Keeping your Instagram followers genuinely interested in what you’re posting is all about engagement. How do you interact with your followers? What makes you stand out from other brands? It’s one thing to keep your followers intrigued enough to hand out a double tap every once in awhile, but the ideal situation for any business is to have a true, dedicated Instagram following.
Here are three simple strategies your brand can use to engage followers and keep them happy:
Let Them Win
Be the host with the most! Hosting contests exclusively on your social media accounts is a great way to increase your following while giving current followers incentive to stick around. Instagram contests can also be tailored to fit your social media goals. Do you want to grow your following? Make it a contest requirement that the winner must be following your account. Interested in increasing brand exposure? Have them repost a photo from your feed and tag you in it. Creating a hashtag specifically for the contest can also help to spread the news!
Be Exclusive
Promoting exclusive offers on social media is a great way to reward brand loyalty. If you own a business, you can offer a special discount on your products or services. If you’re an individual that doesn’t create your own products, teaming up with a brand that will give you an exclusive code works just as well! Posting about promotions and exclusive deals only on your Instagram account also adds an additional incentive to follow your brand.
Create a Community
When you create a unique hashtag for your brand, you give your fans a sense of community. Some businesses will promote a single hashtag where followers can submit photos by posting on their personal Instagram accounts. Other companies, including Instagram itself, create to-do list hashtags with assignments for photo or activity suggestions. Not only does this expand your brand awareness to those following your followers, it also keeps your followers looking forward to new posts and gives them the opportunity to connect with each other.
Give your Instagram followers a reason to be excited about your business and you’ll see an increase in engagement and interest. For more information on managing your Instagram account, check out our other blog posts, and if you’d like to connect with Katie Wagner Social Media on Instagram, click here!
