It’s commonplace – a business creates an Instagram account hoping to market their amazing product to the platform’s 1 billion users. In this article, we’ll help you figure out the key to success on Instagram with 30 ideas, strategies and tips that will teach you how to get more likes on Instagram.
Let’s discuss it further:
Contents
1 1. Take high-quality photos
2 2. Use a consistent filter scheme
3 3. Share posts on other platforms
4 4. Use local hashtags
5 5. Use popular hashtags
6 6. Mark location
7 7. Share behind-the-scenes photos
8 8. Run the giveaway by liking, tagging, and commenting on the post
9 9. Partner with influencers
10 1o. Partner with other brands
11 11. Promote your post
12 12. Video
13 13. Boomerang
14 14. Carousel
15 15. Tag influential accounts
16 16. Post photos of customers and users
17 17. Post “tag your friends”
18 18. Post a quote
19 19. Post-user-generated content
20 20. Commenting on popular photos
21 21. Follow more people
22 22. Post consistently
23 23. Post at high traffic times
24 24. Ask a question
25 25. Use trending topics
26 26. Post discounts and promotions
27 27. Use the Instagram Stories feature
28 28. Live Instagram
1. Take high-quality photos
This may sound cliché, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t. You don’t need a couple of million dollar DSLR to make great Instagram posts, but you should at least make sure your lighting is good and everything is in focus.
I would recommend at least a modern smartphone (like the iPhone or the newer Galaxy S series) if you want to take great-looking shots. Great photos are naturally more aesthetically pleasing – and that means more likes.
2. Use a consistent filter scheme
While it may sound trivial, being consistent in your color filter scheme is one of the top ways to build your Instagram brand. Using the same set of filters (one or two) for all your photos helps you create and maintain a consistent visual identity on your Instagram account.
It makes your photos instantly recognizable in your follower’s feed, increases recognition and gets you more likes on a consistent basis and includes the best way to increase Instagram likes.
3. Share posts on other platforms
Link your Instagram account to other social platforms (such as Facebook and Twitter) to share your account and the media you post with your followers in other areas.
It helps to increase the profile traffic and views you generate on other platforms to drive it to your Instagram profile, and generate more likes and followers on your Instagram account. Blogs are also a great place to share your Instagram posts.
4. Use local hashtags
Using local hashtags is a great way to reach potential customers near you. To find popular local accounts, you can do a quick Google search for “top Instagram accounts in [city]” and see what hashtags they use for their photos.
Use these hashtags, and they will allow you to connect with people near you or accounts who might be interested in featuring your photos or business. It also includes effective ways to get more followers and get more likes on Instagram.
5. Use popular hashtags
While this isn’t very effective when looking to reach Instagram users near you, using the most popular hashtags can be helpful when you’re looking to reach a large group of Instagram users.
Using popular hashtags helps more people see your photos, which is an easy way to add more likes to your photos. Keep in mind that searching isn’t the best way to generate sales if you’re marketing a product, but if you’re just looking for a way to increase the credibility of your account, this is a good way to do it.
6. Mark location
Location-tagging your photos allow people in your area to see your photos more easily. Tag general locations such as “Jakarta City Center” instead of specific restaurant names.
This will increase the chances of people seeing it. People searching for photos near them are more likely to engage with them, meaning you have a good chance of getting more likes on your photos.
7. Share behind-the-scenes photos
Social media is a place to share more intimate moments from your business with your fans and followers, helping you grow your brand awareness and strengthen your emotional connection with customers.
Give your followers behind-the-scenes photos of your business – preview upcoming products, introduce your employees, or take them on an office tour. This type of content is unique and interesting, it is also an effective way to add likes to each of your Instagram posts.
8. Run the giveaway by liking, tagging, and commenting on the post
Everyone loves free stuff! Running a simple giveaway is one of the best ways to get more likes on Instagram. This will get the posts you’re targeting more engaged.
