40+ Instagram hacks: All that you need to grow in Instagram

Instagram Hacks

Instagram is now one of the most popular social networking platforms. 
It is driven by creative visual content which engages and attracts new audiences every day. 
With this blog, I'm trying to help the reader with proven and tested techniques that can help improve your overall Instagram performance.
40+ Instagram hacks: All that you need to grow in Instagram


Organic Reach Hacks

  1. People use the search on Instagram to look for specific keywords. Having such keywords in your username can help. For example, Fitness Trainer
  2. Your Instagram captions are critical. It is essential to use power words. Write captions that discuss dreams, aspirations and goals. The following tools can help
    1. https://seopressor.com/blog-title-generator/ 
    2. http://www.upworthygenerator.com/
    3. https://www.portent.com/tools/title-maker 
    4. https://www.hubspot.com/blog-topic-generator 
    5. https://www.impactbnd.com/blog-title-generator/blogabout 
      1. Quality check the caption’s first line using either of the below
        1. https://coschedule.com/headline-analyzer
        2. https://headlines.sharethrough.com/ 
  3. Mix and match different hashtags. Generic, specific to your post and popular ones such as #business or #success, can help improve your performance over time.
    1. Hashtag search volumes can be found here - https://hashtagify.me/ 
    2. I recommend using a maximum of 20 to 24 hashtags.
  4. Do not repeat hashtags in the same post. Also, look out for banned hashtags and prevent using to avoid being shadowbanned. 
    1. Shadowban hashtags - https://herpaperroute.com/instagram-shadowban/ https://ideadeco.co/2019/05/14/list-of-instagram-banned-hashtags-updated-2019/ 

Like & Comment Hacks

  1. Post optimization: Add location, tag people, engaging caption and relevant hashtags
  2. Captions & Emojis: Add a call to action to your captions. For example, drop your favourite emoji if you agree or double tap if you agree. Encouraging the conversation to happen in the comment section can boost your engagement.
  3. Try and reply to the comments within the first 30 minutes. 
  4. Best time for posting content. You can find this under Insights.
  5. Always share your new post on Instagram Story so that you can drive traffic to the original content within the first 30 minutes
  6. Add location, content specific hashtags to your story.
  7. Use 4 different sets of hashtags for you post
  8. Post videos in the format Garyvee uses- https://www.instagram.com/garyvee/ 
    1. List of video editing tools - https://buffer.com/library/video-editing-software
    2. Make slightly over 1 minute or 2-minute videos to post on IGTV 
  9. Follow hashtags and accounts relevant to you. Repost good quality content.
    1. Instagram repost apps - https://appstipsandtricks.com/instagram-repost-apps/ 

Instagram Story Hacks

  1. To create a rainbow text on Instagram story follow below: 
    1. Select text
    2. Press and hold any colour you want in the colour tray and it will automatically open the rainbow palette
    3. Simultaneously using two hands, drag one finger across the text you want to switch to rainbow and the other across the rainbow palette, slowly
  2. Post multiple images in a single image by simply copy-pasting it using the text tool
  3. Reveal the underlying image on Instagram Story
    1. Upload the image you want to reveal from camera roll
    2. Tap the pen icon and choose your brand colour
    3. Tap and long press until the chosen colour is filled
    4. Now, tap the eraser icon and choose the size of the eraser. Swipe or tap on the screen to reveal the image
  4. Adding hashtag stickers can destroy the look of Instagram Story. Follow any of two methods to hide the hashtags
    1. Make the hashtags smaller and place a GIF or image sticker above it
    2. Change the hashtags text colour to match the background

Instagram Follower hacks

  • Run a contest
  • Partner with influencers
  • Curate your stories and feature them in your Instagram story highlights
  • Use quiz stickers in your stories as and when appropriate
  • Go live from the place of your event and if some of the audience is highly interested or you know that have a good amount of followers, go live with them

Hashtags logic

  • The use of hashtags Hashtags typically came into existence as searchable terms on Twitter
  • This helped Twitter to categorise, tag and index content, brands and accounts. When hashtags were brought in to Instagram they worked based on how many posts had them.
  • Now the Algorithm of Instagram has changed, to make people stay longer on the Instagram platform 
  • The longer someone stays on the platform, the more ads they can be shown 
  • Instagram now uses hashtags to tag accounts and their content based on reach, hashtags, etc. 
  • Using more hashtags gives mixed signals to the algorithm. Hence, our request to use a maximum of 20 to 25 hashtags. Always keep hashtags relevant to the brand & topics you want to be associated with.

