5 Effective Ways Businesses Can Hack Instagram

Who ever thought that a visual social platform such as Instagram could help a business get more followers, garner massive engagement, and attain sales? Statistics even reveal that Instagram’s community of brands has grown to over 15 million. Also, 60% of people stated that they have discovered a product or service through this social platform.

 

All these pieces of information would only mean that Instagram holds a lot of potential for you, regardless of the nature of your business. Whether you run a local store or market worldwide, you can crush the competition and grow like a vine by being active on the platform.

 

Growth Hacking on Instagram

 

You probably came across the term growth hacking. It’s a concept that refers to initiatives or efforts geared towards a goal that will help a business achieve exponential growth. If you want to hack Instagram and grow your brand, you need to have a well-rounded marketing strategy.

 

Implement these 5 simple yet effective hacks you shouldn’t miss out.

 

1. Use hashtags so people can find you.

 

The use of hashtags is not a new concept on Instagram. However, we need to stress out this valuable piece of advice if you want to build brand awareness, skyrocket a contest campaign, and generate a massive following in less time.

 

At the most basic level, include your brand name in your hashtag. Now you might think that it’s a weird thing that you’re the only one using your brand name but eventually people will start to pick up this hashtag and use it whenever they use your products or reference to you. 

 

2. Be active and interactive. 

 

Instagram suggests algorithm factors that help them rank content. One of these important factors is the timeliness of a post. Instagram prefers to show audience posts that are most recent since people are more likely to be interested in new stories rather than those published days or weeks ago.

 

That said, it’s more than necessary that you post content every single day of the week, at least once per day. It also takes some experimentation and testing to figure out the optimal time your audience is most active and ready to engage. Capitalize on those times. Also, make an effort to respond to every comment you get.

 

3. Get crystal clear on your target audience.

 

Businesses that try to be everything to everyone are less likely to get favorable results. In order to create Instagram posts that truly resonate with people, hone in on your target audience first. This means understanding their backgrounds, interests, pain points, hobbies, demographics, and more.

 

After you create a persona of your target customer, you’ll be able to come up with stories they’re more likely to be interested in. At the same time, your stories must be in line with your brand. For example, if you run an online store that offers professional cheerleading products, most likely your storylines will be about diet, fitness, and physical training.

 

4. Take advantage of your bio link.

 

There’s only one place where you can include a link to your website landing page or product page – your Instagram bio. But the good news is that you can change this clickable link in your bio as many times as you like to suit your marketing campaigns!

 

If you’re actively promoting products during a particular season or event in your business, you can create a series of Instagram posts where you include a call-to-action that invites prospects to go ahead and visit the link in your bio to see what’s in store for them.

 

For brands that are still new and are looking to build an email list, a great idea would be to offer a free product that can only be accessed by clicking on the bio link. Once people arrive on your landing page, make sure that they enter their email address first before they can download your freebie.

 

5. Build relationships with influencers.

 

To boost your popularity and audience impact on Instagram, leverage the authority of influencers. In fact, influencer marketing has been proven to be more effective than ads. The reason is that people prefer the opinions of others, especially those they have come to trust.

 

Partnering with influential individuals, bloggers or celebrities can get you exposure at a faster rate than paying for billboards and digital advertisements. From the get-go, choose to work with influencers relevant to your business. There are influencers who are well-known for a certain niche (say, fashion, fitness, gaming, etc.) so be sure to find someone who’s capable of promoting your products.

 

Conclusion

 

When used to your business’ advantage, Instagram can help you own the center stage where your audience sees you as their chosen brand. Follow these tips on how to hack Instagram and you’ll grow your prospects, conversions, and sales like never before.  

Mathieu Blake


Mathieu Blake - Internet Entrepreneur, loves technology, sports, the Montreal Canadiens, Poker, Poker chips, current events and travel. You will often find him Writing about different topics that interest him on websites and blogs. To submit an article, contact the website directly.