2020 is fast approaching and there're lots of information about Instagram marketing everywhere, and some of such information is too old to be practiced.
Examples of such articles include:
A. Freeways to increase your followers on Instagram.
B. Methods to get more (real!) Instagram, followers
C. How to get 100k followers in 48 hours. Etc.
Do not get me wrong, yes you will definitely learn something in such articles, but trust me such an article can only provide you last years’ knowledge about Instagram, as well as the “tips” provided, are all the same!
By now I want to believe you have an idea on what I’m talking about because you see it virtually every time you research about gaining more engagement on Instagram.
Such tips include
*Post Consistently
*Use the right hashtags
*Post photos at specific time’s like 2am or 5pm
*Write descriptive and nice captions.
However, Instagram has changed drastically in recent years. Now the bitter truth is many refuse to believe that getting followers is now harder, getting good engagement is now a scarce commodity. Therefore, in other not to be left in the past, not all advice out there should be followed.
In this article, I will be equipping you with the 2020 knowledge of Instagram, the inhouse strategies, growth hacks and tactics that most influencers use to grow accounts to 10k, 50k, even 1 million followers, in a short time.
We are almost there, but I will implore you, yes you reading right now, don’t just read quickly and leave, take your time to understand the strategies I will be sharing, bookmark it, and also endeavor to share with your friends.
For the effectiveness of the strategies that will be revealed soon it is advisable you apply them immediately because this is what works currently it could change anytime because the digital world is fast-changing world and to be at your best in this world I will advise you stay updated, that is what my blog is to you.
Now straight to the business of the day.
I will be providing the top 5 strategies needed to master for you to make it on Instagram in 2020.
#1■ Strategy – The Instagram algorithm cheat
I. Incentives,
II. Known factors
III. Explore page 101
#2■ Strategy – The 10x3 hashtags strategy in 2020.
#3■Strategy – Be consistent, but not too consistent.
4# ■Strategies – Forget about the best time to post on Instagram in 2020 it doesn’t matter.
5#■Strategies – Why you must become a professor of the jungle to create great, viral Instagram content.
5 STRATEGIES NEEDED TO MASTER ON INSTAGRAM IN 2020
#1■ Strategy – The Instagram Algorithm Cheat
I. Incentives,
II. Known factors
III. Explore page 101
Sometimes in April 2016, Instagram introduced the famous algorithmic feed, however, before then posts were usually shown in reverse chronological order Just like Facebook’s feed, Instagram now has a really complex algorithm to determine what it shows you. You are bored with the algorithm talk right? I totally understand because I am also bored.
But if you ever try to growth hack Instagram without understanding the algorithm, you experience won't be fun, believe me.
Well, I’ll go into a little explanation about the algorithm world, focusing on the high-level ideas you should be aware of so you can have a brief understanding of what I mean.
If you want more in-depth briefing then you have to stay tuned because I will be writing about that very soon.
1. Understand the act of Incentives then the algorithm will surely work in your favor.
2. Instagram makes money selling ADs. Businesses their brands on Instagram because individuals use more time on it. more time individuals spend the more ADs Instagram can sell.
More time = More Advertising Inventory.
The algorithm is created to maximize the time Instagram users spend in the app.
Kindly note, Instagram also released new product features, e.g Stories or Gallery Posts to maintain user engagement. Often it prioritizes new features via the algorithm to encourage adoption.
Stated below are major factors that influence Instagram algorithm.
i. Content-Type: Pictures, Videos, Gallery Posts (which of these contents is always at its best on your page).
ii. Engagement: Hashtags, comments, shares via DM, video views, likes, saves, etc.
iii. Recency: How timely the post is and how often do you post o Instagram.
iv. Relevancy: The genres (type) of content you prefer or like and interact with most.
v. Relationships: who interact with your posts most.
When thinking of an Instagram algorithm, just think about the order or arrangement of posts and stories on your Instagram feed.
Currently making it to Instagram's Explore Page is nothing short of winning a trophy because it is the golden treasure when it comes to growth hacking Instagram in 2020.
When you understand the algorithm and reverse engineer the explore page, your content will go viral in no time and you will become Instafamous.
#2■ Strategy – The 10x3 Hashtags Strategy in 2020.
