It has quickly become necessary for every brand to maintain a profile on Instagram. The focus on image and mobile are likely two key features in the channel’s growth in popularity. So how can brands focus on these two aspects and grow a presence that is sought out? The brilliant Nycole Hampton from Choose Chicago joined us for #SproutChat this week to discuss. She has grown her organization’s Instagram account 17,000% in the last two years and shared valuable learnings to create a killer Instagram strategy.
Start With a Well-Conceived Plan
Strategy should be thought of holistically before posting any kind of content. Do some research on what others in your industry are doing as well as what your community is posting. Figure out what your goals are for maintaining an Instagram presence and plan posts from there. Key components to think about include:
- Quality content
- Consistency
- UGC
- Community
- Engagement
- Hashtags
@SproutSocial Content and consistency. #Sproutchat
— Kwabena (@Kwabena) December 16, 2015
A1. Key pieces to a strategy: Quality content, consistency, UGC, community, engagement, hashtags!! #sproutchat
— Nycole Hampton (@MsNycole) December 16, 2015
A1: You are only changing the tool to IG. The strategy should align with the other work you do on SoMe #sproutchat
— Josh Kohnert (@JoshKohnert) December 16, 2015
A1: Allocate time to do research, stock up on great photos, find your audience, hashtag and be consistent #Sproutchat
— Village Print&Media (@village_print) December 16, 2015
A1: With Instagram – once you’ve defined purpose – ask yourself the story you want to tell. #sproutchat
— Chris Barrows (@CBarrows) December 16, 2015
Hashtags: How Many Is Too Many?
Hashtags enable discovery. Making them one of the most important components in Instagram. You have likely seen Instagram accounts that use an abundance of hashtags and others that use none at all. People have different opinions on the subject, but employing hashtags does increase visibility of posts. Use a mix of popular hashtags and hashtags that are exclusive to your industry or brand. One way to make hashtags less distracting is to post them in a separate comment instead of in the post copy. Keep an eye on the kind of reception you’re getting, and scale up or back from there.
A3. YES YES YES! You should use as many as are RELEVANT TO YOUR BRAND & YOUR AUDIENCE. If 30 are – use them! #sproutchat
— Nycole Hampton (@MsNycole) December 16, 2015
A3b this is one of my favorite questions because I always hear “too many hashtags are ugly” my response – you’re doing it wrong #sproutchat
— Nycole Hampton (@MsNycole) December 16, 2015
A3c. You should always include your company branded hashtag in your caption. Immediately follow in comments w/ the rest of them #sproutchat
— Nycole Hampton (@MsNycole) December 16, 2015
A3: Hashtags should be aligned with ur strategic goals, objectives, & audience. dont use # for the sake of using them #sproutchat
— Ai Zhang (@aiaddysonzhang) December 16, 2015
A3 when hashtags go from haiku to prose it’s time to stop #SproutChat
— David Pepper (@thedavepepper) December 16, 2015
Build Community to Strengthen Relationships
Similar to other social channels, building community is the best way to create a strong bond with the people within your audience. On Instagram, this can be achieved through frequent interactions: follow people with your audience, and like and comment on their posts. Incorporate their images into your content efforts (with permission, of course), and introduce people to each other. Campaigns are a good way to get people to continually return to your profile. If nothing else, be sure to maintain consistency.
A4. Interacting with the top people in the niche you want to enter is a good start to judge the community. Get involved #sproutchat
— Chris Desadoy (@EliteYouTubePro) December 16, 2015
A4: Use hashtags that the community you’re in is using #Sproutchat
— Searcy Sledge (@SearcySledge) December 16, 2015
A4: Engage w/followers, post regularly, be authentic + creative. #Sproutchat
— Amanda Nelson (@MandaVision) December 16, 2015
A4: focus on a topic, idea, etc. that people care about, they’ll naturally start talking. Then do under-the-hood engagement #SproutChat
— Adam Bianco (@Adam_Bianco) December 16, 2015
A4: Identify other brands/influencers in your space and comment on their pictures! Everyone just wants to feel loved on IG 
#SproutChat
— Mary Mangione (@marymangione) December 16, 2015
Tap Influencers to Grow Your Following
Research the Instagram accounts of top influencers in your industry and figure out what motivates them. Have they partnered with brands before? What did that relationship look like, and how can you forge something even deeper? Establish a relationship that is mutually beneficial and can be maintained for the long term. Be sure not to push stiff marketing messages; instead, allow for flexibility and creativity. Your brand awareness will have a bigger impact that way.
A5. Most important: Find influencers who have the audience you want to be in front of not just huge followings #sproutchat
— Nycole Hampton (@MsNycole) December 16, 2015
A5b. Working with influencer is not about just using them for one post it’s about building a long term relationship #sproutchat
— Nycole Hampton (@MsNycole) December 16, 2015
A5c. I have seen so so much bad influencer content lately. It breaks my heart because it’s an incredible opportunity for a brand #sproutchat
— Nycole Hampton (@MsNycole) December 16, 2015
A5: Takeovers are the most popular way – but don’t forget that you can build ambassador programs. #sproutchat
— Chris Barrows (@CBarrows) December 16, 2015
A5 The influencers are already fans. Give them a means to take pics that inspire thought on brand. #sproutchat https://t.co/iRT424aO4w
— Terry Lo (@calgarydreamer) December 16, 2015
A5: Its important to cultivate both sides of the relationship. The sec the influencer’s page feels corporate, it’ll die. #Sproutchat
— Jason Khoo (@MarketingKhoo) December 16, 2015
Join Us
See you next week for a special holiday #SpoutChat. We’ll have social media trivia and give prizes to the fastest fingers (first one to Tweet the correct answer)! See you at 2 p.m. CST this Wednesday on Twitter. Be sure to join our Facebook community in the meantime to stay up to date with the chat.
This post #SproutChat Recap: How to Create a Killer Instagram Strategy originally appeared on Sprout Social.
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