if you've done any research on how to
grow your instagram business
you're gonna have heard the typical
advice like post often
and make great content well that's sound
advice
today we're gonna dive into new tactics
to help you grow your instagram audience
in 2021 the tips that i'm about to share
with you
take the new instagram algorithm into
account and it requires no money at all
so
stick with me you're going to learn how
to increase your engagement and grow
your following
[Music]
hey everybody my name is michelle bally
i'm a creative strategist and i'm also
your host for today's video
every week learn with shopify releases a
new video to help you start
and grow your online business this
channel is dedicated to small business
owners with big plans
so make sure that you're subscribed so
that you're not missing out on the
knowledge that you need
to start your business journey instagram
has changed a lot over the years
it's no longer a place where you post
pictures of your friends and look back
at all your cute memories
but instead instagram is a place for
businesses
there is money to be made and customers
to be gained on instagram
so today i'm going to teach you some
strategies on how you can beat the
algorithm
and start getting more followers for
your business by the end of this video
you're going to learn
six growth strategies that's going to
bring your business the attention it
deserves
so let's get into it how does the
algorithm work
first of all the key thing that we need
to understand is that
instagram's goal is to make money from
ads but for instagram to show ads
they need to have people using their
platform right so
they use you as a vehicle to keep people
on the app
yes they use you so if you make the type
of content
that keeps people on the app instagram
knows this
and will reward you by pushing out your
content to more people
so in essence instagram is paying you an
exposure to keep users on their platform
for longer
so if you have the type of content that
makes users scroll through your carousel
or watch your entire video
then you're keeping users on the
platform longer
this means that instagram is able to
show more ads to those people
and thus make more money that's how the
platform works that's how this
all works so while instagram has its own
agenda
for us as business owners the platform
can give us something of immense value
in return
instagram can help us make sales it can
help us get more exposure
and really just grow our business so now
that we know
the main reason for instagram's
existence let's use this knowledge to
help us
beat the algorithm and get more
followers to grow our business
tip number one make shareable content
imagine this let's say you create a
video about five ways to tie a scarf
and your follower sandy finds this so
useful
that she shares your post with her
friend zoe
instagram is going to love this because
now not only do they have the attention
of sandy
but they've also made zoe open the app
as well
as a result instagram is going to reward
your shareable content with
increased exposure increased exposure
can mean getting featured on the explore
page
where people who aren't already
following you find your content and find
your account
so how do we make shareable content ben
saylor from coschedule recommends that
you tell a
story with your content he says craft
your content so that it has a
clear beginning middle and end
propose a problem and a solution that
your company can offer
when was last time that you sent your
friend an instagram post that was just
blatantly an ad
probably never but you do send funny
interesting and helpful content
so let's take a look at d silky
outerwear for example
she stuffed a jacket with two thousand
dollars to raise awareness about the
financial struggles
of emerging fashion business owners and
that to me
is shareable in 2021 shareable content
is king
why well instagram ranks certain
engagements as more important
and less important likes and comments
are lowest on that totem pole they're
not important
because they only take a few seconds to
do but shares on the other hand
hold the most amount of weight saves are
also heavily weighted
so let's talk about how you can make the
type of content
that people are going to want to save
tip number two make
savable content we often hear about
making shareable content
but it's actually seldom that we hear
about making savable content
well if you overlook how to make savable
content
you might be missing a big piece of the
puzzle if the instagram algorithm
detects that
other users are saving your content it
will reward you with more exposure
that's because a save indicates a user's
intent
to come back onto the app to refer to
that content later
keeping in mind that the instagram's
number one goal is to keep people on the
app longer
so creating savable content that
inspires
educates or is referenceable will
increase your exposure on instagram
creating savable content is a staple in
lucy's instagram strategy
this entrepreneur and fitness expert
features visual diagrams with healthy
eating tips
as nikki canning editorial manager of
later says
posts are moving away from likes in
favor of saves
so if you want to grow your account you
may want to focus on getting people to
save your instagram posts tip number
three
leverage tick tock using tick tock to
grow your instagram following
is a trendy strategy that businesses are
hopping on right now
by linking your instagram profile you
can use tick tock to convert
those followers into instagram followers
as well
during the time of filming this video
growing on tick tock is extremely
accessible
and this might not be the case forever
so seizing this opportunity
may be a smart move right now many
business owners are talking about the
magic of tick tock because the sky is
really the limit with tick tock
jenna lab the founder of the silk labs
tells us how her instagram account grew
to 16 000 followers
by using tik tok the key with tick tock
is to get your viewers to come
over to instagram and eventually become
a customer
in my experience tick tock is how i got
the most amount of eyes on my brand
but instagram is where my shoppers and
community are
