Instagram continues to be a dominant platform for social media marketing, offering endless opportunities for growth. Here are five tried and tested Instagram growth hacks for your small business to help you thrive on the platform in 2024:
1. Set New Goals
The Importance of Goals
Your goals are the foundation of your Instagram strategy — without them, it’s hard to know if you’re getting it right. And we’re not talking about vanity metrics like getting more likes. To drive success, it’s important that your goals are both specific to your brand and SMART:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Timely
Creating SMART Goals
Are you looking to build brand awareness? Increase traffic to your website? Generate leads? If you want to increase brand awareness, your SMART goal may look something like this:
To boost brand awareness, I will increase my reach by 40% in three months by sharing Reels three times a week, posting carousels once a week, and hosting a monthly giveaway.
Roadmap to Success
Think relevant and realistic, and be as specific as possible so you can track and measure your progress. In a nutshell, your goals are your roadmap for success, and Instagram is the vehicle driving your strategy forward.
2. Optimize Your Posts for SEO
The Rise of Social SEO
With a significant number of Gen Z users preferring Instagram and TikTok as their go-to search engines, brushing up on your SEO skills is a no-brainer. Plus, SEO on social media is more important than ever, making it crucial to optimize your posts. Learn more.
How Instagram’s Algorithm Works
Instagram’s algorithm processes every piece of content on the app to determine what the post is about and who might find it interesting. Here’s how you can steer it in your direction:
- Write relevant, descriptive captions using choice keywords and hashtags.
- Add descriptive alt text to your posts.
- Be consistent with your niche.
Example of SEO Success
For instance, if you’re known for fitness tips, ensure your captions, hashtags, and alt texts reflect terms like “home workouts” or “fitness routines.” This increases your chances of appearing in relevant searches.
3. Prioritize Reels
The Power of Reels
Prioritizing Instagram Reels can be a huge advantage for organic growth on the platform. The numbers don’t lie. Creators who have shifted to a Reels-focused strategy often see significant increases in follower growth. You can also repurpose your Instagram reels to TikTok, here are a few strategies to grow your TikTok account.
Creating Engaging Reels
From cozy recipes to wellness advice, many successful creators leverage trending audio with original storytelling to build a lasting community. The key is to stay true to your unique style while engaging with popular trends.
Tools for Reels Success
You don’t have to be a full-fledged video producer to be successful on Reels. With a good social media management tool, you can plan, schedule, and automatically publish your Reels in advance.
4. Streamline Your Workflow
Maximizing Efficiency
With the right strategies and tools, you can publish high-impact content without working overtime. Learning to batch content, repurpose content, and leverage user-generated content (UGC) are all ways you can maximize your efficiency.
Content Repurposing Tips
It can be as simple as repurposing a popular carousel post into multiple Stories or reposting a Tweet as a Reel. For example, turn a series of tips from a blog post into a visually appealing carousel or Reel.
Batch Scheduling
Our advice? Accumulate a good amount of low-lift content 1-2 weeks in advance, and schedule all your posts in one session with a reliable social media management tool. Less screen time all while growing your Instagram? Yes, please.
You can use Canva Social Media tool to streamline your workflow. Also, Wavemark is launching its complete social media marketing tool soon to make your life easier.
5. Use Analytics
Understanding Your Performance
Once you have your strategy and workflow down, it’s time to dig into your performance with analytics. Reviewing your Instagram Insights on a weekly basis will give you an idea of what’s working and how you’re tracking towards your goals.
Leveraging Top-Performing Posts
By analyzing your insights, you can identify your top-performing posts and leverage them by boosting or repurposing them later. This allows you to build on your successes and continuously refine your strategy.
Tools for In-Depth Analysis
A comprehensive social media management tool with analytics features is the simplest way to track in-depth data in one easy-to-use dashboard, helping you make data-driven decisions for future content. Wavemark is launching a social media marketing and management tool tailored for small businesses.
Conclusion
With these five Instagram growth hacks, you can reach more people, gain more followers, and build an engaged community. Remember to set SMART goals, optimize your posts for SEO, prioritize Reels, streamline your workflow, and use analytics to track your progress. Happy Instagramming!
Don’t forget to experiment, stay consistent, and most importantly, have fun with your content creation journey!
