Instagram is a wonderful tool for getting your name out there and sharing your brand with the world.
However, reaching your target audience might be difficult if you aren’t using the right strategies.
How do you reach your target audience on Instagram?
Here are some tips:
1.Understand the Demographics
This is important to know what type of community you’re joining and how to best approach them.
Take a look at other brands that have similar goals or products, and analyze their success using Instagram.
What kind of hashtags do they use?
How many people do they have following them?
What kind of posts are they sharing and what time of day or week do they post their content?
These insights into similar brands can give you a better idea of how to reach your target audience on Instagram.
2.Post Quality Photos
While posting appealing images, also post relevant and interesting content.
If you aren’t able to post during the same times each day or week, be sure to share relevant images and posts at different times throughout the week.
If your target audience tends to use Instagram more in the evening hours, try posting a photo then rather than in the middle of the day when they’re not online.
Also, be sure to feature images that aren’t just of your product or brand, but also behind-the-scenes photographs and pictures with customers.
These types of photos help personalize your account and show people the human side of your brand.
3.Keeping up with Current Events
Keeping up with current events in the news is a good way to find interesting things to post on Instagram as well.
By staying on top of trends or stories in the media, you can create compelling content for your target audience at any time during their day on Instagram.
Find other celebrities who are currently active users, such as brands similar to yours or customers who previously purchased products from you.
Direct message them asking if they would like to advertise with you through an exchange such as posting to their account or sharing one of your posts.
Make sure you offer something in return for the favor and get creative with what you’re willing to share with them.
For example, if they post about a new product that they are launching, you might be able to offer a discount on that product as an incentive.
Instagram has recently changed some of its policies regarding spamming users.
It’s important to make sure that the people following your account understand why they’re receiving updates from you and don’t feel like they’ve been spammed by various brands that they don’t know.
Be sure to leave comments on other users’ posts or direct message them asking if they would like to see more from your account, but do this in moderation.
If you’re already following them and they’ve visited your page before, it’s okay to send a direct message asking if they would like to follow you and see updates about your business.
However, don’t keep sending the same messages over and over because Instagram will block your account from being able to communicate with anyone else on the network.
The right hashtags are essential to getting your name in front of the people who are already looking for businesses like yours, as well as users that don’t know about your brand but might be interested in what you’re offering.
Take a look at other brands that have similar goals or products, and analyze their success using Instagram.
What kind of hashtags do they use?
How many people do they have following them?
What kind of posts are they sharing and what time of day or week do they post their content?
These insights into similar brands can give you a better idea of how to approach your target audience on Instagram.
6.Create a Hashtag for Your Target Audience
The more specific you can be, the better off you’re going to be in your campaign on Instagram.
After taking some time to get to know similar brands as well as their hashtags, create one that is fitting for your brand and share it with everyone who interacts with your page.
You can also add that hashtag to your posts and encourage followers to use it every time they post about your brand or products so that you can easily keep track of posts with your company name in them.
Be sure to follow anyone who uses the account that you created, as this will help you increase the number of followers following your page.
7.Respond to Comments & Direct Messages
If someone takes the time out of their day to comment on your post, it’s always a good idea to respond with something other than “Thank you.”
Instead, ask them questions about what they enjoy about your brand or products and what else they might like to see in the future.
If someone comments on a post that you did not create, it’s good to respond in a way that acknowledges their comment and shows your appreciation for them taking time out of their day to share their thoughts with you.
You can also ask if they have any additional questions about anything else that is featured in the post or what they think about the idea being expressed in the photo.
If you have a question for your brand, direct message it to yourself and then post it as a comment on that post.
This way, anyone who happens to see the question can easily find out how they can participate or answer the question themselves.
And if someone else was also thinking the same thing, they’re going to feel much more invested in your brand and enticed to follow it.
Don’t just use them for every word on the page.
When you first start out using hashtags, you might be tempted to put a different one at the end of each word simply because you want to make sure that you share your content with the right people.
However, this is a very ineffective way of using hashtags, as it makes it very hard for Instagram to determine what topic your post is about and who exactly should see it.
Instead, try sharing one or two keywords at the end of your post, and then use a separate list of hashtags that you can copy and paste to the end of each caption.
This way, Instagram is going to know what your post is about because it will have two different sets of keywords hashtagged at the end, and an overall idea of which words are most relevant to your topic from the hashtags at the beginning.
9.Post Regularly
If you want people to be interested in what you’re doing and keep coming back, it’s important that your Instagram is consistent with new content on a regular basis.
You should be posting at least once every day, but if possible try to post 2-3 times per day.
When you start to notice that your followers are growing, it might be tempting to post very frequently just because you want people to know how many new people they’re interacting with.
However, this is a very bad way of fostering engagement on Instagram, and can actually have the opposite effect if done too much.
You should only post as frequently as you feel comfortable with, and you should also make sure that your posts are coming at a time of day where they’re going to be seen before posting them.
10.Create a Cohesive Presence
If you’re going to be featured in any posts, be sure that they are consistent with the style of your other content and have similar elements.
For example, if you prefer to use emojis on your Instagram account, try using them on all of your posts instead of only one or two that stand out from the rest of your content.
By setting this example you are helping others to interact with one another on social media and will likely get more likes or comments, which is what you want if you’re using Instagram as a marketing platform.
11.Development of a Plan
When you have a good idea of who your target audience is, where they are and what time of day they’re most active on Instagram, you can come up with a plan for how to reach them and get them to follow your account back.
Ask yourself: What kind of photos do they like to see?
When are the best times of day or week for me to post my content?
How can I make them want to follow me back or at least stick around and check out what I have on Instagram without being spammy?
Once you know the answers to these questions, you’re ready to reach your target audience on Instagram and engage them over time.
12.Ask for What You Want
If you have a question or problem, don’t hesitate to ask for help from others who might know the answer.
This is a good way to get followers involved and invested in your brand, as well as show them that you’re willing to ask for what you want out of life.
Final Thoughts
The key to success on Instagram is targeting a specific audience and knowing which pictures or updates will resonate with them.
Understanding your target market can help you engage them more effectively by finding out what kind of content they like to see, the best time of day for posting, and which factors encourage them to follow and engage with your account.
If you do end up following someone without them first following you back, simply send them a message asking if they would like to follow your account.
Explain the benefits to them of doing so, such as showing current clients how much their business means to you or sharing new product updates with potential customers.
Be respectful when contacting users, and be sure not to spam or harass them even if they haven’t followed you back yet.
Make sure that your posts remain appropriate for the audience that you’re targeting on Instagram.
If it’s not something that people in your demographic would want to see regularly, don’t post it just because others are posting photos about similar topics.
Above all else, make sure people understand that you’re trying to connect with them personally and that you are not spamming content just to earn more followers.
If your goal is simply to increase exposure for a personal or business account, then posting any content will help.
However, if people see that you’re only posting about products or services they have no interest in using or learning about, they will become annoyed and you can lose followers in the process.
Till next time!
