83% of Instagram accounts have used the platform to find new products or services.
If you’re not on Instagram, you’re missing out.
We all know social media is important, but it’s such hard work to get noticed. All the platforms are so competitive that standing out is tough.
However, it doesn’t have to be. We’ve compiled some of the best social media hacks that you can use across Instagram and other social media platforms to increase engagement and build up your account.
Read on to learn some of the best ways to improve your social media, fast.
Table of Contents
1. Run a Contest
Everyone likes freebies. Can you offer a cool giveaway, which would be of interest to your demographic? If you either purchase an awesome prize, can you get it donated from a sponsor (bonus extra promotion for them too), to give away one of your services or products?
What’s the catch? To enter the contest, entrants must be following you.
Or, add an extra component and ask them to tag a friend who might be interested, giving your account exposure to lots of potential new fans!
2. Share Your Content Across All Sites
If you have something great to say or a killer photo, don’t just post to one account— share across all your accounts, including Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and maybe Pinterest.
Everyone has different preferred social media accounts, and if you only post to one account, your followers on the other accounts won’t see it and you’ve lost an engagement opportunity.
3. Use Lightroom Presets to Edit Photos
You need your photos to really stand out, especially on Instagram. What’s the top social media hack that all the top influencers are using? Lightroom presets!
Lightroom, part of the Adobe software family, is an excellent tool for photo editing. You can create or purchase presets, a type of filter, that’ll give all your photos a consistent and professional edge.
It’s also easy to then post directly from your Mac onto Instagram—here’s how: https://setapp.com/how-to/how-to-post-to-instagram-from-mac.
4. Comment on Similar Accounts to Yours
Likes are a dime a dozen, but comments on social media are rarer. Don’t simply like lots of posts or photos to get noticed online, take the time to write a thoughtful or insightful comment (‘great post’ isn’t going to cut it).
This is a good way to find new followers as the account holder may check you out, or their followers might like your comment and check out your account to see what you’re all about.
5. Ask Questions of Your Audience
Not only should you write thoughtful comments on other accounts, but also engage with your own followers by asking questions.
Asking questions encourages them to reply, especially if your question is a little thought-provoking or controversial.
Plus, their answers give you valuable insight into your community, which is helpful from a marketing perspective.
6. Have Fun With Instagram Stories
On Instagram, make the most of the platform by creating Instagram stories. These short snippets of video, photo, or text, are visible for 24 hours only (but can be saved in your highlights).
Like normal Instagram posts, you can add hashtags and locations. Do this, as others may be searching for that hashtag or attraction and could find your account!
Stories are also a lot of fun and can be an informal way to share parts of your day. Although we spend a lot of time curating the perfect Instagram grid, stories are much less stressful, since they don’t last.
You can also add polls or ask questions, another way to gain helpful user data.
7. Reach out to Influential Followers to Do an Account Takeover
What’s an account takeover? It’s when someone else (a person or brand), takes over your social media account for a day or a week? Or, you take over someone else’s.
Try to find someone with a great brand or following to take over your account. This will help their followers discover your brand, an amazing way to expand your reach.
Or, if someone else will let you take over their account, you can introduce your product and personality to a whole new following!
8. Retweet
It can seem counterintuitive to share someone else’s content— you should be promoting yourself, right?
Well, not exactly. Social media is all about genuine engagement, and accounts that only do self-promotion tend to look fake and inauthentic.
If someone’s post or photo really resonates, feel free to share it. Chances are the person who posted it might notice and engage with your account as well or may share some of your content in the future.
9. Create Special Offers— Only For Followers
Can you create an incentive for someone to follow your account? A local business might offer a free offer, or can you offer a free consultation or discount on your services? This can be a great way to build interest in your account.
Just be careful what you offer, as if it brings you hundreds of new followers, this could potentially cost a lot of time or money. So, make it something reasonable.
10. Allow Reviews on Your Facebook Page
If you’re a small business, you may have turned off reviews on Facebook, for fear of someone writing something negative.
However, one of the best creative Facebook hacks is to turn reviews on! This encourages supporters to engage with your page by commenting, which helps expand your organic reach in Facebook’s ever-changing algorithm.
Should you happen to receive an unflattering comment, just reply with courtesy and professionalism, and it’s not likely to have any impact on your business.
Start Using These Social Media Hacks Today
Try out some of these social media hacks on your accounts today. They can help you gain new followers, get noticed, and build up an engaged supporter base.
Social media accounts are so powerful these days, for networking, business sales, and credibility, to get started now with our top ten hacks.
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