The recommended best practices for finding and captivating target audiences vary significantly by social media networks, including targeted Instagram followers. Of the many options, the following 5 recommendations are key for successful targeting on Instagram.
Defining Your Target Audience
Odds are that your target audience is bigger and more varied than you imagine. This is actually great news, given that signifies additional opportunity. Identifying your target audience will help build a solid foundation and the perfect platform for generating and promoting future content for targeted Instagram followers.
Start with Larger Target Personas
Look closely at brands in your industry and the topics they use to target audiences on Instagram and other social networks. Who is communicating and driving the majority of the conversations? What are their followers saying? By taking the time to examine these important conversations, you will be able to fit them, along with participating individuals, into your own Instagram relevant content. When you provide relevantly, compelling content, you can’t help but increase your targeted Instagram followers.
Expanding Your Focus
Once you’ve identified popular Instagram users that are discussing topics relevant to your brand, dig into their profiles to get a clearer picture of what they care about on a basic level. To get real IG followers, it’s important to be aware of the entire persona, not just the areas that are directly connected to your brand.
Reach Targeted Instagram Followers as a Whole
Now that you’ve determined who your target audience is and have learned more regarding what they care about, it’s time to reach them. The following tips will help.
- Figure out the best time to post on Instagram using social analytics and the latest industry best practices for your niche.
- Determine the Instagram content and campaigns that generated the most engagement over the past year.
- Leverage Instagram Stories, a feature that helps you interact on a deeper level with targeted Instagram followers. Stories will help you generate more engagement and stay at the top of your feed for users that are already following you.
- Follow best-suited hashtags with Instagram’s hashtag follow feature. This feature is ideal for targeting niche communities, increases user interaction and makes it easy for them to dive deeper into the targeted realms they find desirable.
Come Up with an Influencer Strategy
Influencers open the doors into communities (potential buyers) that you’re currently not reaching. First, you’ll need clearly defined your goals (a successful campaign, etc.) and what you expect to gain from influencers in your niche. Do you need help raising brand awareness? Do you want help driving more sales? Whatever your end goal is, take the time to define it which will help build a strong foundation for every aspect of your campaign.
Determine Your Performance Metrics
It’s important to determine which metrics are going to be relevant when it comes to calculating the effectiveness of your campaign. For instance, the number of social media click-through rates, impressions, etc.
Continue to Listen and Assess
Social marketing, including Instagram, involves a never-ending testing process. To grow targeted Instagram followers, you’ll need to consistently listen in on your audience and those of your brand influencers. These conversations will vary as your audience changes, especially as it grows. Always ensure that the content you’re publishing is still relevant and determine if you’re still hitting your goals. If not, you’ll need to tweak your strategy in order to remain a successful influencer in your niche.