Follow these Instagram best practices to improve engagement and grow your following.

It’s no secret that Instagram is a pillar of social media marketing, with over 13% of the global population reporting they have an account and 80% of those account holders saying they actively follow brands. Instagram also boasts a 4% engagement rate, which is 10 times higher than Facebook and 84 times higher than Twitter.

As a result, many brands seek success on Instagram. But without proper knowledge of the platform, it’s easy for brands to fall short. This guide will explain how the Instagram app works, why it’s important to follow best practices, and how to ensure your content is successful.

What is Instagram?

Instagram is a free photo and video sharing app available for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone users. Those with the app can upload photos or videos, like and share posts, communicate via direct messages, and comment on photos or videos. You can also create Stories, which live on your profile for 24 hours. Anyone over the age of 13 can create an Instagram account.

The social media platform also offers the option to create a business profile, which has different features than a personal account. You can include business information such as your phone number and address in your bio, add a “contact” button to your profile, and access Instagram Insights, which provides detailed analytics about your followers and engagement rates.

Instagram was created in 2010 and initially launched on iOS, then became available on Android in 2012. It was purchased by Facebook in 2012.

Why should I use Instagram?

Instagram can help you build an audience, sell products, or engage with your customers. It’s also quick and easy to use—all you need is your smartphone and a subscription.

Here are some of the things Instagram can help you do:

1. Give your brand a face or personality.
2. Increase your audience.
3. Sell ​​products directly through the app.
4. Interact with customers.
5. Partner with influencers in your market.
6. See what the competitors are doing.
7. Share information, background, and personal stories about your business.
8. Build connections with other businesses.
9. Stay up to date with consumer trends.
10. Collect customer data.
11. Expand your marketing strategy.

How does Instagram work?

The key to Instagram is that it’s all about visual content. Everything on Instagram revolves around photos or videos, unlike Facebook or Twitter, which support a wide variety of content and media.

When you upload a photo, it appears in your followers’ feeds, where they can like, comment, or share the post. The more likes or comments you receive, the more “relevant” your post becomes, and the higher it ranks in your followers’ feeds. This algorithm is a vital part of success on Instagram.

When Instagram released its latest algorithm update in July 2018, it identified three main ranking factors that help inform the algorithm and who sees your posts:

• User Relationship: If a particular user has regularly interacted with your past content, they are more likely to be shown your future content.
• User Interest: This signal is based on the other accounts the user has interacted with. If those other accounts are similar to yours, the user is likely to continue viewing your posts.
• Recent Posts: Although Instagram has removed the chronological timeline, when you post still matters. The most recent posts are prioritized at the top of the feed, while older posts are displayed further down.

Instagram also shared three other considerations for the algorithm:

• The more accounts users follow, the more competition there is for top spots in their feeds.
• If you’re not in the top spots, your chances of being seen seriously decrease with users who don’t spend much time on Instagram.
• Business and personal accounts have similar opportunities for organic reach; one type of account has no advantage over the other.

Why is it important to follow Instagram best practices?

Because Instagram and its algorithm can be complicated, there are many guidelines, best practices, and tips available to help you get the most out of your marketing efforts on the app. It’s important to follow these tips and best practices and find the ones that make sense for you and your business. If you try to jump into Instagram blindly, you may find it difficult to gain traction.

What are Instagram best practices?

One of the most important aspects of bringing your brand to Instagram is the commitment to doing it right. This could be the difference between success and failure, as you need to appease both the algorithm and your followers.

Follow these 15 best practices to set yourself up for success.

1. Post consistently.
You don’t want to be the account that pops up in a user’s feed and makes them wonder, “Who’s that?” To avoid this, set a posting schedule and stick to it.

Studies have shown that one or two consistent posts a day is best, keeping your feed constantly fresh and relevant without clogging people’s feeds. As for the golden question of what time of day is best to post, the answer is whatever works best for you and your followers, which may take some trial and error to figure out. Keep an eye on Instagram stats or your own analytics for times when your engagement seems highest, and target those.

2. Don’t overpost.
A major Instagram faux pas is sharing multiple photos as individual posts one after the other. This comes across as out of touch and can be irritating to users, as all those individual photos will appear in their feeds, leaving them wondering why you didn’t put them all together in one post.

Limit yourself to one or two posts a day and think carefully about what you post.

3. Post only quality content that makes sense for your brand.
The name of the game on Instagram is quality over quantity. Carefully consider what you post and why. How does it relate to your brand? Will your followers like it and engage with it? What purpose does it serve for your business? You can use your Instagram analytics to see which content resonates best with your Instagram audience.