she advises us to clearly state what
your brand is and what you do in your
bio
she also recommends to remind your
audience to follow your instagram
in the comment section of a viral video
she says having our following on tick
tock and instagram is beneficial
because certain potential customers need
more time to be convinced
and sold so we have more time to post
talk and befriend our followers so we
can build that trust with them
by the way if you want to learn more
about how to grow your tick tock and
convert your audience into customers
make sure that you're leaving me a
comment and we'll make sure to film that
video for you guys
if you're wondering how to make money on
instagram this free online course hosted
by shopify
will walk you through proven methods to
grow an instagram following from scratch
and the variety of ways that you can
start monetizing with as little as a
thousand followers
so in just 45 minutes you're gonna learn
the strategies to get more engaged
followers
and start an instagram powered business
so make sure that you're clicking the
link
in the description box so that you can
get started tip number four
use instagram reels speaking of which
instagram has released a relatively new
feature called reels
like tic toc videos reels are 15 second
videos that allow you to get creative
with the video
and audio effects because there is
currently less competition with reels
being an early adopter may gain you more
exposure
to see success make sure that you have a
catchy headline
and a thumbnail that sparks curiosity
since a high click-through rate is seen
as favorable for reals
watch time is actually also very
important as well so having a video
that's gonna keep people watching all
the way through is gonna increase your
exposure
digital entrepreneur vanessa lau
recommends creating a ton of reels
she says the more content that you do
the bigger footprint you have
and the bigger footprint you have the
more chances that instagram will pick up
your work
tip number five run a giveaway contests
are a reliable way to gain new followers
if you stipulate that the rules for
entry include tagging a friend
and following your account you're going
to see a surge in your post's engagement
as well as your follower account these
new followers who arrived through a
recommendation
can later be nurtured into potential
customers for your business
so for inspiration here's an example of
a successful product giveaway from the
fifth
that incentivizes people to follow its
account and tag a friend
for the chance to win two free products
from each of the businesses
according to neil patel instagram
accounts that hold contests
can achieve 70 faster follower growth
compared to those that
don't hold contests so if you're looking
for real growth
fast contests are a really great place
to start
tip number six use hashtags to begin
growing
you're gonna find that hashtagging your
photos is extremely important because
hashtagging makes it really easy for
people that are searching for a specific
term to find your photos and to find
your account
so which hashtags should you use so at
the time of filming this
some of the top hashtags include love
instagood and hashtag photo of the day
so if you're
looking at this list and thinking none
of these apply to my product
you're probably right using hashtags is
one thing
but using the right hashtags is a
completely different thing
so popular tags like those that we just
talked about are gonna likely
net you additional engagement and likes
but they're not going to lead to
increased long-term engagement or
new interested followers or more
importantly they're not going to lead to
sales
if you want to tag your photos properly
you're going to need to find and use the
most
relevant hashtags to your account and to
your business
this means doing the appropriate
research to make sure that you're using
hashtags
that not only describe what's in your
photo but also describe your brand
and what people are searching for on
instagram to find relevant hashtags
you'll want to use a free online tool
like iconosquare or webstagram to start
and you can also find more related
hashtags and their popularity
if you simply just search for any of
your target keywords
in the actual instagram app try
borrowing some hashtag ideas from
competitors
or similar accounts that have the kind
of following that you aspire to gain
use this as a starting point because
ultimately you want to create your own
groups of hashtags
that can relate to your account and your
specific goals
as soon as you have your top 30 hashtags
write them in a note on your phone
so that you can easily copy and paste
them later
and an even faster way is to create a
keyboard shortcut on your phone
now that users can follow hashtags your
stories and posts have the chance to be
seen both by people who are following
that hashtag
and anyone who is just checking it out
instagram is a really great tool to get
people
talking about your brand but if you have
a product or a service to sell
you'll need a platform where customers
can actually go ahead
and make those purchases shopify is a
really great place to start
selling online with your own e-commerce
website has never been easier
faster or more scalable setting up your
store
can actually be done in a matter of days
and you can do it all by yourself you
don't need a fancy coder
you can get started with a free 14-day
trial there is no commitment at
all you don't even need to give your
credit card information
and you actually have two full weeks to
build a fully beautiful
branded personalized ecommerce store
so i'm gonna leave a link for you in the
description box so you can take
advantage
of the free 14-day trial if you thought
this video was helpful
make sure that you're giving it a big
thumbs up that actually helps our
channel
and our community grow and also we're
going to be dropping a video soon on
the ultimate instagram tools and
essential apps for growing your
following
so if you want to catch that make sure
that you're subscribed so that you're
not missing out on any future videos as
well
thank you guys so much for watching i'm
your host michelle valley and i will see
you in the next one