I hope you are not bored yet? You should know by now that I will not give you the same generic advice you always come across.
In other to keep to my promise, I won’t be talking about such strategies but Instead, I will tell you about the 10x3 hashtag strategy that’s working effectively right now.
Yes, your goal with hashtags is to reach the top posts section when people search that hashtag. You also need to start seeing hashtags as a photo album in other to understand this more.
So the thing is, no one searches for #lagosmoimoihub, which is probably the only hashtag you’ve got a decent chance of hitting the top posts on what is the need of being at the top of an irrelevant tag.
On some occasions, I still get a handful of random likes to come in when I’m able to get on the top posts, but a really insignificant amount.
So your new goal with hashtags is to take you to the explore page. That’s how you bring in hundreds, if not thousands of new likes and followers from a single post.
Now pay attention to this, this is that time you have been waiting for to maximize your chance of hitting the explore page using hashtags.
Introducing the 10x3 Hashtag Strategies…
Instagram allows up to 30 hashtags, so endeavor to use all 30. In selecting your hashtags, you have to research how many posts are in each tag.
So Choose:
10 Small Hashtags with 10,000 to 50,000 total posts
10 Mid-size Hashtags with 50,000 to 200,000 total posts
10 Large Hashtags with 200,000 to 2,000,000 total posts
30 in sum right? Yes
However, going viral is still statistically difficult, but if you use this method with the right content, and get a little lucky, you will be able to achieve virality easily.
You’ll get a handful numbers of like from being on the top posts of the smaller hashtags, a few more from the mid-size ones, etc. until you have so much engagement that the algorithm decides to try you out on the Explore Page and probably consider your posts on top slots in the Mid-size and large hashtags.
When using this strategy, you will need to do good hashtag research, because the right hashtags can make or mar your virality.
However, there are three ways I consider the best ways to research hashtags in 2020:
a. Hashtag research tools – I will recommend Display Purposes
b. Find influencers in your niche who already made it to the explore page and take a cue from their tags.
c. Find one hashtag you like, search for it on Instagram, then check out the “related hashtags” underneath.
d. I recommend Display Purposes to aid you in search of your hashtags because it excludes banned hashtags from its search results.
Banned hashtags are a relatively new thing on Instagram that you should understand if you’ve made it far on Instagram.
Instagram is always fighting spammy contents and some of the big hashtags get really spammy (filled with porn and violence, mostly as well as so many unrelated posts eg check out #BBNAIJA).
Instagram occasionally “bans” certain hashtags to avoid these.
How did I not know about this? – well, my account has once been shadowbanned on Instagram, during that period I did a lot of research which revealed to me so many things about Instagram.
I will also be writing about how not to get shadowbanned and how to get out of shadow ban on Instagram very soon more reason why you have to stay locked in.
Wondering how you didn’t know about the Instagram ban? Well, it’s not your fault! Instagram doesn’t really talk about policies like this publicly, and it’s really not a big deal if you use a banned hashtag it is just so unhealthy for your page.
All it means when a hashtag is banned is that Instagram hides top posts under such hashtags.
When possible you want to avoid using banned hashtags. Not only will you not get the added reach (since you don’t show up on the hashtag).
For now, it’s just speculation. If you think about it though, it’s probably true, especially if you use the same hashtags over and over again (which signals to Instagram that your account might be totally automated), so also avoid automation as much as you can.
That’s why you should always rotate your hashtags. After you’ve done your research, save a few different lists considering the 10x3 hashtags strategy as notes on your phone so you can keep them fresh in other to avoid any penalties Instagram may or may not be dishing out. (The numbers of tags you want to keep are left to you I just feel having enough will e a good idea.
Another interesting thing about hashtags in 2020 is Instagram just released the ability to follow hashtags so they show up in your feed, and everything you actually thought you knew about tag strategy is about to…. Well, probably it’s going to change a little bit.
How?
I. Well, one thing to keep a close eye on is the hashtag recommendations that Instagram shows you in your own feed. For example, Instagram knows I like sport so they recently recommended that I follow #sbnscoreline.
Notice that #sbnscoreline is a relatively small hashtag, with only 25k posts. If Instagram surfaces that recommendation to me, it might surface it to others as well. I am going to make a note of that and the next post of mine that involves sport I’m going to use such hashtag.
