Is there anything appealing about 800 million monthly visitors? No? Please leave this site. This number is of course, the current benchmark high set by Instagram in its ever-increasing popularity as a social media app. 800 million. That is nothing to scoff at. And one of the biggest reasons that so many companies are flocking to Instagram for a traffic boost. Now don’t get us wrong, just because you have an Instagram account, doesn’t mean your website’s traffic will reach 800 million monthlies. You’ll be lucky to get a fraction of that from their site.
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As we’ve mentioned in countless other pieces, the first step is always the hardest. Start by setting up an account and focusing on creating great content that your customers will enjoy. Then, it’s time to up your exposure with some relevant hashtags. Below are a few tips to keep in mind to help increase your chances of success.
- Make them Relevant – The content of your post should dictate the types of hashtags that you use. Do some research into posts similar to yours and see what hashtags they’re using. Then, click the hashtags to view other posts and enter the hashtag rabbit-hole.
- Maintain a Focus – Your hashtags should relate to one another and follow a common theme. The ‘suggested hashtag’ tool that Instagram provides will show similar tags as well as their volume. Target terms that have between 10,000-500,000 volume. This will keep you focused on hashtags that have solid volume, but are not overly saturated.
- Target long-tail – Just like with keywords on Google, the more specific your hashtags are, the more engaged the viewers are likely to be. A hashtag like #business could reach many millions, but their focus is unclear. Whereas a hashtag like #onlinebusinesstips is much more specific and will yield a more relevant target audience.
- Vary them consistently – The infamous ‘shadowban’ of 2017 still haunts many marketers. This targeted spam content that consistently utilized the same hashtags in post after post. We recommend setting up a Google doc, or a note in your phone with a few different lists with slightly different keyword focuses. Rotate them regularly to keep on the good list and get exposure to new audiences.
- Keep up the Engagement – Posting isn’t enough by itself. You need to post regularly and have a clear focus. That focus could be blog posts, inspirational quotes, photos of landscapes, and more. After you post, you should spend some time surfing the tags that you used. Like posts by other users. Follow similar accounts. Most importantly, engage with the people that are engaging with you. Comment back to them. Like their posts. Follow their profiles.
And don’t forget to try your own variations and stay up on current trends and policies. Internet marketing is in constant evolution, and staying on top of the changes can be a full time job in and of itself. To make things easier, signup for our Newsletter above, and don’t forget to FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM!
