The number of users on Instagram was certified to have crossed the 500M mark in recent weeks and this in no doubt highlights the huge market potential that is open to businesses that are social-media savvy. To understand how to increase your Instagram likes through customer engagement is to open a new chapter of endless possibilities for your business.
Why Customer Engagement Works
Customer engagement describes a connection or interaction between a brand and a customer and it can also be explained as customer to customer interaction. In each case, someone has to drive the engagement and it can take place online or offline.
What the law of double peak espouses is that every social media outlet gets to a point of diminishing returns in organic growth that will necessitate paid marketing for users to maximize the opportunities it provides. In other words, after an organic era of enthusiastic following and engagement, an era of paid outreach will emerge for you to get corresponding results.
From the intent of the law of double peak, you will realize that the endgame of the interaction is not just to have customer engagement. It is geared to generate likes in order to give your business, service or product the platform to be discovered, reviewed and ultimately- to convert the Instagram user to a customer.
Here are some steps you need to take to 10x your Instagram likes from customer engagement:
1. Localize Your Business
In this age of globalization, it is easy to think that playing the Instagram game means going universal in your thinking and approach. This might not be so if you are not a multinational or if you do not derive a sizeable percentage of your patronage from oversea or far-flung markets.
If you are based in New York, consider adding the name to your bio so that anyone who resides in your city can feel a bond of familiarity with your brand. If you're into fashion accessories or designs, chances are that when people buy local, the cost of your product will be competitive as delivery charges will be minimal.
Let your audience know that you are in the same city with them and make bold to show that on your posts. Use hashtags and this will have a viral carry-on effect. For example #newyorkcity or #miamiFL can exponentially increase your likes to your amazement!
2. Get Your Posting Schedules Right
A research of ideas on what to post as images and back-up text is the beginning point of effective social media engagement. Beyond the quality of your posts, you also need to ensure that your audience will be able to see your posts to for them to appreciate and click ‘like’ accordingly. To get this part right, you might need to use suitable apps like Iconosquare or Schedugram to help you in this regard.
What scheduling apps can do for you is to provide a range of post times that are best suited for your audience in order for them to view your posts or be able to respond as you desire. You do not want to post well-researched or exquisite images only for no one to see them. The best bet is to identify your potential peak engagement time so your posts will be delivered at such intervals for best results.
3. Target Your Competitors
Your competitors have followers that are visible on Instagram and when you succeed in your at competitor research, you can target some of these followers. Specifically, you want to see active followers and reach out to them. Doing this is easy to implement and using ideas that work is central to getting the desired results.
For every Instagram account that you are targeting, make a list of 100 followers from your competitor’s account and follow them. Click ‘like’ on their posts and comment accordingly so as to attract a follow-back, a comment or a ‘like’. The way social media works is such that reciprocity is prevalent. Anyone who sees your comments and likes is in a vantage position to peek at your page and do the same.
4. Targeting Influencers
Influencers have large accounts and are followed by sizeable Instagram users. As such, they are able to make a difference. While influencer marketing is not free, it is such that is result oriented and you will be glad that every dollar spent is a productive investment. Since it is targeted at generating more likes for your brand by boosting consumer engagement, it will be worthwhile.
Influencer marketing brings the leverage of popular bloggers or industry voices to bear on your business. If you make a shortlist of 3 to 5 influencers in your field, you only need to follow them and send a private message across to get their attention. Depending on what you agree with your influencers, they can post a link to your product page on a visible spot so that their followers can see act on it.
Some influencers can post your account details on their page and ask their followers to like and follow your Instagram account. In this way, you will be amazed that up to 30 percent of their followers can follow your brand and ‘like’ your posts seamlessly.
5. Never Forget a Call to Action
No post should ever grace your social media page without a call-to-action as this is the marketing hook that is sure to grow your brand ‘likes’ and account following. It can help you multiply by 10x your Instagram likes from customer engagement. Depending on what you intent is; if you post an image on a classy note, leave a call-to-action in a compelling manner so that anyone who stops by the post will either follow your account, click ‘like’ or carry out both actions.
Brand influencers have an edge in this respect as they always insert a call-to-action on their posts which their followers will act on decidedly once it comes to their attention. Using the appropriate words in a concise and unambiguous approach is one sure way to optimize your CTA for best results.