II. Also, keep an eye on the photos that appear in your feed after you’ve followed a hashtag. These photos are highly curated to have made it to your feed.
The next question should be, how do you get your post there right? Have ya’ll noticed anything similar? Kindly share with me in the comments section at the end of this article.
#3■Strategy – Be consistent, but not too consistent.
Are you surprised? Well, let me explain. I read Instagram news articles the same way your friends get glued to BBNaija every single day.
So I’ve heard A WHOLE LOT about consistency over the past few years. So much that my eyes glaze over every time I hear that word.
For those who might know me, will personally tell you how I’ve always said over and over again how consistent posting isn’t enough. It’s practically my slogan at some point.
But I think it’s time to revisit the issue of consistency, what do you think?
While it might be obvious that if you want to grow your Instagram you need to post consistently, just because it is obvious doesn’t mean it’s not true.
Again it comes back to the algorithm. We already know that Instagram’s algorithm is designed to get people to use the app, stay a long time, and return to it often.
So if you were Instagram, would you reward users who posted consistently with increased engagement (aka more fun for individual users, and more impressions/brand awareness for business users)?
Well, I would.
I’ve helped several SMBs build a very engaging Instagrams platform that they can be proud of, along the way, I’ve seen firsthand how Instagram rewards consistency like no tomorrow.
Accounts that grow the fastest almost always post once a day. If you don’t post for a few days, you’re compromising your account’s potential for organic growth. Sometimes not posting for a few days can even stop growth for weeks, so if there’s one thing to ensure you do to guarantee success with Instagram, it’s to be as consistent as possible.
4# ■Strategies – Forget about the best time to post on Instagram in 2020 it doesn’t really matter.
If considering the most overused piece of Instagram advice on Instagram if post consistently is the first then posting at the right time will come second.
Note, there is no universal best time to post. So anyone telling you to post at 6pm or any other specific time should be spanked.
Secondly, Instagram hasn’t had a chronological feed since 2016, so you should know better! Timing is less important than ever! Due to the recent Instagram algorithm change, you may or may not have noticed that Instagram posts a few days old posts frequently appearing on your feeds. It doesn’t matter what hour the post was made; Instagram will still show them to you because they know you’ll engage with them.
Viral content is viral content. And if your post is the bomb, then it’s going to get seen no matter what.
Note, not that timing doesn’t matter at all, It’s just like the 21st most important thing you should be thinking about.
For instance, once you make a post and the engagement on it is very low the tendencies that such post will go far is very low, therefore it is advisable to make your post during the day but not really necessary.
Instagram’s algorithm that determines how engaging a post is, takes time into account. A post that gets 100 likes in the first 10 minutes will have a better shot at trending, the explore page, than a post that gets 100 likes in 2 hours.
So you should still try to post when a larger number of your followers are on the platform. To figure this out, check your analytics on your business page to understand your audience.
More often than not, you’ll find that your followers are on Instagram virtually all the time, and there’s not that much of a difference between 8 am and 11pm.
5#■Strategies – Why you must be a professor of the jungle to create great, viral Instagram content.
The whole Instagram system is rigged. But if you know the game, play it wisely, so it doesn’t end inconclusively.
Note this down, great content makes you feel something…. Now how do you create that kind of content?
If you want to create great, viral content, you can’t get academic about it. The best way to express meself on this is with Falz ft Wande Coal – Wey listening carefully to the lyrics.
You don’t become a great Saxophonist like Fela by reading about Fela and Saxophones. You become great, by playing the Saxophone.
Oh yeah, and you should play to win something right?
Therefore, instead of giving you a long list of types of viral content that will end up being irrelevant, the important thing to note is Instagram is your jungle, If you want to win, if you want to go viral and beat out all the other competition, you need to understand Instagram better than anyone else, No Shortcuts, I repeat, No Shortcuts…
Study the accounts in your niche that are doing well, spend time on the explore page. Work, Study, Learn, Test, Analyze, and Evaluate.
Do this over and over again and trust me you will become a professor of the jungle in no time.
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Thanks for reading... I am Damilola Adeniji a Digital Marketing Junkie.
You can reach me via:
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Instagram and Twitter - @MrDarmi
Thank You.
Beautiful piece Dami 🙌
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