Instagram Hashtags

Adding the right hashtags on the posts gives higher engagement than if you didn’t have any. Hashtags are a combination of emoji, number or letters preceded by a # symbol.

When one clicks on the hashtags or searches for it, they will see a page with posts tagged with it.

Your post rank on the hashtag page depends upon engagement rate and posted time. You can reach the user's feed even if they are not your follower. Creating good content and adding the relevant hashtags can increase the followers count.


Find Instagram Hashtags

  • Check out what hashtags are used by your competitors and search for alternative hashtags to use
  • Enter the relevant keyword in Instagram's Explore feature and then go to the Tags tab. Instagram will now show you the hashtags with the specific keyword as well as posts counts
    • You could also do “(hashtag you want to explore)” Google search. The top result is usually from Instagram or picks the Instagram ones
  • Browse through the most successful posts that have your hashtags and include them if appropriate. Repost if highly relevant and add a great caption to it
  • Hashtag categories to look at
    • Industry tags (#hotel) 
    • Niche tags(#Healthandwellness) 
    • Branded tags (your company or product/service name) 
    • Community tags (#GoBucks) 
    • Location tags (#OrlandoHotels) 
    • Event tags (#NationalWomensDay2019) 
    • Event type tags (#WeddingDay)

Other Instagram Best Practices


Other options to explore



  • Shop: Set up a shop on Instagram & Facebook to sell your brand merchandise
  • Collaborations: Once we have 10,000+ followers collaboration opportunities could be explored and post specific revenue could be generated

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to learn from your competitors Facebook ads?

Image
  In 2020, thanks to COVID-19, Facebook ads have seen an unprecedented rise in use. The overall quantum of ads has increased.  There was a time back in 2017 for your niche you might have been the only Facebook advertiser running ads on Facebook & Instagram. Instagram shop or product ads have exploded now. It has become difficult reaching your target audience cost-effectively.  So what should you be doing? Good advice would be to become as creative yet natural in your creatives and connect with your audiences. But a bit of informed advice would be to check on what your competition is doing and then be different and more sensible.  So how do you do that? I mean, how do you check up on what the competition is doing? Well, here are three simple steps to understand the tactics of your competition.  Like, follow as favourite and follow offers from your competitors. Simple right? Just by doing these steps, you will know the Facebook content strategy they are having...
Read more

17 powerful email subject line hacks for success!

Image
Many digital marketers struggle with their emailers. According to a survey, 95% of all marketing emails globally are not even opened! And when it comes to emails being opened, the entire responsibility, is on subject lines and to some extent the preheader text of the email.  So here are 17 simple yet effective email subject line hacks for you 😀 Personalise - seeing one’s name in a subject line helps catch the attention and improves open-rates -  https://help.campaignmonitor.com/personalize-emails-with-subscriber-custom-fields   A/B test subject lines for every email -  https://help.campaignmonitor.com/ab-test-your-email-campaigns   Avoid spam trigger words in your subject line - here’s a list of such words for reference -  https://blog.prospect.io/455-email-spam-trigger-words-avoid-2018/   Try to use [brick brackets] - and if relevant use Numbers or Percentages. They increase the probability of opening the email. The brackets help capture attention a...
Read more

Time Bandits Beware! Conquer Your Day with Smartphone Superpowers (No Phone-Throwing Required)

Image
Feeling like your days are shorter than a goldfish's memory and packed tighter than a clown car on circus day? You're not alone, my friend. Between juggling work, family, social life, and that ever-growing pile of "should dos," finding time for anything can feel like winning the lottery (minus the millions, but hey, small victories!). But fear not, fellow time-strapped warrior! We're not here to preach boring productivity hacks or judge your questionable late-night snack choices (we've all been there, buddy). Instead, we're diving into the **wild world of smartphone apps and turning them into time-management superpowers! Buckle up, because we're about to reclaim your schedule and turn you into a master of the minute. 1. Taming the Notification Beast: From Frenzy to Zen: Let's be honest, phone notifications are the siren song of distraction, luring us into endless rabbit holes of cat videos and online arguments about the best pizza topping (pineappl...
Read more