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by Mike Vestil 

How To Promote On Instagram For Free And Get Organic Reach

Most businesses that use Instagram to promote their products or services might quickly realize that the competition is stiff, and it can be challenging to get your posts seen by many people. This is especially true if you don't have a lot of followers on the platform.

Getting organic when starting an Instagram blog can be a challenge, but it's not impossible. When you have the right plan in place and use the right tactics, you can get your posts in front of your target audience - without necessarily paying for ads.

In this article, I'll share some tips on promoting your business on Instagram for free so that your business can reach more people and grow. At the same time, you'll get more leads, increase your sales and boost your brand awareness.

Benefits For Using Instagram As A Promotional Channel

You might feel that you don't need to promote your business on Instagram - especially if you've tried it in the past and didn't get a lot of organic reach.

However, there are a few good reasons why you should consider promoting your business via the platform.

Exposure

Instagram is an excellent platform for businesses because it offers high exposure. With over 1 billion active users, your target audience is likely on Instagram.

Having your business exposed to a small percentage of this vast audience can help you reach more people and grow as needed.

Connect With Your Audience

Instagram offers an excellent platform for building connections with your target audience. You can connect with potential customers and convert them into leads and customers with the right strategy.

Building connections with your target audience is key to growing your business, and by having repeated exposure to them, you increase the chances of conversion.

Brand Awareness

Instagram can also help you boost your brand awareness. With a well-executed strategy, you can expose your brand to many people who might not have known about it before.

This can help you build trust and credibility with potential customers, resulting in more leads and sales.

Brand Awareness

Image Credit: http://wordstream.com

Build Up Your Email List

One way to promote your business on Instagram for free is to build up your email list. When you have an extensive email list, you can reach out to them with promotional content about your products or services.

You can grow your email list by offering people something of value in exchange for their contact information. You can also offer discounts or exclusive content to people who subscribe to your email list. This could be a free ebook, tutorial, or video course.

When you have a well-established email list, you can use it as a powerful tool to promote your business on Instagram and reach more people.

Considerations Before Getting Started

While creating Instagram posts or even Instagram stories is quite simple, there are a few things you should keep in mind prior to promoting your Instagram account. This will ensure that you are ready for the traffic you generate by having the right plan.

Create A Content Strategy

First, you need to create a content strategy. This will help you determine what type of content you will post on Instagram and how often you will post it. Having a content strategy is also essential because it will help you stay consistent with your branding and reach your target audience.

You can use various types of content on Instagram, including images, videos, slideshows, and even polls. You can also use stories to engage your audience and give them a behind-the-scenes look at your business.

Turn Your Personal Account Into A Business One

Second, you need to ensure that you have an Instagram business account. This will give you access to various features not available to personal accounts. These features include insights into your audience, the ability to add contact buttons to your profile, and the ability to create ads.

An Instagram business account is essential because it allows you to track the performance of your posts and see how well they are performing. This information can help you fine-tune your content strategy and improve your results.

Ensure Your Bio Is 100% Complete

Before making an Instagram post, you should take the time to complete your profile bio. This includes adding an appropriate profile photo, a description of your business, and your website URL.

Ensure Your Bio Is 100% Complete

Image Credit: http://oberlo.com

Promoting your instagram page and completing your profile bio do go hand in hand. Your bio is crucial because it allows potential customers to learn more about your business. 

As a result, when they have all the information they need, they are more likely to follow you or buy from you.

Cross-Promote Your Digital Assets With Your Instagram Account

If you want to build up more followers and get more engagement on your posts, you should cross-promote your Instagram account. You can do this by adding links to your Instagram account on your website, other social media platforms, and even your email signature.

Cross-promoting your account is important because it allows more people to learn about your business and follow you on Instagram. This can help you reach more people and achieve the goals you set out in your marketing plan. It also spreads out where people are following your business, so even if one platform had to go down, you would still have other places where you can communicate with your audience.

Other factors that you should consider when it comes to cross-promotion include the following:

  • Email: This is a crucial channel for marketing, and you can use it to promote your Instagram account. You can add a link to your Instagram account in your email signature or include an image of one of your latest posts, inviting readers to click on the image to head over to Instagram.
  • Website: You can also promote your Instagram account on your website. You can add a banner or a widget that links to your account. You can also add a link to your account in the footer of your website.
  • Other social media platforms: You can also promote your Instagram account on other social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. You can add links to your profile or share images from your latest posts, helping to build up both networks in the same process.

Building Relationships

As with any business or personal account, relationships are critical on Instagram. This means that you should take the time to comment on other people's posts, follow them and even tag them in your posts.

