How to create higher Instagram engagement
Better images, more often
Above all else, Instagram is a visual social channel. If you have great images of your products or services, put them to good use with Instagram posts. If you can’t take professional or great images, ask your suppliers to provide their images. Your XL.Today™ Digital Asset Management or image library provides you with an opportunity to better manage your images and securely access your suppliers’ images. Click on the link below to learn how
Use Hashtags for higher engagement
Adding hashtags to your Instagram post increases your target audience. Hashtags are a way the Instagram users search for content (e.g. #fashion ). You can also create your own brand hashtags, as a way of helping your target audience find posts on your brand. For more on how to use hashtags, click on the link below.
Use correct size Images
Instagram is a Visual Content Marketers dream…as long as you upload the right images in the right format.
The following are the sizes recommended by Instagram, however if you’re an XL.Today™ subscriber, we will send you images in the right formats:
Instagram square size recommended: 1080px x 1080px
Instagram landscape dimensions recommended: 1080px x 566px
Instagram portrait size recommended: 1080px x 1350px
Include a Call-To-Action (CTA)
A Call-To-Action (CTA) such as, ‘for a limited time only,‘or available to the first 50 customers only’ increase engagement and excitement around your brand. Use you XL.Today™ subscription to trial different CTA’s and use your dashboard to compare results. Remember to do a Call-To-Action (CTA) as often as practical.
Create Teaser campaigns
Have you ever created a ‘Teaser’ campaign for a new product or service? Creating intrigue is a great way of driving traffic, ensuring when you finally reveal your new product or service, there is a buzz around it. Get creative with your Teaser campaign. Edit an image to show only part of the product or blur the entire image. Write copy that notifies readers of the date and time when the ‘big reveal’ will occur. Make customers aware that they will want to be the first to see this. Include a unique hashtag to follow and use the same hashtag across all channels.
Instagram posts at the best times
Start your Instagram posts on Mondays and Thursdays, between 8am and 9 am, and 5pm, however, it’s best to experiment with what works best for your brand. Your XL.Today™ subscription is one of the few affordable solutions that has developed a way to compare campaign results, allowing you to see what works best for you and your brand.
Host Instagram contests
Instagram has engagement levels that eclipse other social media channels, however, engagement is often fast and superficial. One way you can create the types of engagement that drive sales from your Instagram page is contests.
Make campaigns simple, such as ‘Like to win’, or re-post photos and selfies mentioning your brand, product or service, or even in-store photos of contestants. Make sure that you announce winners on your Instagram and other social channels. Try different contests and compare results using your XL.Today™ graphical dashboard.
Get Your Followers to Like or Share your content and follow your other channels
As they say, ‘if you don’t ask, you don’t get’. If you want to increase your followers, don’t be afraid to ask. You can ask for followers on Instagram or ask them to follow you on other channels such as Facebook and Twitter. Include details of your account names on other social channels in some of your posts.
The power of words
Words like get, buy, shop, try, learn, build, sign up, register, click and discover motivate your followers to take action. Try different combinations of these words and use your XL.Today™ dashboard to compare results across campaigns.
More quality posts, more often
If you create an engaging site, keep content appropriate, creative and current, then you have a much greater chance of attracting a higher volume and better quality followers. XL.Today™ makes it practical to maintain a high quality, engaging Instagram page with minimal effort. Your XL.Today™ subscription also helps you create and post for Facebook and Twitter, as well as create personalised and targeted Emails and SMS in a single campaign workflow, ensuring that all of your channels are as effective as your new Instagram page.
