5 TIPS TO MAKE YOUR INSTAGRAM FOLLOWERS ENGAGE WITH YOUR BRAND

Social media is the new medium for brand building. Companies that are using this as a platform for their brand's voice are gaining more visibility and quickly. This is why social networks should be one of the core tools being used for your online reputation management. Local SEO companies are already using it as part of their services for branding businesses. If you don't know where to start, consider consulting with one.

Why Use Instagram?

There are various social media networks out there that you can use as a platform for your company. Why choose one over another? The first step is to determine whether it's where your audience hangs out a lot. Next, you have to identify whether or not you're able to create relevant content for that particular site. This is where some businesses fall off because they lack creativity.

Instagram is a visual platform, so it requires content in the form of video and photos. There are clever ways you can make this type of content match your business and audience. This is also where hiring one of the best local SEO companies can come in handy. Their experts can conjure up ways to create content that will draw in your particular audience.

Now, what's the reason for using Instagram? For one, it has over 600 million users around the world. Surely, you have a small percentage of this pie that's made up of your target customer. According to other stats, over 300 million people are using the platform on a daily basis.

The brands that have already started using this platform are witnessing high amounts of user engagement. Numbers from Forrester Research show a 2.3 percent per-follower engagement rate. This is much higher than Facebook's 0.2 percent Twitter's 0.02 percent rates.

Let's see tips on how to make Instagram followers engage with your brand. These five tips will undoubtedly amaze you.

1. Find a hashtag in your brand that catches the attention of your followers.

When you do it on a daily basis, watching hashtags not only gives you information about trends and competition, but it also allows you to find people who may want to know more about you and follow you.

For example, if you sell sushi in Chicago, you might follow the following hashtags: #sushi, #chicagofood e.t.c

When you find an interesting photo, go to the user's bio to see if it is worth following. If this person and your company have something in common, it will probably follow you too.

If a photo makes you want to comment, do it. But make sure the comment talks about the photo, not you. If the user wants to know more about you, he will go see your bio. A few nice words can be enough to convert a user into a follower.

Repeat the method as often as possible. There are loads of free search tools for Instagram available online or on mobile.

2. Find a hashtag in your brand that brings you user-created content - and followers.

This brings a step further your hashtag monitoring. Unless you are a startup, you would be amazed at the number of Instagrammers who already post photos of your brand, your products or your services. And these people will be delighted to let you share their photos if you ask nicely.

Often, users are flattered that their picture is considered to be redeemed. And to know when you repost their photo, they will probably follow you and engage with your brand. They could also talk to their own followers about your brand interest in their photo.

3. Co-Sponsor an Instagram Contest.

In partnership with another Instagram account in your brand's niche, organize a contest in which participants must follow your two accounts. See for example how RiseNY, sportswear store, best associated with SneakerWatch site.

This competition required participants to follow both brands; 

Rise NY has more than 7,300 followers on Instagram, SneakerWatch has more than 337,000. This contest, easy to set up, can win followers and engage followers to both brands in their common niche (sportswear).

4. Post regularly on Instagram.

While there is value to charming other users by commenting on their photos or giving them gifts at competitions, it is also necessary to show the value of your brand by regularly posting nice photos and videos. Use targeted hashtags to be found by other people who are interested in what your brand is offering.

5. Promote your presence on Instagram as soon as possible.

Inform your customers and your knowledge about the existence of your brand. Start by telling people about your brand. Add a widget that gives visitors a taste of your brand and allows them to access it with one click.

Notify people who are registered in your newsletters. For this, ConstantContact and MailChimp will be very useful: they integrate Instagram in your e-mailing.

Do you have a physical outlet? So do not hesitate: encourage your customers to follow your brand. 

Another valuable tip to make your Instagram followers engage with your brand is to stay away from the temptation of buying Instagram followers from popular and worldwide known pages like Social Media Combo or similar sites.

source: Max Chafkin's Instagram's experiment