Use these 5 Instagram Marketing Strategies Every Day to Earn Influencer Status

SEO

Dec 16

In 2018, I decided to experiment with my blogger Instagram account. This way waaay before I had the idea to build my own content marketing agency. I wanted to test out few Instagram marketing strategies I read about to see if they actually work.

And to my surprise, a lot of these strategies helped grow my account. One experiment, in particular, earned me nearly 500 new followers in a month. And that account has had a steady 10% engagement rate ever since.

But by far, the best thing that came from testing out different methods wasn’t the follower count boost— it’s the community I built by being consistent. If you want to use Instagram as a part of your marketing strategy, I highly recommend it.

But, as I’m sure you know by now, Instagram is tough. There’s so much competition these days that it’s hard to be seen. But instead of blaming the algorithm, add my strategies to your daily to-do list for a surefire way to grow your Instagram audience loyalty.

Don’t worry— these methods aren’t anything to stress over. You’ll be crossing them off in a matter of minutes.

Devising an Instagram strategy is only as involved as you make it. I’m going to give you my personal list of methods that I use, but even small, daily check-ins with your followers can be huge for your business’s online presence.

The best part? Getting real with your Instagram account doesn’t mean sacrificing social media pleasures. In fact, you probably do most of these daily strategies already without even realizing it.

Numbers Courtesy Influencer Marketing Hub

Instagram Marketing Strategies To Double Your Follower Count

Ready to have your mind blown?

Despite popular belief, your Instagram success isn’t entirely reliant on your follower count. Follower count is a vanity metric, meaning that it doesn’t necessarily bring more business or opportunities.

However, if you use these daily marketing strategies on Instagram, you’ll see your follower count grow, along with your engagement. It may be a vanity metric, but seeing that follower count increase still feels pretty great, right?

Increasing your engagement numbers is huge, especially if you’re a blogger. If you’re looking to collaborate with brands, these engagement numbers mean a lot to the companies you want to work with.

When considering influencer partnerships, brands don’t care about follower count anymore. In fact, micro-influencers tend to provide a better return on investment (ROI) for them than influencers with a massive following.

And if you’re a business owner using Instagram for marketing, these strategies will help you find a natural way to connect with your ideal client or customer (without the need to try and “sell” them). And when you aren’t worrying about being a salesperson, you’ll have more time for yourself, your business, and your clients.

Alright, let’s get this show on the road. Here are my 5 favorite Instagram marketing strategies to use every day.

1. Post Daily On Instagram Stories

Instagram Stories is a different way to engage with your followers outside of posting content. Implementing videos, templates, polls, and stickers into your IG Story gets more eyes on your account and can be a ton of fun for you!

Of Instagram’s billions of users, 500 million of them are using the app on a daily basis. Guess how many of those 500 million daily users are using Stories every single day?

All of them.

For real, Instagram themselves says that 500 million users are using Stories every day. So, how do you stand out?

Jump on the bandwagon and engage with other Instagram users every day. Realistically, 15-30 minutes a day is all it takes.

If that seems like a lot, that’s because it is. Naturally, you might be worried that all of that additional daily content might leave you out of ideas for creative engagement.

That’s why you should always use my 3 P’s of Posting method:

Professional
Personal, and
Promotional

Not only will remembering the 3 P’s keep your Story ideas flowing, but they’ll also help you devise a consistent Instagram content strategy.

Professional content includes tips, how-tos, and, essentially, free advice about your industry. Personal content gives your audience a day-in-the-life perspective; share your pets, to-do list, and other behind-the-scenes fun. Promotional content includes social proof (i.e., testimonials or reviews), announcing a new blog or YoutTube video, a new product launch, etc.

Make it professional, personal, or promotional, and you’re sure to see a jump in engagement and followers.

2. Engage for 15-30 Minutes a Day

Remember that strategy that got me 500 followers in a month? This is it.

Engagement means leaving genuine comments on others’ posts, watching and responding to their Stories (which is an organic way to slip into their DMs!), and watching their IGTVs. Do this 5 times a week as a free way to market your business on Instagram.

Now, when I say leave genuine comments, I mean leave genuine comments. A couple of emojis or throwaway comments like “Great photo!” are annoying, inauthentic, and a waste of time. The point of engagement is to be social on your social media platforms.

You want people to remember you.

So open the doorways to communication by adding to the conversation, asking questions, or sharing your own perspective on someone’s caption. The comment section on other user’s posts is a gold mine for potential new followers. You never know who may be reading.

Another way to measure the right amount of daily engagement is Gary Vanerchuk’’s $1.80 Instagram marketing strategy: Leave your .02 cents on the top 9 trending posts for 10 different hashtags that are relevant to your business.

That’s about the only kind of math I can get into.

This means you’re commenting on 90 posts a day. I found this takes me about 30-45 minutes per day. It might seem like a lot, but the return on your time investment pays out in the long run. Trust me.

3. Look Out For Trends

As a business owner, you’ve got to get ahead to stay ahead. Instagram is a great resource to help you keep an eye out for new trends in your industry.

One of my favorite Instagram marketing strategies is using the “Saved” feature and creating Collection folders. So, start by creating a Collection titled “Trends” Look for one post from 2-5 thought leaders in your industry and save them to your Trends folder for quick reference. Be sure to check those leading accounts once a day to see if there are any new trends you should take note of.

I don’t usually recommend following or analyzing your competitors, simply to avoid comparison paralysis. My rule of thumb is to stick to people that you consider colleagues rather than people who are doing exactly what you’re doing.

For example, if you’re a social media manager, follow a content writer. These fields tend to intersect while offering different tips and tricks. You can get some great additional resources and information to share with your followers this way.

I also make it a habit to check Google Trends and read blogs from companies that are always on top of the trending game (Later’s blog is the boooomb). You can always sign up for my DIY Society emails if you want to see what I keep up with and my personal takes on the social media marketing, blogging, and content world.

4. Write Down Your Ideas

We’re all guilty of wasting our time endlessly scrolling, but don’t let those minutes go to total waste. If you see a post you’d like to replicate and give your own spin on, write it down!

No pen and paper? Here are 3 ways you can refer back to your content inspirations:

Screenshot it and save it into a folder on your phone
Type the idea down in your “Idea Bank” on your Notes app
Create a “Content Ideas” Folder in your Instagram Collections

Remember that we’re working together here and that we’ve all put our fair share of sweat into creating our businesses. So, make sure to give credit where credit is due. Give a shoutout to the Instagram user that inspired your content when you post it.

Keeping track of fresh ideas and useful inspiration will help you keep your Instagram feed engaging. The pressure to consistently be creative can be daunting, but slowly compiling ideas will make your life much easier.

5. Respond to DMs if You’re Using Instagram for Marketing

If your DMs are looking a little dry, refer back to number 2 of my daily Instagram marketing strategies. Respond to at least 1 Instagram Story every day and get the conversation going!

Once DMs start popping up, responding to them is a great way to point people to a blog, product, or service (after you’ve given them a couple of DIY tips and tricks). Like I said, we’re in this together, people.

If you don’t have the time to send a full response, this is when having a blog will come in handy. Keep track of the questions you get most often, then turn your responses into a blog or YouTube video!

Whichever way you choose, responding to that person will bring them one step closer to your circle of influence. That means they’ll be one step closer to purchasing your product or service and giving you a follow.

Ultimately, there are a ton of ways to leverage social media in favor of your business. But using these 5 easy Instagram marketing strategies every day guarantees an increase in the numbers that truly matter.