Instagram for Small Business: how to attract new followers

For any small business, social media is an extremely important tool to attract and gain new followers and ultimately help grow your business.

With around one billion monthly active users, Instagram is the perfect way to not only promote your business but also find and engage directly with your audience. But being able to convert visitors into engaged followers and then eventually paying customers, requires time and thought.

So here are our 7 tips to attract Instagram followers and help your small business grow!

Know your audience well

Given the large number of users on Instagram, finding and getting to know your specific audience is essential in in being able to be strategic with your page and the content you produce.

A good place to start is thinking about the customers you already have and how they might engage with the platform.

Think about and ask yourself questions about the audience you are trying to reach:

• What age are they?
• Where do they live?
• What type of content does this demographic typically engage with?
• Are there any challenges with engaging with this group?

Researching your target audience is really going to help with determining your social media strategy and the direction you will take your Instagram page in.

So put in the time, do your research and know your audience well!

Be strategic

Now you’ve identified your audience and you’ve researched them well, it’s important that you now think strategically about the best ways to attract and gain the most followers.

Having a social media strategy will be very helpful and here are some things you can think about when putting it together.

Plan ahead

Planning your content ahead of time, will give you the most freedom to really think about what you want to produce, how much you post and gives you the time to ensure that everything you create is in line with your brand aesthetic and directly engages your audience.

Research hashtags

Using hashtags is a great way to make sure your Instagram posts reach a really wide but targeted audience. Instagram allows users to search and follow hashtags which puts content directly on a user’s personal feed.

On every Instagram post you can put up to 30 hashtags, making the possibilities endless, so why not experiment and test out the hashtags you use and utilise tools like Display Purposes to see what works best for your small business.

Make the most of Instagram analytics

Instagram provides valuable information that helps you really understand your audience well and the best ways to engage with them.

Using the Instagram Insights feature allows you to see how many accounts you’ve reached, the top locations of your audience, demographic information like age and gender and also gives you a breakdown of the most active time of your followers.

Understanding and making the most of this information will not only help know your audience well but will also allow you to post and create content most suited to your followers.

Optimise your bio

Being able to make sure visitors to your page actually hit that follow button, requires users to have a clear understanding of who you are and what your business is about. Instagram gives you 150 characters to do this in your bio, so it’s really important this is clear and draws attention.

A good Instagram bio provides a brief but clear description of what you do, a link to a website or other relevant pages and shows your personality. Using emojis are also a great way to do this.

Consistency is key

Now that you’ve brought followers to your page, through your great bio and strategically planned content, it’s time to be consistent with when you post.

The more content you put out there, the more engagement you are likely to get which in turn will help attract new followers to your page. However, alongside the quantity of your posts, creating good quality content is also important in helping to grow and engage with your followers.

Scheduling your posts is a great way to ensure the consistency and quality of your content, so make use of platforms that help you do this.

Vary the types of content you create

Instagram offers a variety of different ways you can create content and utilising this, is a good way to help reach and connect with a much wider audience.

The platform offers more than just photo sharing features, but as a business page you have the ability to create Instagram Reels, go live to your followers, create 24-hour stories, and produce content for Instagram TV.

So, make sure you experiment with the different types of content to keep your followers engaged and excited.

Find your voice

You want your Instagram page to have a personality and connect with your followers on a human and personable level. So, take some time to think about the tone and voice you wish to use on your page.

Whether it be a funny one, an informative one or anything in between, it’s important to create a voice that is unique to your business and reflects the passions and personality that you want people to see.

Speak to young people!

As digital natives, young people have grown up in a world surrounded by the internet and technology. Knowing how to use social media comes as almost a second language, so drawing on their knowledge and skills is a perfect way to provide your Instagram page with a fresh perspective on what will work to attract more followers.

Nearly 40% of Instagram’s users are under the age of 24, and so if you are looking to increase your following, a good place to start is by talking to the people who use the platform the most.

Bringing young people onto your team to help you make your content and regularly consult with them to hear more about their ideas and the latest trends.

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Ultimately you want your Instagram to showcase your brand in a creative yet strategic way. Knowing your audience, utilising analytical information and researching your content will engage your followers and help to attract new ones. Finally, speak to young people! Get their perspective on the latest tricks and trends and bring them into your social media strategy. They will help you grow!