Five Tactics to Build a Quality Instagram Audience

Building your Instagram audience with quality, engaged consumers may feel like a very slow climb up a very tall mountain. With these five recommendations implemented, the feat will become less daunting, and you may even start to enjoy the journey.  

Identify your niche, and stick to it! 

​This may be one of the hardest steps for fear of putting yourself or your business in a box. But it doesn’t have to feel like that! First, identify your brands message, what is the one thing you want to be known for, or as an expert in? What do you want people to keep coming back to your account for? Nailing down an overarching niche will create trust with your ever-growing audience and help you build a better relationship with them right off the bat. Once you get clear on your message and passion, content will flow seamlessly.

Follow and engage with similar accounts.
​
Instagram is a community and it should be treated and fostered as such. By following similar accounts and engaging with those accounts regularly, your account is more likely to be associated with these users. This means your photo is more likely to be displayed to that audiences explore page. 

Understand how to use hashtags (and actually use them).

Hashtags can be tedious, which is why we recommend stashing 100 or so to rotate through. Instagram has a great feature that when you search a hashtag, it shows similar ones. Use those!

​When you’re searching for hashtags, especially when you’re just starting to grow, it’s important for the majority of your hashtags to have 100,000 uses or less. This allows your image to, more likely, be seen by a wide, targeted audience, rather than being buried by a bunch of posts from users with a greater reach.
 
Using hashtags also helps with being reposted by accounts with a larger audience which increases your chances of gaining more followers that are interested in your niche.
 
We also recommend following the hashtags you are using. That way, you are always (and easily) interacting with similar accounts because the posts are shown directly in your feed.
 
Remember, your hashtags should always be relevant to the content you are sharing. Just like we don’t recommend “keyword stuffing” on your website, don’t hashtag-stuff your posts with irrelevant tags. 

​Consistency is key.
 
Once you’ve determined your niche and dream/target audience/client, time to post and share consistently! This is easy to do with the help of apps like Unum, Planoly, and Later. They help visualize what your feed will look like to ensure your overall theme is consistent and that you’re not sharing ‘too much’ of one service or product. 

​Set a schedule for the coming month to determine what products and services you want to promote, write captions and make sure all of the content is organized. Being organized for the month ahead is a sure way to hold yourself accountable so that when a client, customer or follower comes to your account they know they can count on you for information, and that your account is worth following because you are always providing new information or insight.
 
Utilize all of the features Instagram offers.
 
Instagram favors accounts that are early adapters of new features and those that use all of its’ features. This means instead of just sharing a photo and closing the app, the algorithm loves it when users are sharing stories, Reels, IGTVs and going Live! Not only does Instagram love it, but your audience will too. Providing this sort of bonus content goes a long way with building trust and reliability with your audience.
 
All in all, Instagram is about fostering a virtual community that trusts you, your business, and your brand. By sharing quality content and valuable information Instagram users are more likely to find value in following you.

Looking for more guidance on your social media journey? Contact us. We love this stuff.