Just like a giveaway with just likes, tag prizes for entry are also great when you want to generate lots of followers.
The same tactics apply, but make sure you ask participants to tag two of their friends for logging in – create an engagement with me, increase the number of people who will see it, and reach more followers. This can easily translate to more followers and more likes on your future posts.
9. Partner with influencers
Find influencers in your industry to partner with. Work with them to take and post photos of them with your products on their profile and your account.
This helps your business reach more people within your target market and increases your credibility through social proof. Followers of influencers take their decisions into account and there are more people within their reach, this means more opportunities to buy products from your business
1o. Partner with other brands
Just like having a partnership with an influencer, partnering with a brand that has complementary products in the industry and not your rivals.
This method can help you reach more people in your target market. By going one step further and partnering with other brands to become a gift provider, showcase gift packages that have both of your products.
This is very interesting and can help both your brands share followers and add more likes to your Instagram photos – meaning more potential sales in the future.
11. Promote your post
While not as restrictive as Facebook, Instagram can be a great choice for brands looking to increase their reach organically. Leveraging the Instagram Ads platform to promote your posts helps you reach people who don’t follow you yet.
Its powerful targeting options (same as the Facebook Ads platform) allow you to precisely select the people who will see your ad. If your targeting is good and your content is engaging, you can get more followers interested in your business, which means more likes.
12. Video
Other types of media are often more appealing than photos when you’re viewing a busy Instagram feed. The first type of media is video. Posting a video featuring something like a “how-to” one of your products, an upcoming product announcement, or other interesting content ideas can be a much more engaging medium than a simple photo.
Make sure your videos don’t rely on audio but also visuals. and make these two combinations not bad.
13. Boomerang
Boomerang is a type of content that sits between a GIF and a video – it’s a short video that plays back and forth (hence the name). Boomerang posts are another great way to grab the attention from your followers. Make sure it’s something catchy – Boomerangs with fast, dramatic moves are the most appealing.
14. Carousel
To date, Instagram’s “Carousel” format is not available outside of ads. Now, though, anyone can use them – and they’re proving to be another great way to share media on visual content platforms. Use the Carousel to showcase different moments from an event, to create a story to share with your audience, or to highlight a selection from your product line.
15. Tag influential accounts
Look for influential accounts in your industry, and tag these accounts in your new posts (in the photo itself, not in the caption). This not only informs these accounts about your new photos, it also makes your photos appear in their feed in the “tagged” section. This is a practical way to reach others within your target market and may get you featured on these influential accounts.
16. Post photos of customers and users
Posting photos of your customers and users is a great way to engage more closely with the people who make your business such a success. Not only are these photos more original (photos with people tend to be better than those without), but they’re also more interesting – meaning more likes and followers.
Tagging the people featured in these posts in photos increases the likelihood that they (and their followers) will see them – meaning more engagement.
17. Post “tag your friends”
Posting content related to your industry, brand and products is one of the most attractive ways to get more likes on Instagram.
The subject can be anything – a product that other people might like, a funny video, or a meme. For example, you could post a photo of your latest product with a CTA in the caption that says something like “tag a friend who will like this!”. It spreads your brand awareness in a slightly more organic way than most.
18. Post a quote
Thinking of different content ideas to post on Instagram can be a difficult task. One of the more interesting forms of content I’ve seen is quotes. Because quotes are often posted as clear text over a clean background, they are eye-catching and easy to read.
Posting quotes that can be linked to your followers is a great way to engage them, it’s an easy way for you to add more likes on Instagram. A quick Google search on the keyword “quotes about [topic]” will give you some great material – or quotes you wrote yourself.
19. Post user generated content
User generated content is one of the benefits of maintaining an active social media presence. People who are fans of brands who are active on social often post content related to these brands.
Instead of just liking these photos or even commenting, take a few extra minutes and repost their photos, giving them credit. This is an original content type, and encourages other users to share their own content – get more likes and help you organize your Instagram queue.
