Instagram is a popular app for sharing pictures and video but has also taken a turn toward being one of the most lucrative platforms for reaching potential clients and customers using paid advertising and content marketing strategies.

Boosting those Instagram likes creates an exponential opportunity to reach a very large audience which is the reason for its popularity with artists, businesses, corporations, government, and people building personal brands.

How large of a potential reach do you have when using Instagram?

Consider this; Instagram currently boasts:

• 600 million users
• 300 million active, daily users
• 28% of said users are between 18-29 (expendable income!)
• Bought by Facebook

You’re now thinking “Wow! I need to put IG into action”. For many of you that may have been done at some point and the account went dormant. Others may be using the app but haven’t quite got the response they want.

Instagram can be fickle.

You could share great pictures and videos, be active with your interactions, and may already have an established brand but without followers and likes you are producing content to an empty crowd. You can’t quite expect to get a response if there’s no one to look and listen, right?

Now you’re thinking “Okay, then, how do I go about gaining these followers?”. Have a peek at these methods…

Say Hello to New Instagram Likes and Followers

IG is an evolving platform so it’s best that you stick with it and learn as you go versus taking long breaks. The strategies for gaining likes and followers will typically stay the same as they’ve become best practices on the marketing side of things.

If I were you, I’d at least entertain these methods for boosting those likes and followers:

Let People Know

The easiest method to more likes is to simply let your existing followers (on other social networks and those visiting your site) know that you’re available on Instagram. This all may seem like a no-brainer but many forget to interlink on their blogs, FB pages, and emails.

Double check to make sure you’re currently doing it for a quick and easy win.

Push Your Best Content

People want to see great pictures and fun videos. What they don’t want is being bombarded with some automatic feed without quality control. Make sure that each piece of content you’re sharing is your best.

Try using other platforms to gauge the quality and then get it on IG.

Consider Buying Likes

Cut to the chase and order Instagram likes for that traction you need to step up your IG account presence. For a small fee, you can quickly create social traction. People base their judgment on following if others have already done so.

Buying likes are generally staged out to make it look natural, are quick on delivery, and can be setup into a recurring service so your account grows without constant monitoring and effort.

Hold a Contest or Campaign

Contest and campaigns will cost a minimal amount of financial investment considering if you choose to hand out a product or service but the amount of attention you gain through these methods can quickly recoup the costs.

People love free stuff. That’s a given.

The psychology behind free stuff has helped businesses increase their sales hand-over-fist. Instagram users are no different.

Promote a campaign/contest where the entry is as simple as liking a post, use a randomizer to select the user, deliver the prize, and you’ll have put this strategy to good use.

Hashtag (But Within Reason)

Hashtags are an easy way for people to find similar content. In a way, it allows individuals and businesses to piggyback off trends and interests when used effectively. A # and text (or emoji) are all you need to do.

Look at what other influencers and businesses are using (along with a few other hashtag strategies for IG) and you’ll be off in the right direction.

Team Up with Authority-types

People want to associate with other authorities and influencers. Sure, small accounts can build a following from their novelty but it’s likely yours will need to leverage the success of established brands – this is totally okay – you are using their influence to direct their audience to your brand.

Team up with others in the industry and create a small network that will send users back and forth. Think of it like working for the greater good.

The most popular Instagram users have it figured out and honestly, there isn’t some “secret sauce” to it all – it just needs a right mix of personality, great content, traction with the community, and using the platform as it was intended.

In due time those likes will come rolling in and that’s when you should say…

Okay, So What Now?

You’ve done the heavy lifting (or had a service do it for you) and the likes are rolling in. Great!

But how do you turn that presence into something that has a decent return on your value?

Well, the truth is to simply keep doing what you’re doing. Suddenly switching to a hard sell after giving the community cool and engaging content is going to look suspicious. People don’t like that and will bail.

Your best bet to earn off the work of building your Instagram likes is to pepper in a bit of content marketing that either:

• Sends them to a landing page so they can follow you on other platforms that allow you to sell
• Integrate a product to generate some interest and point people to it when they ask
• Use it to have fun, build a neat brand, and naturally attract people based on popularity

It all comes down to gaining those followers and getting people to like your stuff from the get-go. Building this takes time but Instagram can turn into a powerhouse for your marketing efforts.

Over to you – What strategies have you done that increased your Instagram likes and interaction? Share your suggestions or tips in the comments!