4. Tell stories.
Since Instagram has become so large, it’s easy to tell when a user or brand is simply “doing it for the ‘gram” and not because they have a genuine message to share. Focus on telling your story through images, videos, and text, and seek connections with your audience. When followers feel an emotional connection to your content, they’re much more likely to engage and become loyal followers.

5. Know your brand.
To sell your brand, you must know it inside and out. Instagram, like any social media app, has its own culture and etiquette, so part of your initial marketing plan should be figuring out how your brand fits into that culture.

6. Be visually consistent.
Users will expect visual consistency when they click through to your brand page. This doesn’t mean your Instagram should look like a giant advertisement, especially since today’s users gravitate toward more organic content. However, it’s something you should think about and determine from the start. What kind of look or vibe do you want your profile to have? Moody? Bright? Organic? Natural? Whatever you choose, it should be consistent with the rest of your company’s branding and recognizable to your Instagram followers.

7. Be picky about hashtags.
Hashtags can mean the difference between your post reaching the top of a feed or being buried in a sea of ​​other posts, so it’s important to know which ones work for you and your brand. Overly generic or popular hashtags, like #vacation and #fashion, can send your posts to the background, competing with millions of other posts. Instead, use industry- or brand-specific hashtags that are easy for users to find and help your content stand out from the crowd. A good number of hashtags to use is seven or eight on any post. While Instagram allows up to 30, a wall of hashtags beneath your posts can look desperate and unprofessional.

8. Leverage user-generated content.
User-generated content is every marketer’s dream. It creates an engagement opportunity for users while reducing costs for your business and showing them that your brand listens to and values ​​customers. Try creating a branded hashtag that followers can use to submit content, then repost the applicable and appropriate content on your business page for everyone to see. Some great examples of user-generated marketing campaigns are Starbucks’ #RedCupContest and Coca-Cola’s #ShareaCoke campaign.

9. Use Stories for lighter content.
Instagram Stories is a great place for your brand to show a little more personality, everyday content, or personal trivia about your business. Stories only live on your profile for 24 hours and can include photos or video clips overlaid with music, text, GIFs, or stickers. Try livestreaming company events or hosting employee takeovers for a day.

10. Use Instagram to increase traffic to your website.
Instagram allows you to include a clickable link in your profile bio, meaning anyone who visits your Instagram page will receive a link to your website. You can also insert a “swipe up” call-to-action link into your Instagram Stories if you have more than 10,000 followers, and any Instagram ads you purchase will also include a link to your website.

11. Apply SEO to your Instagram strategy.
While SEO and Instagram may not go together, applying SEO practices to boost your Instagram presence can be a huge help, especially as Instagram becomes increasingly competitive.

There are two main areas related to your Instagram account’s SEO: your account handle and your account name. Your handle is your @, which you should make short, memorable, and relevant to your business.

Your account name appears below your profile picture and should reflect your account identifier and industry. When people search for you on Instagram, your account name typically appears. Falcon.io provides a more detailed guide on Instagram SEO here.

12. Be selective with micro-influencers.
If you’re considering Instagram influencer marketing, the most important thing is to choose who you work with very carefully. No two influencers are the same; each comes with their own audience and areas of expertise. This is where knowing your brand and how that translates to Instagram comes in handy. Influencer marketing can be very effective, as a given influencer can reach thousands of users with a single post, relevant hashtag, or Story highlight.

13. Explore Instagram advertising.
With Instagram’s advertising program, you can create campaigns to engage users at all stages of the sales funnel as part of your Instagram marketing strategy. Instagram users have a high engagement rate with ads, and ad recall is 2.8 times higher on Instagram than on other social platforms. Learn more about Instagram advertising here.

14. Maintain your brand voice across all content.
Make sure your Instagram posts and Stories match the communication style of the rest of your company. Your social media should be an extension of your company’s culture and voice, so a drastically different communication style can be jarring for your customers. To help ensure consistency, develop a set of brand guidelines for all your promotional materials, including advertisements, internal documents, and social media marketing.

15. Engage in the comments.
One of the best ways to generate engagement on your posts is to engage. Respond to customer comments as often as you can; this will help build your credibility by showing that you care about what your customers have to say and that you’re using social media for a good reason. Follow your brand guidelines to maintain a consistent voice. Lululemon’s Instagram page is a good example of a consistent voice in its responses to comments.