aligned with their interests. The more obvious your niche is, the more likely people will follow you.
- Stories Highlights: Instagram Stories Highlights appear at the top of your Instagram profile, making them great for giving a quick preview of what your day-to-day content is all about. Make sure your highlights are updated frequently, reflect your main content themes, and follow your brand aesthetic.
- Feed Aesthetic: First impressions count! Curating a grid that clearly showcases your content themes and values is still one of the most effective ways to convert visitors to followers.
Part #3: Build Community on Instagram
The final tip of our formula for Instagram success in 2022 is to cultivate a strong and engaged community.
You’ve reached new Instagram users and converted them into your followers, now you should know how to keep them.
Moreover, the more audiences engage with your video, the stronger your profile will be. That will help you approach more audiences going forward. It’s the perfect recipe for growth.
Luckily, Instagram launched a lot of features that are great for encouraging a community and driving engagement. Here are the top five that you should focus on in 2022.
Instagram Tactics for Community Building:
- Instagram Stories: Stories are created to be informal and interactive, so they are the perfect channel for conversational content. You should use interactive stickers (such as polls and emoji sliders) to entice as many audiences as possible and appear on camera to help humanize your brand. Experiment with Close Friends lists to serve great content to hyper-engaged users.
- Comments: When it comes to fostering community, listening is really important. Spend time replying to comments and encouraging conversations. You can also include a call to action to your Instagram captions and use the Pinned Comments feature to help shape the conversation.
- Instagram Live: Live broadcasts are direct and unedited. It’s a great way to connect with your audience on a more personal level. Moreover, you can now schedule Instagram Lives, which is great for boosting view counts.
- Memes: If you still think memes are reserved for joke accounts, think one more time. In 2022, memes are key for connecting with your community and generating engagement. From cute animals to funny TV show clips, the meme reigns supreme. If you’re finding inspiration, think about what your audience is interested in – or hates – and consider how these sentiments could play out as text overlays on trending visuals.
- Guides: Instagram Guides is a relatively underused tool in the Instagram arsenal, but one that is great for community building. Guides help you provide a valuable service to your community – from travel guides and product picks to curated lists of educational posts.
And that’s it!
How Many Posts Per Week Should You Publish?
It may feel like a lot of different content types to manage. However, you don’t have to cover everything at once.
You can split deliverables into weekly and monthly requirements for a more detailed Instagram strategy.
For example, you could set a goal to deliver the following every week:
- 2-3 x Feed posts
- 1-2 x Instagram Reels
- 4-6 x Instagram Stories
And then deliver the following at a lower frequency, perhaps monthly:
- 1 x Live broadcast
- 1 x Guides
- 1-2 x Collabs
If you think that it’s too much, you can dial it down to match your capacity. Alternatively, if you have more time to dedicate to content creation, you could scale up each output.
Whatever approach you take, the most important element is to focus on quality, community-focused content that supports your niche.