Building relationships can be done as follows:

  • Post high-quality content: One of the most critical factors for building relationships is providing value. You should post images and videos that are interesting and engaging, which allow people to have a takeaway lesson after consuming this content.
  • Posting high-quality content is also essential because it helps you stand out from the competition. When people see good quality content, they are more likely to want to come back for more.
  • Prioritize engagement: Your Instagram profile should be designed to prioritize engagement. This means that you should focus on naturally inviting people to share their thoughts on the content you post.
  • Get your followers to create branded content for your business: User-generated content (UGC) is a great way to build relationships with your followers. You can request UGC by asking your followers to post images or videos of themselves using your product or service. You can then share user-generated content from other users. Being a social network, Instagram is the perfect place to do this.
  • Tag other users: You can tag other users when you post an image or video. This is a great way to build relationships with the right people, allowing you to market yourself and your business to their audience. Just don't spam other users with tags if it doesn't make sense, as this will backfire.
  • Build connections with Instagram influencers: Instagram influencers are users who have a large following and a lot of influence on the platform. You can follow and engage with them to get their attention. If they like your content, they may share it with their followers, which can help you reach a larger audience. The Instagram algorithm will favor accounts engaging with other users more than those that don't.

Types Of Content You Can Post On Your Profile

Not all content is created equally. When it comes to promoting your Instagram account, you need to make sure that your posts are high quality and will interest your target audience.

Some things to consider are the following.

Controversial Posts

While posting content that will interest your target audience is essential, you shouldn't shy away from posting controversial content. Controversial posts can be a great way to generate discussion and get people talking about your brand.

Just make sure that you're prepared for the backlash that may come with posting controversial content. Also, don't cross any lines that businesses shouldn't cross. You don't want to alienate your followers or lose them over a single post.

You can also check out what other popular Instagram accounts are doing to ensure that you're not going overboard when creating controversial content.

Behind The Scenes Posts

People love getting a sneak peek behind the scenes of their favorite brands. When you post images or videos of what goes on behind the scenes, it gives your followers a look into your brand and how you operate.

This type of content is also great for building relationships with your followers. They feel like they're getting to know you better, and they may be more likely to stick around for longer.

Make sure that your behind-the-scenes posts are exciting and engaging. This means coming up with creative ideas that will interest your followers.

Product Posts

Product posts are a must-have on Instagram if you run a business. Product posts give your followers a look at the products you offer, and they may be more likely to buy something if they see it repeatedly on Instagram.

Ensure that your product posts are high quality and showcase your products in the best possible light. You want your followers to feel like they need to have what you're selling as it will be something that adds real value to their lives.

In addition, you can use product posts to generate engagement. Creating question based content or running contests that require users to post pictures of themselves using your products is a great way forward.

User-Generated Content

User-generated content is one of the best things you can post on Instagram. When followers see that their friends and other users post about your brand, they're more likely to check you out, follow your account and engage with it.

You can generate user-generated content by running contests or giveaways or asking followers to post photos or videos using your products. This type of content is excellent for increasing brand awareness, and it can help you reach a larger audience.

Ensure that you're always tagging and mentioning other users in your user-generated content. This will help you build relationships with other users and get them to share your content.

Funny Posts

The typical Instagram user will follow a few different accounts that post funny content. You'll be more likely to stand out from the crowd if you can post this type of content while also making it relevant to your brand.

Just make sure that your humor isn't offensive or off-putting. You want your followers to laugh with you, not at you.

Educational Posts

People love learning new things, especially if the information is relevant to their interests. When you post educational content on Instagram, you're providing your followers with valuable information that they can use in their lives.

Educational Posts

Image Credit: http://pinterest.com

This type of content is also great for building relationships. They feel like they're getting to know you better, which will lead to them seeing you as an authority on a particular subject.

Also, remember that an Instagram post can be educational without being boring. Coming up with creative ideas that will interest your followers, and a great way to deliver these lessons, is key to executing this particular point.

Motivational Posts

People love motivation and inspiration, especially from their favorite brands. When you post motivational content on Instagram, you're helping your followers achieve their goals - even when they don't feel like it.

While other businesses in your niche may be posting motivational content, make sure that your posts are original and exciting. You don't want your followers to get bored with the same old quote everyone shares.

Timeline Posts

This type of content is another excellent way to build relationships with your followers. When you post timeline posts on Instagram, you're giving your followers a look at your brand's history. In addition, you can use timeline posts to generate engagement. Ask questions in your captions or run contests that require users to post pictures of themselves using your products - maybe even over weeks, months, or even years.

Instagram Features To Help You Promote Your Brand

Instagram offers many features that can help you promote your brand. This section will discuss a few of the most popular features to consider.

Have A Consistent IG Stories Posting Schedule Story

The Instagram Story feature is a great way to share topical content with your followers. It allows you to post images and videos that will disappear after 24 hours.

