Has Googling the ‘Best Instagram Hacks’ left you feeling even more unsure on how to leverage the feature in your posts?
Perhaps you were previously an Instagram whiz, until they evolved the algorithm and left what was previously good practice in the past. No matter your experience, Instagram can be a frustrating space as it, like most other social media channels, is ever changing.
We’ve pulled together our list of five Instagram hacks to boost exposure of your content to the right audience on the platform.
Schedule, Schedule, Schedule!
If you aren’t already scheduling your content, you better bookmark this page.
You are adding unnecessary stress to yourself. We know how busy you are, so we want you to use your time wisely, preferably enjoying a chat around the water cooler while a system does the work for you.
Let’s start with the basics.
For this Instagram hack, we strongly recommend you create all your content for a week to two-week period and schedule all your posts, reels, carousels, and stories in one sitting. There are many tools out there that not only enable you to schedule content, but even plan out your grid.
Do your research and choose from software like Gain, Later, Brandwatch, Sprout Social, Loomly and Planoly to make your Instagram game a whole lot easier.
Optimise your brand’s reach through a well-crafted bio
Great! You’ve scheduled all this amazing content and your boss is so happy with your design skills that they’re considering adding graphic design to your job description.
We hate to be the bearer of bad news, but creating great content is not so great if there is no one around to see it.
This Instagram hack is one way to help you navigate that issue. The search feature on Instagram sorts through and finds accounts related to a topic or keyword that someone is actively looking for.
To leverage it, try adding a keyword to the name field of your bio which is relevant to your company. The name field is separate to your username, it can also be called your business name. Fortunately, Instagram allows you to differentiate between your business name or name field and your username.
Get into the mind of a customer by brainstorming keywords your ideal customer might search for on Instagram and incorporate them into the wording of your name field. Try to stick with niche words related to your business, the products you sell, or your location.
By adding using targeted keywords in the name field, you appear in searches for that term.
The principle of this is similar to SEO – if you use the keywords your target audience searches for to find products or services like yours, they are more likely to find you!
Keep in mind though, adding hashtags to your bio won’t make it more discoverable. So, let’s focus on your name field.
As a whole, your bio information is the first touch point for new visitors. It’s like a welcome doormat – so make sure it shows off your personality or keep it plain and simple.
Tools like Ubersuggest can help you generate keywords for optimal SEO, but that is a whole other kettle of fish.
It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3!
- Click ‘Edit Profile’
- Go to the ‘Name field’ section
- Add your target keywords
Don’t forget to save!
To hashtag, or not to hashtag?
I know what you’re thinking, hashtags are like galaxy printed leggings, they should be left in 2012.
Even in 2022, using hashtags in your content is important, however the strategy behind them has changed in line with the algorithm evolution.
Your hashtag strategy should be centered on increasing engagement with your followers and reaching new audiences.
Again, this strategy comes down to search terms and keywords.
We recommend finding hashtags or search terms that are specific to your brand and audience. You can do this by monitoring similar brand accounts and social media influencers. Or you can use a tool like RiteTag to generate trending hashtags that will help your post reach the right audience.
RiteTag lets you upload your text and content for a post and then generates the best hashtag options to match the content. You can also click Get Report for a more detailed analysis of the hashtags.
Instagram recommends to use three to five hashtags per post, a number that has drastically reduced from the eight to thirteen they previously recommended. It limits your keywords but makes your research a little faster.
Remember, it’s always better to work smarter, not harder.
Navigating the Instagram algorithm
Just like you, social media experts have to tackle the ever-changing algorithm that is churning its cog wheels behind the scenes of Instagram and constantly throwing a spanner or two in the works.
Navigating the Instagram algorithm can be tricky. When a user opens Instagram, the algorithm combs through all the content and displays relevant results to that user. If you’re a cat fan, that’s probably why you’re seeing so many cat images in your feed.
This can be really handy as a user (don’t waste time on things you don’t care about!), but particularly for a business.
Follow these seven steps to grow your reach:
- Follow community guidelines to avoid being shadow banned (un-official term for a social media platform banning a user’s content from showing up without notifying the user).
- Encourage engagement on stories with question stickers, polls, and emoji sliders.
- Post consistently and when your audience is online (you can monitor your analytics using Meta Business Suite to track Instagram and Facebook).
- Track and understand your analytics.
- Keep up with the trends and post relevant content.
- Try out new content formats and features as soon as they come out.
- Write long captions – Instagram loves almost story-telling formatted content.
Instagram is constantly changing and adjusting to deliver the best experience for users and the key is to keep updated with the changes so you can make the most of them for your brand.
Get inventive with Instagram Reels
Got a pen handy? You’re going to want to write this one down, as Reels are a must now!
The Instagram Reels algorithm prioritises videos based on the individual user and how likely they are to interact with a post. According to Instagram, they rank reels based on:
- Your activity
- Your interaction history
- Information about the post
- Information about the author
Posts on the other hand that aren’t relevant or lack a relationship with the user won’t be prioritised on the user’s Instagram.
Creating relevant and original content for your brand is only the first step. You also need to create content that will reach your target audience.
When creating content, keep in mind…
- Who does your target user consistently interact with?
- What type of content does the user interact with?
- When is the user interacting with this content?
Don’t bog yourself down with trying to use social media for longer than you need to. Your business should focus on building an engaging community of followers to complement your high-quality content.
You don’t have to be a marketing professional to use Instagram’s business features. There are many simple, strategic ways to build your Instagram presence.
