Connecting with Followers on Instagram
We have previously explored how to create an Instagram business account and given advice on how to grow your following, feel free to check those out. However, due to COVID-19 more and more business are going digital and finding creative ways to interact with their clients. Recent updates that Instagram have released have allowed businesses to do this, so how can you make the most of some of these tools?
Instagram stories:
So let’s not forget one of the older tools, not to be overlooked, the humble Instagram story. Here you can increase engagement with off the cuff camera content, which humanises your brand and also allows you to get real time feedback from your customers. Here are just some of the features that you can play around with:
Polls – thinking of releasing a new product and not sure what colour works best, why not ask the audience?
Questions – Don’t be afraid to ask your following what they are looking for from your content so that you can really narrow it down.
Quiz – this can be a fun way to communicate about products, knowledge of your business or a new product launch.
IGTV
Instagram TV allows you to create video content and even save it as a mini-series. Remember to keep consistency here with your themes. Why not check out our client The Woodee for some inspiration. During lockdown, Louise has been doing an IGTV series which include, live demos cooking on a fire pit and also weekly ‘Fireside Chats’ where she speaks with makers and other businesses live on IGTV.
These relatively new tools are great for connecting with your followers, but never forget the power of these classic methods too:
Replying to comments on your stories and posts – not only does this show your followers you’re interested in their comments, it shows Instagram you’re engaged and helps with the algorithm!
Sharing user generated content – followers who create things using your products are great to share.
Sharing content from other like-minded brands and creators is a great way to continually add varying content to your feed.