Discover Instagram's three-way growth formula* in 2023. Instagram* is constantly evolving, which means that your strategy should be one too. Still mastering Reels? Haven't decided to try Instagram collaborations yet? Not sure what to do with the grid pin? You're not the only one. Instead of trying to test everything at once, I recommend taking a more scientific approach to your Instagram strategy* — here's the formula below.
- Reach a new audience
- Turn into followers
- Build a community
1. Reach a new audience on Instagram
If you're serious about your Instagram* strategy, the first step is to focus on attracting new audiences. And the good news is that there are now plenty of features as well as tactics you can use to increase your reach on Instagram*.
Here are some tactics you can use to attract new audiences:
Collaborations: Reach new audiences by co-authoring a feed post with another user.
Reels: Consistently post reels that are relevant to your niche to reach new audiences with Reels and Explore tabs.
Carousels: Carousel posts are the perfect format for sharing educational or content. And the best part? They are very easy to share. More shares = more reach.
Add a keyword to your name field: Add a commonly used term in the "Your Account Name" field to increase your profile's visibility on the Overview page.
Giveaways: Running a giveaway is a quick-pass tactic to increase your reach, especially when entry requirements include tagging friends or posting stories. However, you should be extremely careful with this tactic, because giveaways lead to a lot, but often not targeted traffic and provoke subsequent mass unsubscribes, which can negatively affect the rating of your channel.
2. Turn Profile Visitors into Followers
Once you've successfully reached a new audience, the next step is to convert them into subscribers. To use the fishing analogy, you can cast the line as many times as you want, but without the right bait, you probably won't get a catch. With that in mind, here are 5 tactics for converting visitors into subscribers. It may seem self-evident to you, but this kind of work will really help the user identify your account as useful and worth following to.
Profile Picture and Bio: A well-designed profile bio and photo will tell your audience who you are. Think of it as a sign over your store door that encourages people to stop by.
Core Content Elements: Having clear and consistent core content elements (topics you cover frequently) will reassure visitors that your posts are relevant to their interests. The more obvious the main elements of your content, the more likely people are to follow your account.
Main Story Highlights: Stories highlights are at the top of your profile, making them great for quickly reviewing the content of your content. Make sure your main highlights are relevant, reflect the main themes of your content, and visually support your brand.
Pinned posts: Highlight specific posts in the feed right at the top of your grid. It can be a popular reel, an introductory post, or a post that generates tons of saves.
Presentation Aesthetics: First Impressions Matter! Creating a grid that is consistent with the brand, cohesive, and showcases your content clearly is still one of the best ways to convert visitors into subscribers. But remember: sometimes creative clutter is also an aesthetic. The main thing is that your feed reflects the mission of the brand
3. Build a community
The final part of the formula for success on Instagram* is to build a strong and engaged community. You've successfully attracted new users and converted them into followers, now you have to make sure you keep them.
Thankfully, Instagram* has a lot of features that are great for encouraging a sense of community and driving engagement. Here are 6 of them to focus on in 2023.
Instagram Stories: Stories are designed to be informal and interactive, making them the perfect channel for creating conversational content. Use interactive stickers (like polls and emoji sliders) to get as much attention as possible, and show up on camera to help humanize your brand. Experiment with close friend lists to provide exclusive content to hyperactive followers.
Comments: When it comes to building community, listening is just as important as speaking. Take the time to respond to comments and encourage conversations about your posts. Add a call-to-action to your post captions and use the comment pinning feature to help shape the conversation.
Live streams: Live streams are live and unedited, making them a great channel to connect with your audience on a more personal level. Plus, you can now schedule broadcasts, which is great for creating buzz and increasing views.
Memes: If you think memes are only for joke accounts, think again. In 2023, memes will be key to connecting with your community and getting attention. From cute animals to funny clips from TV shows, memes reign supreme. If you're looking for inspiration, think about what your audience really loves — or hates — and think about it, how these feelings can manifest as text overlays on trending visuals.
Guides: Instagram's Guides feature is relatively underutilized, but it's great for building a community. Guides can be used to provide a valuable service to your community, from travel guides and product selections to curated lists of educational posts.
Direct Messages: As the saying goes, "this is recorded in the DMS". Set up automated replies to answer frequently asked questions, learn more about your followers, and even drive sales. Or you can post a funny note inviting users to send you a message – hello, engagement!
And that's it!
It may seem like there are a lot of different types of content to manage, but you don't have to cover everything at once. Divide the results into weekly and monthly requirements, experiment, be consistent, and see what works for your Instagram strategy.
Remember, quality > quantity, always.
***
Image source: TrustedReviews.com
***
