Have you ever wondered how some internet marketers on Instagram get literally thousands of followers and lots of engagement (without investing a single cent into advertisements)…
Whilst successfully building their online businesses at the same time?
Yeah, me too! 😛
When building a brand on Instagram, some folks are absolutely crushing it, while others don’t put in the work or implement the correct marketing strategies, but have the audacity to complain about their failures…
“Oh, Instagram sucks” and “Why the f@#k isn’t this thing working?”
The truth is, whatever strategy you focus on in the online marketing world – learning + hard work brings results. End of.
So, if your marketing results suck as an Instagrammer and you need that “golden” knowledge for building your followers to create a successful biz as an Affiliate Marketer, then here’s a list of 10 techniques that you really must know about and implement…
Table of Contents
#1 – Add Emojis For Increasing Discoverability
Emojis are now the universal language on Insta.
Fun Fact: Nearly 50% of all posts and comments now contain at least one emoji. Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever come across a single post without one.
Because emojis are searchable within either your username or hashtags on Insta, folks can find you purely on the emojis you’re using.
For example, if you’re a gamer, you can include joystick or game controller images in your bio and posts, and also use them within comments on others posts.
#2 – Cross Promote For Follower Boosts
If you have a free niche blog and you’re also using the Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat social media platforms etc, it’s a great idea to spread the word to your followers that you also have a Gram account.
You simply share your Insta username with your peeps and ask them to kindly follow you.
Obviously, it’s also polite to follow back.
#3 – Create a Theme For Memorable Branding
Think of Insta as a kinda digitalized magazine, where folks will love to browse your images.
The more you can craft your content for sharing a similar vibe, the more followers you’re gonna get.
A classic example of this would be to ensure all of your images are cropped the same, your images are based on the same subject, and the same filter is consistently used.
Look up username “gymshark” and you will see what I mean.
#4 – Add “Smart” Hashtags For The Edge
Using smart hashtags will certainly give you and your business that instant exposure to a massive targeted audience of Insta users.
The posts that generally get the highest engagement levels have 11 or more hashtags.
However, using too many hashtags will sound off “spam” alarms to people, so I would recommend keeping your hashtag numbers down to 5 – 7 for each post which is still a fairly reasonable quantity.
But you want to be “smart” when it comes to tags…
Use tags that are highly relevant and trending within your niche market. Hashtagify is an awesome tool for helping you to find effective tags for your posts.
If you use the “Table Mode” option, you can brainstorm keyword ideas for great tags that will generate engagement and followers.
#5 – Offer Shares For Shares
You can implement this strategy multiple times on a daily basis by connecting with online business owners who are in your same niche and reaching out to their followers.
You simply offer to share their account and a product post (or several) with your followers and ask them to return the favor.
In the internet marketing world, it’s simply called a “Joint Venture”. You can form many JVs on Insta with other affiliate marketers.
This is an AWESOME tactic that’s very powerful for building relationships and also your business.
#6 – Analyze Past Engagement For Future Posts
It’s important to look back at some of your past posts to see which ones received the most amount of engagement because you can use the results to serve up more amazing content that your followers crave.
However, just be sure to avoid your crappy posts – the ones that hardly had any engagement. Otherwise, you’ll be wasting your own time.
Duplicate what’s already worked for you with your posts and you’ll see more of that success to come.
#7 – Run Giveaways to Attract New Followers
Set up frequent giveaways to bring you in heaps of new followers or even give your current followers something exciting to look forward to.
This is a common marketing tactic that’s also very popular with Facebook fan page posts.
If you want it to work effectively for you on Insta, you simply create a post giving something away for free as a prize and ask folks to follow you, like the post, and also tag 3 friends for a chance to win it.
Once you’ve picked a winner, ask them to tag you in a post showing what they won from you. It will bring you loads of attention. Simples.
However, from an affiliate marketing standpoint, you could give away other people’s free stuff…
For example, free ‘Expert Secrets‘ and ‘DotCom Secrets‘ books by Russell Brunson or you could even create and give away your own eBooks, etc.
You have a number of options for giving away freebies.
TOP TIP: Search for #giveaway or #giveaways on Insta to see how the top performing giveaways with the most engagement are structured and use them as inspiration for your own posts.
