Brands need to keep in mind the timings while uploading their posts.  A thorough study of insights in the Business Profile can ensure better post reach and engagement. They should also keep in mind the number of posts they intend to upload. Spamming the brand’s feed will not garner a large number of followers, nor will it ensure maximum user engagement. Studies have shown that posting 1-2 posts a day, which are qualitative and relevant to the brand’s image, will win the race. It will also keep the customer hungry for more content!

Dynamic/moving pictures have been doing the rounds lately! Nowadays, short 60 second videos are grabbing more eyeballs than a stationary post. Studies have shown that videos get more comments than posts, which is a sign of higher user engagement.

Brands should leverage on this heavily to indulge in brand awareness, image building and brand loyalty! Holding contests and giveaways, Polling in stories, Asking tag friends in comments, Asking questions and urging the user’s to pen their thoughts, Promotion of company-specific hashtags, Prompting users to follow other sister brand pages, are some call-to-actions, which can help maximise reach and turn non-followers into followers. A good tip to retain users is to reply to their comments, address their queries and resolve their issues!

Brands should give a spotlight to their users if they want to get them excited about the brand. UGC helps to earn publicity and proves that brand’s strongly value customer feedback. It is more memorable and trustable than traditional media and other non-user-generated content. GoPro is a great example of UGC. It asks users to share their experiences by asking them to post their photos and videos, which the brand later features on their feed. This is an excellent example of killing two birds with one stone! GoPro is not only amassing a huge follower base but also getting their marketing work done from their users at a free cost!

Instagram stories help brands to stay on top of their users feed, hence grabbing more attention. A well-crafted story can lead to higher user engagement and brand recall! However, brands should be careful not to spam their stories like posts, which may be a turn off for users. Studies have shown that many brands use stories extensively ahead of a new product launch or to promote their products and services during sale periods.

Live stories are another way to stay atop of users feed. They not only help to give the users a peek into “what’s going on right now”, but also help in profile visitation activity by users. A user may or may not stay active for the whole story session, but seeing the brand’s logo, he might visit the profile to see the feed’s content. This can help to create awareness about the brand and convert a non-follower into a fan! However, live stories aren’t mainstream yet, which means there is scope for development.

Effective hashtag use is a prompt way to reach out to a brand’s audience. Brands can maximise their content reach by using existing viral hashtags, coupled with their own-created specific or exclusive hashtags, for their products and services. However, brands need to extensively research for good and bad hashtags and their reach level in the Instagram community. A negative or banned hashtag will not only reduce a brand’s image but also trigger Instagram’s security policy, which may lead to suspension of the brand’s account!