5 crucial lessons that will help you plan a successful strategy

Edgaras Katinas

May 26, 2020·5 min read

Instagram now has over 1 billion active users of which 80% follow at least one business account; over 500 million accounts use Instagram Stories on a daily basis. Have you started seeing the potential?

No wonder, Instagram has grown into one of the most powerful marketing platforms and it’s nowhere near in reducing its strength in 2020. Instagram has become more than just a platform to share your photos. It’s a powerful marketing platform for businesses, bloggers, influencers, and even your pet.

Despite all this, it has never been harder to succeed on Instagram. Why? It’s simple. The social media platform has addressed many issues, related to bot-generated engagement, fake accounts, it has changed the way we see our feeds, and now it’s trying to hide the total number of likes.

Instagrammers will only have to adapt to the constant changes. But there are some things that will always work.

These are the extracts from my newly launched Instagram Marketing Bootcamp. 5 days, 5 email lessons. No strings attached and completely for free. Sign up to be amongst the first ones to find out the secrets that will bring your Instagram game to a new level.

Here are 5 short lessons that will help you change your strategy

Lesson 1: Your Audience Is Real People

I think this is the most important lesson that many marketers don’t really talk about. People who follow you are real and you should create content for them, not yourself.

There are many different types of people who will follow you for different reasons. Some might love your visuals, some may be excited about your niche, some follow you expecting you to follow them back, some truly want to connect with you, some follow to replicate your success. This is all great! People will always have different reasons to click that “follow” button.

You should:

1. Define and understand your audience
2. Create for your audience
3. Engage with your audience

This simple strategy is the first step for success.

Lesson 2: Building a Successful Instagram Marketing Strategy

Once you define who your audience is and why they follow, you will be able to create a plan for a successful Instagram marketing strategy.

If you’re new to Instagram, it may seem daunting. Everyone seems to be on Instagram and it has never been harder to get that portion of attention. It’s true, but if so many people made it, there is no reason for you to be unable to make it.

Key points to consider before starting off:

1. Check if your competitors are using Instagram.
2. Is your target audience on Instagram?
3. Are your business goals aligned with your Instagram goals?
4. Can your content be visually captivating?

Once you have answers to these four simple questions, you will be ready to start building your Instagram marketing strategy.

Lesson 3: How to Produce High-Quality Content

Think for yourself, Instagram is full of stunning content. Would you be willing to engage with mediocre, poorly executed, or unplanned content? I doubt it. Instagrammers like you and I have raised the bar for the content. Long gone are the days when uploading a poor quality, blurry photo generates double-taps for you.

Similarly, long gone are the days where an emoji in a caption drives comments and engagement with the post. In fact, Instagram has been becoming a place where micro-bloggers gather and share their content with the audiences who love reading their blog posts. Therefore, don’t only look at a great visual, consider your caption (copy) equally important.

Here are some tips for high-quality content:

1. Have a theme for your Instagram account
2. Post great photos or videos
3. Pay attention to your captions
4. Use relevant hashtags
5. User-Generated Content (UGC) is an effective way to strengthen your brand
6. Use Stories to show the human side of your business

Lesson 4: Ways to Grow Your Instagram Account Organically

Growing your Instagram organically is not easy. It is often time-consuming and the results may take some time to satisfy you. However, I cannot discourage you enough from buying followers.

Bot-generated followers are the most unsustainable way to grow your account. Not only does it go against the Instagram rules and you risk of being blocked, but it also costs money for useless followers. The accounts that you’d buy to follow you aren’t real and Instagram will delete them sooner or later, which will bring your followers’ number back to where you started.

Here are some ways to grow your account organically:

1. Forget All Magical Overnight Growth Stories
2. Be Proactive Within Your Niche
3. Don’t Spend Money on Sponsored Ads
4. Often Interchange Your Hashtags
5. Concentrate on Your Content
6. Share Your Posts on Pinterest
7. Utilize All That Instagram Has to Offer
8. Give It Time and Don’t Be Harsh on Yourself

Lesson 5: Convert Your Instagram Followers Into Customers

Once you have established a strategy to grow your Instagram account, you will want to convert your followers to customers. Getting likes and comments on your posts is all cool, but it doesn’t bring income.

Oftentimes, Instagram is seen as a platform where it’s hard to make sales. It is true, however, Instagrammers are savvy shoppers and they tend to explore more about your brand through Instagram as well. If they connect with what they see, they will buy from you.

Here are some tips on how to convert your followers into customers:

1. Analyze who engages with your content
2. Engage in a conversation with your audience
3. Highlight your customers
4. Make your followers want to explore your brand further
5. Sell directly on Instagram
6. Partner with Influencers

Takeaway

There you have it — steps on how to succeed on Instagram. I once again invite you to enroll in my Instagram Marketing Bootcamp, which is an awesome 5-day e-mail course where I’ll discuss all these tips and more in great detail.

It’s completely for FREE and you’ll be able to continue at your own pace.

Happy Instagramming!