5 Best Practices for a Successful Instagram — From Someone Who Actually Uses Them
I have grown my personal brand, @lifeclippedin, to 145 followers in six short weeks. Although social media comes across as a fun and easy way to express ones self, there is a lot of strategy that goes behind gaining effective engagement. Brands can’t just post once a week and think their page is going to gain an active following. I’m here to dive into the my top five best practices for growing a successful Instagram account (in no particular order).
1. Timing
The days and times someone chooses to post their content will have an extreme impact on how that post performs. According to Sproutsocial, Tuesday from 11AM — 2PM and Monday — Friday at 11AM are the best times to post. Overall, Tuesday is seen as the best day to post, where as Sunday is the worst day to post. In 2020, Instagram has rolled out a few new features to keep scrolling — Reels being the most popular. With more user working from home, it makes sense that the mid-afternoon lunch time would create a high “scroll time.” I’m guilty of using my lunch break to scroll for way too long!
This data should be taken with a grain of salt, since another article, posted by Influencer Marketing Hub, states that Thursday is in fact the most pristine day to post. They do share the commonality of 11AM being the ideal time, though. This tells me that there really isn’t a straightforward answer for posting days/times — instead, users should look at their own data to make sound decisions. Based on my followers, there is not a large discrepancy in day to day app usage. There is, however, a difference in time. Because of this, I have chosen to post between the 3PM and 5PM time frames. Listening to the above articles, I post on Tuesday AND Thursday.
Tools — Hootsuite
Beyond the in-house Instagram analytics tool, Hootsuite is a great tool that can tell users the best time for them to post content. In Hootsuite, there is a tool called the “best time to publish view,” which shows the user the optimal days and times to post for their brand. Using this tool can help brands build awareness, boost engagement, and drive traffic. This data is pulled every 30 days, so it’s important for the user to keep track of any changes.
2. Use Different Types of Media
Consumers will easy get bored if a page is posting the same type of content. On Instagram, creators have the opportunity to post photos, carousels, videos, Reels, and Stories. I’ll admit I mainly post photos to my account, but I try to mix in videos and Reels whenever I can. Of the 18 posts, I have 3 videos, 3 carousels, and 1 Reel. Although my videos and Reel have not gained the amount of Likes my photos have, they reach more accounts and bring in engagement from new users. Regardless of a brand’s goals, mixing it up will keep followers attention and allow the content to reach more accounts.
3. Keep Up With the Data
Number of followers is just one way to track how your profile is performing. There are other important KPI’s that users should be analyzing to measure success. By utilizing Instagram analytics, I was not only able to see that photos of me physically riding my bike produce the most Likes, but I was also able to see that “silly” photos produce more comments. Since I am focused on engagements, and not just follows and likes, comments are extremely important for me to measure. I’m also able to see information for Stories, like which one’s gained me the most profile visits. Utilizing this information, I am able to be strategic in the type of content I am posting to my Feed vs. what I may just post as a Story or not at all.
4. Know Your Audience
With over 1 billion users on Instagram, it’s impossible to tailor content that fits everyone’s liking. Choosing your audience will make it easier to decide the theme of content to post. Initially, I was going to build an audience surrounded by bikes and cycling. Even this category is extremely too vague. I’ve since narrowed down my audience to beginners, females, and cyclists within the Atlanta area. Not only has this helped me decide what I want my page to be, but by also following this audience specifically I have created my own Newsfeed of content that is tailored to my interest. It has been a blast interacting with other cycling based accounts (some follow me back, some don’t). At the end of the day, social media is about creating communities of people that have the same interests.
5. Be Authentic
Although producing good quality content is ideal, the days of extreme filters and showcasing the best part of your life are over. Consumers now enjoy content that is real and authentic. I don’t put on a full face of makeup and do my hair before going on a ride — most days I ride in a t-shirt. It’s also slightly embarrassing riding with flats and Vans on a road bike (the clipped in part in a work in progress), but some of my followers think it’s funny and hopefully I’m showcasing to other beginner riders that it’s okay to not clip in if you’re not comfortable — you can still ride! User Generated Content is becoming increasingly more popular, so it’s okay to post an iPhone quality video while riding a bike. It’s not necessary to have a film crew on rides to get “good” content. Social media is officially being utilized for it’s original purpose — to share your life to other via the internet.