This is also a great way to share quick updates with your followers. You can also use it to promote new products or services regularly, and as such, to maximize its effectiveness, make sure to post regularly.

Instagram Highlights Are Your Friend

The Instagram Highlights feature is another excellent way to share content with your followers. It allows you to create collections of images and videos that will stay on your profile for longer than 24 hours.

This is a great way to showcase your best content. You can also promote special events or sales promotions that you want your audience to notice.

Make IGTV Work For You

IGTV is a relatively new feature that allows you to create long-form videos. These videos can be up to one hour in length.

This is a great way to share more in-depth content with your followers. You can use it to promote educational content or even show behind-the-scenes footage of your company.

Instagram Live

The Instagram Live feature allows you to live stream video content to your followers. This is a great way to connect with them in real-time, even giving you the possibility of answering their questions there and then.

Instagram Live

Image Credit: http://nytimes.com

To make the most out of this feature, plan your broadcasts. This will help to ensure that you have enough content to keep your followers engaged without going off on a tangent.

Tools That Help You Promote Your Instagram Account

There are also tons of tools and services that can help you to promote your Instagram account. This section will discuss a few of the most popular ones to get you started.

Hootsuite

Hootsuite

Hootsuite is a social media management platform that allows you to manage all of your social media accounts from one place. It also includes tools that will enable you to track how well your posts are performing.

This is also a tool for brands that want to grow their Instagram following. It allows businesses to track how many followers they're gaining and losing and the engagement levels of their posts.

In addition, Hootsuite offers free training courses that can teach you how to use its tools effectively.

Crowdfire

Crowdfire

If you want to automatically unfollow users who don't follow you back on Instagram, Crowdfire is a great tool. It allows you to see other users' followers and get an insight into the posts getting the most engagement.

Brands that want to increase their engagement levels will benefit from this tool.

10Web Social Photo Feed

10Web Social Photo Feed

Connecting your Instagram feed to your website can be a great way to promote your brand. 10Web Social Photo Feed is a service that allows you to do this.

If getting more website traffic is essential, this is a tool to check out. It allows you to showcase the best Instagram content on your website, and it helps to drive traffic back to your account.

Later

Later

Gone are the days when you have to be on your phone to post a photo or video on Instagram. Later is a tool that allows you to upload and schedule your posts from your computer.

This is an excellent tool for brands that want to post content on Instagram outside of regular business hours. It also allows you to create multiple posts simultaneously, saving you time in the long run.

Repost

Repost

If you want to republish a post that someone else has published on Instagram, Repost is a great tool to use. It allows you to repost photos and videos with the original caption and credit intact.

This means that it's also great to build relationships with other users, and it helps to promote your brand as a source of valuable content.

IconoSquare

IconoSquare

For all kinds of account statistics, IconoSquare is a great tool to use. It allows you to track how many followers you have, how much engagement your posts are getting, etc.

This is an excellent tool for brands that want to track their progress over time.

Canva

Canva

Canva is a design platform that allows you to create professional-looking graphics. This means that you can create designs that are on-brand and eye-catching, giving you the ability to use top-notch templates or start from scratch.

Instagram Insights

This native Instagram tool allows you to see how your account is performing. It includes insights such as how many people have seen your posts, how much engagement they've received, and more.

Consider Paid Instagram Ads

The benefits of email marketing can be summarized in three words: trust, convenience, and targeting. People are used to being interrupted with advertising messages everywhere they turn, whether it is billboards on the highway or ads that follow them around online. 

Getting your message into someone's inbox is a softer sell because people are used to getting emails in their inbox. Email subscribers have also opted in to hear from you—and everyone else who contacts them via email—so it's less likely for your message to be marked (or considered) as spam, which results in more positive engagement overall.

Thanks to the power of advanced features such as segmentation (more on this later), marketing emails also tend to be hyper-targeted. Businesses can use their data on file, such as purchase history, browsing behavior, and customer surveys, to send more relevant messages that appeal directly to their customers.

Let's get a bit more in-depth about the benefits of email marketing.

Conclusion

While organic reach on Instagram might not be as high as it once was, there are still several ways to promote your brand for free. 

In addition, one great thing about Instagram is that it's a visual platform. This means that if you focus on creating the right content, your posts have the potential to be seen by a large number of people. If you use high-quality visuals and on-brand content, you're likely to see better results with Instagram marketing compared to other social media platforms.

In addition, using the right tools to compliment your efforts will only amplify the reach and potential for growth. So get creative, have fun, and watch your following and engagement on Instagram grow.

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About the author 

Mike Vestil

Mike Vestil is the author of the Lazy Man's Guide To Living The Good Life. He also has a YouTube channel with over 700,000 subscribers where he talks about personal development and personal finance.

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