Instagram is one of the hottest social media platforms in the world. 65% of the world’s top brands use Instagram, and that number continues to grow. Instagram has over a billion users worldwide, and 70% of the 200 million active users log in every day.

If you don’t count YouTube, Instagram has the second most active users, right behind Facebook (if you count YouTube, Instagram is third).

Unlike other platforms, Instagram was meant to be a real-time window into people’s lives. Instantaneous pictures, not curated text, was the original goal of Instagram.

Instagram’s Demographics

Millennials aren’t the only age group using Instagram. There are people that are 65+ using Instagram, and more people 65 and older are using Instagram than Twitter.

Image Credit: Sprout Social

Style and Consistency

To get genuine conversions from Instagram, people need to know, like, and trust you. You can build this trust by having a genuine, real voice behind your brand. Don’t be afraid to be different! A unique voice will stand out among all of the posts that look the same.

Be consistent with what you post on your account. Pick two or three filters that fit your brand aesthetic, and caption your pictures with the same tone. Try to keep a consistent posting schedule, so that your audience knows when to expect you.

People are much more likely to engage with posts that are consistent in style!

Profiles

Your profile is the first time someone on Instagram is going see you and your brand. This first impression is crucial, so you want to make sure you do it right.

First, you’ll need a name that describes who you are. For example, if you’re Jill Smith, and you blog about recipes and food, your name on your profile should be Jill Smith, Food Blogger. It describes who you are and what you do.

Next, you’ll need a bio that communicates who you are, what you do, and how you’re going to help your customer. Don’t make this about you, make it about the customer. Customers don’t buy from you, they buy how you help them.

After you’ve communicated your value to the customer, include a call to action in your bio, along with a down arrow to the one link you’re allowed to have in your profile. This call to action can be as simple as, “Click to check out my blog!” or as helpful as, “Click to sign up for my coaching program!”

Whether you want someone to download an eBook or join your newsletter, make sure you tell the person looking at your profile to do it. Make sure your link points to the right page to make the signup or download as easy as possible.

According to Jenn Herman from Jenn’s Trends, traffic from Instagram has a virtually zero bounce rate, due to the fact that the user has gone through three or four steps to get to your website, so they’re committed.

Action Buttons

With an Instagram Business account, you can put action buttons in your profile. There are four default action buttons: call, text, email, and directions. The email button can be very useful. Jenn from Jenn’s Trends says that she gets several emails a week from people who wouldn’t have otherwise contacted her.

Content Strategy

The most important thing to remember with your content strategy is to be consistent. Post consistently, use the same kinds of filters and images, and use the same voice with all of your posts.

Generally, photos will outperform videos. However, if you are consistently posting videos and conditioning your audience to watch videos, they will perform just as well.
As a rule of thumb, the content we most want people to engage with is the content they will be least likely to engage with. However, there are ways to get people to engage with that content.

The first way is to use the 80/20 rule of content creation. 80% of your content should provide immense value to your audience, and only 20% should be promotional. If you provide value to your audience often enough, you’ll train them to recognize that you promote things that help them.

Value days, such as a Tuesday Tip, can help your audience know, like, and trust you.

One great way to ensure you’re providing enough valuable content is to pick a day of the week to be your value day, such as a Tuesday Tip or a Friday Quote.

Images

In addition to a consistent style, pretty pictures tend to outperform graphic-heavy images. If you’re trying to promote a podcast episode, for example, instead of two headshots (one of you and one of your guest), you should try to use a picture of your recording setup, or even a picture of you and your guest together.

When promoting yourself or something you want people to engage with, it’s crucial to include an element they recognize, whether that be your face, or some other identifier unique to you and your brand.

Instagram Hashtag Strategy

A huge part of how people find content on Instagram is through hashtags. Jenn from Jenn’s Trends has an excellent hashtag strategy that works well for almost every post.

She recommends that you pick 3-5 popular hashtags with about a million pieces of content using that hashtag. Next, pick 3-5 moderately popular hashtags, with a few hundred thousand pieces of content using that hashtag. After that, pick 3-5 niche-specific hashtags, then top it off with 1-3 brand-specific hashtags.

Instagram doesn’t have to be a mystery. If you’d like to hear my podcast episode about Instagram with Jenn Herman, click here.

I challenge all of you to bring your Instagram profile to the next level by adding a call to action. How did it affect your traffic? Let me know!