It’s time to rethink how to promote your Instagram account.
Why now? Because the platform’s rapid evolution and growth mean that what worked in the past isn’t going to score you the same sort of engagement today.
Based on recent Instagram stats, the visual space is becoming more and more crowded with brands fighting tooth and nail for more customers.
As a result, it quite literally pays for brands to have as many tactics as possible to promote Instagram to their target audience.
In this guide, we’ve broken down 13 totally actionable ways to do exactly that. From optimizing your posts and profile to rethinking your approach to content promotion, any combination of these tips are fair game when it comes to Instagram promotion.
13 Ways to promote your Instagram Page
1. Ramp up your content production
There’s no shortage of Instagram content you can publish to fill up your feed.
Customer photos. Memes. Bite-sized videos.
And that doesn’t even scratch the surface of what’s available to you.
To figure out what performs the best among your audience, you’re going to need to experiment. That means ramping up your content production and posting more frequently.
Publishing to Instagram at least once a day is within the platform’s best practices. Heck, major brands like TopShop and H&M post up to three times per day (if not more often).
As you roll out more content, it’s crucial to squeeze more engagement out of your following by understanding the best times to post on Instagram.
And speaking of which, that’s also why Instagram Stories are so valuable. Off-the-cuff content via Stories essentially allows you to “skip the line” and appear front-and-center in people’s feeds. Not only that, but you can freely post Story after Story without worrying about spamming your fans.
The takeaway here is that Instagram moves much quicker than it did a year or two ago in terms of content. Brands should ramp up if they want to keep up. To create content that your audience will love, make sure you have a comprehensive strategy in place and are using data to create more successful content. Download our Instagram marketing strategy guide to learn more.
2. Cross-promote your Instagram posts across other networks
The effort it takes to snag the perfect snapshot and craft a clever caption isn’t something that should go to waste.
Cross-posting your content to other social platforms is a no-brainer to get even more of an ROI out of your Instagram presence.
For example, you can promote your Instagram content across the likes of Facebook and Twitter to maximize your content’s reach.
Although cross-promotion is a smart move, bear in mind that each social platform has its own best practices. For example, Instagram tends to go heavier on the hashtags while you might want to craft a slightly different description for images posted to Facebook.
Sound time-consuming? It doesn’t have to be.
Sprout Social’s Asset Library enables you to store images, videos and text in a centralized location for use across multiple social networks. Quickly find, edit and publish directly from the Asset Library to deliver engaging posts that are tailored to whatever network you’re using.
And don’t forget to make your job even easier by using scheduling and publishing tools.
3. Focus on people-centric content
Although Instagram is a place to score sales, it is still first and foremost a place to share experiences.
The popularity of selfies on Instagram speaks for itself, as does customer photos and pictures of people using products in real-world settings. Much of the appeal of Instagram is that brands are capable of advertising in a more human way without bombarding followers with messages that scream “BUY NOW!”
And on a related note, this is exactly why user-generated content such as customer photos are such a goldmine for brands. Not only do folks on the ‘gram love it when brands shout them out, but customer photos represent marketing firepower that proves that people dig your products.
But in order to spot and curate user-generated content for your feed, you’re going to need to understand how hashtags can help you promote your Instagram.
And that leads us to our next point.
4. Experiment with branded and industry hashtags
Brands both big and small should create a hashtag to encourage sharing and promotion on behalf of their followers. Doing so doesn’t have to be rocket science, either.
For example, Ernie Ball displays their #iplayslinky and #colorsofrocknroll hashtags loud and clear in their bio.
But in order to spot and curate user-generated content for your feed, you’re going to need to understand how hashtags can help you promote your Instagram.
And that leads us to our next point.
4. Experiment with branded and industry hashtags
Brands both big and small should create a hashtag to encourage sharing and promotion on behalf of their followers. Doing so doesn’t have to be rocket science, either.
For example, Ernie Ball displays their #iplayslinky and #colorsofrocknroll hashtags loud and clear in their bio.
But in order to spot and curate user-generated content for your feed, you’re going to need to understand how hashtags can help you promote your Instagram.
And that leads us to our next point.
4. Experiment with branded and industry hashtags
Brands both big and small should create a hashtag to encourage sharing and promotion on behalf of their followers. Doing so doesn’t have to be rocket science, either.
For example, Ernie Ball displays their #iplayslinky and #colorsofrocknroll hashtags loud and clear in their bio.
But in order to spot and curate user-generated content for your feed, you’re going to need to understand how hashtags can help you promote your Instagram.
And that leads us to our next point.
4. Experiment with branded and industry hashtags
Brands both big and small should create a hashtag to encourage sharing and promotion on behalf of their followers. Doing so doesn’t have to be rocket science, either.
For example, Ernie Ball displays their #iplayslinky and #colorsofrocknroll hashtags loud and clear in their bio.
5. Tag brands, followers and locations whenever you can
Tagging is a surprisingly effective way to promote your Instagram.
And no, we’re not just talking about hashtags.
For example, you can tag other brands and accounts in hopes of a shout-out yourself. Given that notifications ping anyone who receives them, relevant tags are a subtle way to encourage promotion.
Likewise, it’s both courtesy and within Instagram’s best practices to tag anyone you might be regramming. Chances are they’ll be thrilled to be featured in your feed and will share the news with their own followers.
Don’t forget to tag locations, too! For example, if you have a physical location for your business or regularly attends events, location-specific posts allow you to explore new potential fans and followers.
5. Tag brands, followers and locations whenever you can
Tagging is a surprisingly effective way to promote your Instagram.
And no, we’re not just talking about hashtags.
For example, you can tag other brands and accounts in hopes of a shout-out yourself. Given that notifications ping anyone who receives them, relevant tags are a subtle way to encourage promotion.
Likewise, it’s both courtesy and within Instagram’s best practices to tag anyone you might be regramming. Chances are they’ll be thrilled to be featured in your feed and will share the news with their own followers.
Don’t forget to tag locations, too! For example, if you have a physical location for your business or regularly attends events, location-specific posts allow you to explore new potential fans and followers.




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