3 Ways to Boost Your Instagram Reach
Are you producing quality content but haven’t seen an increase in your Instagram reach? As a business owner, your Instagram reach is so important. Producing content and knowing how to get it out to a large audience can be the difference in a successful business and one that is stagnant. While the Instagram algorithm seems like a mystery to us all, there are some “for sure” things you can do to help your content reach more people. Today, we want to share three ways you can boost your Instagram reach so you can reach your ideal target audience organically!
Reels
First, a great way to increase your Instagram reach is by creating Reels. I know, I know, I know! Everyone keeps saying Reels is the way to reach more people, grow your audience, and transform your account. But people are consuming video content more than any other type of content now.
We get it! Finding trending audio, understanding the trends, and creating this type of content is not comfortable. But you have to be willing to evolve and change in order to not miss out on organic reach! If you’re not producing video content, you are missing out on so many business opportunities!
Currently, Instagram is pushing Reels more than any other type of content. It really is transformational for your social media marketing strategy!
When creating a Reel, you can still market the same way you would in a stand alone post. Here are a few tips to get you started:
- Point to text in your video.
- Encourage your audience to read your caption for more.
- Use trending audio.
- Make sure that your Reel is relevant to your industry/niche.
- These should be quick and entertaining 60 seconds clip.
- Add your hashtags to your caption if possible.
- Collaborate with another creator on a Reel occasionally.
See below how to find trending audio!
If you’re really ready to increase your Instagram reach, you will jump on the Reels train! We have seen exponential growth and an increase of sales since producing this type of content. Start leveraging Reels and we promise, you will see results with consistency!
Hashtags
Second, it is time to level up your hashtag game! You cannot rely solely on hashtags to increase your Instagram reach, but it is an easy way to organically reach more people than you are now. Often times, business owners are confused about which hashtags to use, where to add them, and how to know if they are working. Below are some tips you should be following to increase your Instagram reach through hashtags:
Caption
You should be adding your hashtags at the bottom of your caption, not in the first comment of your post. This is a very popular debate, and you may have seen conflicting answers. However, Instagram has come out itself and stated that you should be adding your hashtags in the caption of your post for the best discoverability!
Location
In order to increase your Instagram reach, you should be using location based hashtags as well. Location based hashtags are great because a lot of people who live in your area will be searching/using those types of hashtags! When people discover you based on your location, they may follow you or interact with your content since you do have something automatically in common with them.
Size
While it may seem like using larger hashtags could increase your Instagram reach, that is far from the truth! Using too large of hashtags will actually result in your post being buried and undiscoverable to others. When you’re first starting out, use hashtags that are small and medium size. As a general rule, the smaller your account, the smaller your hashtags should be.
Start off by using hashtags with 10k and under posts. You can sprinkle in some hashtags that have 20k-40k posts as well.
As your account grows, you can start sprinkling in more and more larger hashtags. Larger hashtags would range roughly from 50k and up. Be sure to use different size hashtags, but remember to start smaller. Over time, you can start adding in larger hashtags and see if you see an increased reach on your posts. Remember, the smaller the hashtags, the greater chance you have of being discovered!
A great tip is to create “sets” of hashtags in the notes section of your phone. If one of your posts has a great reach through hashtags, then add those hashtags into your notes app so you can use them later. After tracking this type of data over a few months, you’ll have many sets of hashtags to use. Feel free to mix and match them over time as well!
Relevance
Last, our most important hashtag tip is to use hashtags that are relevant to your post and caption! When you’re trying to increase your Instagram reach, it is crucial to use hashtags that describe the purpose of your business. If you’re using hashtags that are not relevant to your business, your post is not going to reach many people within that hashtag because those people are not your ideal target audience.
Start by dissecting your caption. Find a few keywords that describe the purpose of the post and your business, then find hashtags that are relevant to those things. You DO NOT want to be discovered by hashtags that are not relevant to your business. Even if your post reaches a large amount of people, those people will not convert to an engaged audience. Your reach will not convert to likes, comments, and follows. People will see your post and keep scrolling because it is not relevant to them! Therefore, be sure to use hashtags that describe your business, vision, and purpose!
Engaging
Next, our last way to increase your Instagram reach is to engage with others! This is the nitty gritty side of social media that most people dislike. Often times, creators/business owners want a quick fix for low reaches and engagement. However, growing a social presence is not a quick, three step process. In fact, it takes a ton of consistency, strategy, and planning!
While you should view your social platforms as strategies for growing your business, you cannot forget that Instagram is a social networking app. Are you forgetting that being social on social media should just be second nature? Engaging with others is the first thing people throw out when they get busy trying to grow a social media presence.
You will never be successful on social media without being social. Period.
Tips for Engaging
-Go to the hashtags you use and engage with the “top” and recent” posts on the hashtag board. Like their posts or leave a genuine comment.
-When someone likes or comments on your photo, go and check out their profile. Interact back with them on their profile as well! This shows you are interested in more than them just following your account.
-Interact with people’s stories as well! Interact with emojis or send a genuine message. Often times, this will lead to a conversation through direct message where you can build a more authentic relationship.
-You should be keeping track of the accounts you are engaging with. An easy way to do this is to save one of their posts in a collection folder on your account. This allows you to go back, continue engaging, and build a genuine relationship.
-You should not be too broad with who you are interacting with! You genuinely want people who are interested in what you do. If you start to get a lot of follows from people who are uninterested in what you do, they won’t stay long. You want quality over quantity!
-You should be engaging on a daily basis! Set a 30 minute timer every day and designate this time solely for engaging. Over time of doing this, you will start to build genuine relationships with people who are supporters of you and your business. But remember, this takes time and consistency so don’t give up if you do not see results immediately!
Want to Hear More About Increasing Your Instagram Reach?
Be sure to check out this week’s Make Chic Happen podcast episode, “Ready to Increase Your Instagram Reach?”
In this week’s episode, Melanie Mitro is joined by Chic Influencer’s social media manager, Alysa Gumto. Alysa and Melanie are giving you some strategic tips that will help you increase your reach and find your target audience!
We also released a BONUS episode this week on the Make Chic Happen podcast, “The What, When & How of IG Content!”
On our BONUS episode, Melanie Mitro is giving you the break down of each IG feature. She is sharing about IGTV, Reels, Stories, Lives, Carousels, and Single Posts so that YOU can know WHAT feature to use so that your content converts and engages your audience. Do you have trouble knowing WHICH feature to use and WHEN to use it? Then you’re going to want to tune in!
Social Media 101: The Chic Way