#8 – Use Your Bio For Establishing a Purpose
It’s important to create a Bio that describes you, gives folks a strong enough to reason to hit that follow button, and also tells them what value you’re gonna be sharing throughout your posts.
Then as your follower count builds, so will your online business also grow.
#9 – Create Amazing “Quote” Graphics
Sharing high-quality images along with amazing quotes embedded is a powerful strategy.
For one, people love quotes because they can relate to them. Secondly, folks are also “visual”, so when you post powerful images and quotes that form a connection, people will engage and also follow you.
But ensure to make your posts relevant and give credit where credit is due if the quotes don’t belong to you.
#10 – Pay it Forward
This is one of the most powerful strategies for building yourself a HUGE network of followers. You simply promote others accounts and their posts for absolutely nothing in return.
For example, post an image with a statement or a question and tag an account name within your niche. Then sit back in your chair and see what happens. 😉
Speaking of “paying it forward”, see my #1 recommended community of internet marketers who help one another on a daily basis to build successful online businesses as affiliates.
The Bottom Line…
Are you ready to start tapping into the PHENOMENAL power of Instagram – supercharging your follower numbers, building your brand, and your income at the same time?
Then apply every technique in this article and you will have the edge over your competitors.
Your Friend, Neil 😀
(This article is also in video presentation format over at Marketers Paradise).
If you have any questions, thoughts or even your own tips, that you’d like to share on marketing via Instagram, we’d LOVE to hear your comments below…
Hey, thanks for this, Neil!
I’m gonna be looking at Instagram as an avenue, I left on the side. I have been working on Facebook and Twitter for the most part, but never really looked into Instagram properly.
I am hearing lots of people say how they are earning pretty well with Instagram by looking at courses and training for it, so looks like I’m gonna have to get moving and look into this Marketers Paradise program you talk about.
No problemo, Amar!
Good for you, man! I think some people underestimate the power of Instagram and what the social media app can help to accomplish when it comes to growth of an online business. Facebook and Twitter are also awesome platforms for building your business but you need to throw Instagram into the mix as well and triple your social marketing efforts.
There are some truly successful Instagrammers, and you won’t believe what the platform has done for them! If you get the right training and work hard, you can become one of the big Insta players. 😉
Talking as someone who still hasn’t tried Instagram as part of its marketing strategies, this video was definitely a great starting point. I guess I am one of those who was underestimating this social media site. Until very recently I didn’t even have a personal Instagram account. I have the impression this platform might even overtake Facebook at one point in the future.
That’s awesome, Horatius!
Once you do get to grips with using Instagram, you can see how simple and easy the platform is to use.
Don’t worry, you’re not the only one who underestimates the potential of Insta lol.
The platform could quite possibly be much bigger than Facebook some day. We just don’t know what’s gonna happen. Even Snapchat is growing, so who knows who the front-runner will be.
Very nice interesting article on Instagram Marketing. I tried and it was saying something about needing an app downloaded on my phone first. Not sure, but anyway I haven’t got it yet.
Michelle
Cheers, Michelle! 🙂
You can easily set up an Insta account by visiting the app store on your smartphone. Simply search for “Instagram” and you’ll be able to download it for free. Then follow the instructions for creating your profile.
I have my own online presence and I have been toying with the idea of Instagram over the last weeks.
I use the other social media sites such as Google Plus and Facebook, but Instagram is not one I considered using before.
After reading your information here, OK I will give it a try. I assume it is an app for a cellphone or tablet, or can it also be used on a normal laptop/desktop computer?
I know that it is an image based app so maybe the first one?
I am not a great user of Android devices so better to know up front.
Thanks for this information on Instagram, you got me curious 🙂
Chris
That’s awesome, Chris!
If you already have an online business, it would be rude not to give the platform a shot.
Facebook and Google+ are great platforms for growing your biz, but you’ll definitely benefit even more as an Instagrammer, man!
You’ve certainly got nothing to lose by trying out Insta as part of your online marketing plan.
It can be used on your desktop PC or laptop BUT it works so much better as an app on your smartphone or tablet because you can easily take and upload pics, and use the app on the go.
I’ve got a Samsung, and I’ve found Insta ever so easy to install and use. In fact, it’s a child’s game lol.
No worries, Chris! 🙂