The greater your Instagram reach, the more eyes you can get on your brand’s visual content. Seems like a no-brainer, right? But in the face of the platform’s constantly changing algorithm, brands need to explore beyond traditional Instagram tips and best practices. Expanding your reach on Instagram is about much more than brute force content marketing attack.
Note : Instagram is fast moving. With over a billion monthly active users and a constant flood of content, now’s the time to rethink how you can extend the shelf-life of any piece of content.
And in turn, your Instagram reach.
Tired of your posts feeling like a flash-in-the-pan? In this guide, we’ll dive into exactly how you can squeeze more out of your Instagram content both online and offline. The end result of these tactics is more traffic and long-term engagement for your Instagram posts.
1. Begin Cross-Posting Your Content
Source: Peg Fitzpatrick - Facebook and Twitter
Perhaps the most straightforward way to extend your Instagram reach is to cross-post your content to other social platforms. Pretty simple, ain’t it?
Instagram has an automated feature which allows you to publish content on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr simultaneously. Cross-posting Instagram content to Facebook, in particular, is fairly common practice.
2. Claim Your Instagram Account on Pinterest
To further strengthen the link between the two platforms, Pinterest now allows you to claim
your Instagram account.
Doing so can be done in at the snap of a finger and provides access to analytics regarding engagement for your Instagram content across Pinterest. Claiming your Instagram account on Pinterest also provides your brand content attribution, meaning that you can drive more Pinterest traffic directly to Instagram.
If nothing else, this gives your social presence a more “perfect,” consistent feel. The cross platform engagement gives you insights about how people are sharing your content.
3. Embed Your Instagram Feed On-site
Irrespective of the industry you’re in, embedding your social content on-site is a smart move. For starters, user-generated content such as customer photos is proven to increase conversions. Embedded feeds not only provide opportunities for captivating visuals on-site but also serve as strong social proof.
Your Instagram feed can represent some seriously valuable real estate, especially for e-commerce brands. Of course, extending your Instagram reach doesn’t mean only promoting your Instagram feed.
4. Double-dip Instagram Content on Your Blog
If you’re tired of using boring stock photos and graphics for your blog posts, your head is in the right place. So why not use some of your curated Instagram content instead?
Compiling Instagram photos for blog posts and round-ups is a low-hanging way to get more mileage out of your Instagram content. It’s an excellent way to establish an organic relationship between readers and your social feed. This rings true for long-term readers and search traffic alike. From cover photos and examples to influencer shout-outs, their Instagram feed ultimately provides the basis for their blog.
This sort of double-dipping is an intelligent way to make your blog posts stand out in the clutter without having to do produce any extra graphics. Your Instagram feed is a much needed source of inspiration and ideas especially if you are struggling with content creation.
5. Experiment with Hashtags
Having an precise Instagram hashtag strategy is evidently a must-do for greater reach.
Hashtags fundamentally make your posts searchable, which is why it makes sense to experiment with different combinations of different trending hashtags versus relying on the same ones over and over.
The lesson here is that new tags can immediately introduce you to new followers without breaking a sweat. A combination of trending and evergreen tags might very well give you the best of both worlds when it comes to Instagram reach.
6. Show off Your Static Stories
It’s no secret that Instagram Stories are all the rage right now. That said, the short-term, self-destructing nature of Stories might not seem intuitive to attracting a new audience, right? Not necessarily.
Bear in mind that Instagram keeps stories static on your page even after they’ve been published. As a result, rolling out consistent stories ultimately serves as a secondary video channel for your brand. Rather than treat stories like a “one-and-done” affair, you can use your compelling storytelling content as a tool for piquing the interest of new followers.
A Story-heavy presence proves to potential followers that your account is active and engaging. This ultimately compels more people to follow you, especially in a day and age dominated by video content.
7. Publish Video Content to IGTV and Reels
Speaking of visual content, the recent launch of Instagram Reels and IGTV further speaks to the need for brands to hop on the video bandwagon for greater Instagram reach.
Although Reels is relatively new, it’s rather clear that Instagram is pushing the platform pretty hard right now. Reels and IGTV serves as yet another place for brands to publish video content more akin to what you’d see on YouTube versus the like of Stories.
Reels is still in its early stages, but consider that any followers you gain on Reels and IGTV translate to your regular account. Furthermore, the platform allows for heavy tagging and links to drive more attention to your Instagram content and promotions alike.
8. Run Your Top-Performing Posts as Ads
In addition to Stories and IGTV, Instagram continues to roll out new features for its ad platform.
With concern over a loss of organic reach akin to Facebook, there’s a reason why brands are playing
with the various Instagram ad types such as Canvas and Stories to reach new followers.
Instagram is always evolving and there is something new ever so often. If we have to be on top of our Insta game we have to evolve alongside the platform. We will be updating with future blog posts on how we take on the new Instagram algorithm.
WRITTEN BY
Sonia Kabade
Sonia is a freelance Content Creator based in Pune, India, who loves helping brands define their voice and content strategy. You can usually find her sipping coffee while planning a new travel destination.
You can connect with her on Instagram @soniakabade
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