20. Commenting on popular photos
Browsing your timeline is a great way to find new content to engage with. If you follow industry-specific accounts, you’ll find that a lot of the content is relevant. Find popular posts and comment on them – make sure the comments are short and positive!
Other people involved with the post along with the account owner will see your comment, and it can lead them to learn more about your brand by visiting your profile – meaning more reach, engagement and likes.
21. Follow more people
Simple! Use your timeline and search tool to find people in your industry who posted interesting photos on topics related to your product. Interact with these people and follow them, like their posts, and comments and you will find them following you back often and engaging in your photos.
It is good practice to follow several new accounts a day – it also helps to increase your own follower count, which means your account looks more credible to future visitors.
22. Post consistently
This may not seem like a big deal, but maintaining a consistent amount of content can help you get more likes on Instagram. It works like this: posting consistently means that you continue to engage your current followers and gain more followers, helping you maintain a certain level of engagement while you continue to grow.
Going long periods without posting content can cause your current followers to unfollow you, reducing the engagement you receive on future posts. To minimize this risk, make sure you post at least every few days.
23. Post at high traffic times
Sharing a post when most of your followers are on Instagram increases the likelihood that they will see it, thus increasing the chances that they will like it.
This has a compound effect, as Instagram feeds are no longer chronological – having a photo that has a high number of interactions increases the chances it will appear in the feeds of your other followers, which means more likes on your posts.
Hootsuite analyzed 258,956 posts from 11 different industries and found that there is indeed the best time to post, even though the Instagram feed is no longer chronological. Here are the best times to post for each industry we analyze:
- Travel and tourism: Friday, 9 am to 1 pm
- Media and entertainment: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12 to 3 p.m.
- Food and drink: Friday, 12 pm
- Retail: Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, 12 p.m
- Professional service: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, 9 or 10 am.
- Non-profit: Tuesday, 10 am or 4 pm
- Non-retail e-commerce: Thursday, 4 or 9 pm
- Pharmacy and healthcare: Wednesday and Sunday, 9 am
- Personal care: Thursday and Friday, 1, 2, or 3 nights
- Technology: Monday and Tuesday, 2 pm
- Education: Thursday, 4 or 5 pm
24. Ask a question
A trend you’ll notice in many high-engagement Instagram posts is that the captions are questions. Questions in photo captions related to photos are more engaging and engage your photo viewers.
People who have engaged with posts with comments are much more likely to like them – it’s the kind of habit that can help you get more likes on your Instagram photos.
25. Use trending topics
There are always some trends that exist on the internet. Whether it’s a recent meme, a Facebook video, or a news item, each of these provides an opportunity for your business to take advantage of it and generate more likes on Instagram. Post content related to these things as well as your brand to create a piece of content that is usually fun, funny, and engaging. As much as possible to avoid SARA.
26. Post discounts and promotions
One of the best ways to convert your Instagram followers into sales is to post a sales pitch on your page. A simple product shot with text that says something like “30% off this week!” easy to read, and people will often save and like it to make sure they remember it.
You can go one step further and say something along the lines of, “show us you’re following us in the store and get 30% off your next purchase”. This increases your follower count, meaning this way will increase your Instagram account likes in the future.
27. Use the Instagram Stories feature
Stories is a direct competitor to Snapchat Stories on Instagram. This allows users to post updates directly to the platform which last only 24 hours. It’s a less “polished” part of the Instagram platform – meaning you can leverage it for simpler content.
Consider mentioning a new promotion, your employee, or another interesting part of your business in your story.
28. Live Instagram
Like Facebook, Instagram launched its Live platform recently to allow people to live stream (in the glorious vertical video). One interesting way to use Instagram Live is to host a Q&A where your fans and followers can ask questions about your business, brand and products.
Post about your Q&A in the days leading up to people being aware of it – if you’re not sure people will show up, letting them know that there will be a discount or giveaway during your stream can help increase your Instagram Live audience.