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Instagram_logo.svgInstagram is a great social platform to share some of your favourite photographs or videos but it’s also a fantastic marketing tool. In one day, 400 million people use Instagram and around 4.2 billion posts are liked. The power Instagram could have on your website’s traffic is unquestionable but there are a few steps you should take to make the most of it.

Have your website link in your bio.

Instagram haven’t made it particularly easy to drive traffic to your website as the only place they allow a clickable link is in your bio. One of the most effective actions you can take to generate website traffic through Instagram is making use of the space in your bio and add your website’s URL. A great tip is to include a caption in your bio, directing users to the link that appears below it.

You are able to change the link as many times as you wish, meaning you can direct traffic to a specific page whenever you like. This is particularly handy when promoting new blog posts or new products. It’s always a good idea to track traffic coming from social media channels, you can do this by using a Bitly link. Bitly allows you to shorten links and measure clicks so you know exactly where your traffic is coming from.

Using Call’s to Action

With Instagram only allowing you one clickable link in your bio, you need to be clever with calls to action. Every time you upload a new post you are able to write a caption, this is where you can include your CTA’s. You need to encourage users who are seeing your posts to go to your account and click the link in your bio. There are many clever ways you can include CTA’s in your caption’s such as ‘click the link in our bio for more information’ or if you’re selling something you could use ‘order through the link on our profile’. You’re also able to leave a CTA in your bio for new followers.

The main thing to remember when using calls to action is to keep them as simple as possible. You want your audience to be able to follow the CTA with very little effort, making them more likely to complete the action.

Use Relevant Hashtag’s

Hashtags are the best way to achieve exposure on Instagram. It’s important to use hashtag’s relevant to your brand so like-minded users or potential customers can find your posts.

Researching the most used hashtag’s in your niche is the best place to start. Don’t be afraid to try different hashtag’s in different posts to see how they work for you.

91% of top brands use seven or less hashtag’s in their posts, quality of your hashtag’s is much more important than the quantity. It isn’t recommended you use over 10 hashtag’s per post. Using the best high-quality hashtags for your niche will bring you more exposure than using less relevant ones.

Engage with your Community

Building a relationship between you and your audience can be a simple but highly effective step in driving traffic to your website. Instagram really do it best when it comes to community, it’s so easy to connect with like-minded users.

There are many different ways you can engage with your followers on Instagram. One of the best thing’s you can do is encourage conversation on posts, you can do this by including a CTA in the caption. Something like ‘comment your favourite products from our brand’ or even just asking how their week is going so far works really well. Once your followers are commenting on your posts it’s important to try and reply, this can add some personality and helps build trust with your audience.

Another great way to engage with you community is re-posting their posts. If someone has posted about a product or service they purchased from you and has a positive caption, it is a good idea to re-post this on to your page. This can benefit both of you as well as help to create extra content for your page.

Instagram Ad’s

Ad’s are a brilliant way of reaching new users and potential customers. You are able to set a specific target audience, or you can let Instagram show users it feels are appropriate based on gender, age group and interests. There are a few different types of ad’s you can display on Instagram:

Carousel Adverts – Users are able to swipe through a number of photo’s, or video’s in one advert. These adverts are highly beneficial to advertisers as it allows brands to showcase more than one product or service at the same time.
Video Adverts – You are able to advertise through a 3 – 60-second long video, with or without sound. Many potential customers find video’s more engaging than picture’s which is why this is a great option.
Picture Adverts – adverts will appear in the form of whichever image you choose to promote. As with any of the above options, these include a space for you to add a caption which could include a
CTA.
Stories Adverts – In August 2016 Instagram introduced stories. Here you are able to place a video advert. These ads will appear after, or during, someone Instagram story. Anyone who views that account’s story will be able to see your advert.

All four types of adverts have multiple benefits but all include a direct link to a web page you would like to drive traffic to.

Use Influencers

In the last few years, social media influencers have become a huge marketing tool on most platforms but especially Instagram. The power an influencer has to bring you new website traffic is huge but you want to choose your promoters wisely.

Each influencer is different. Some require payment for promoting a product whereas some will show and review a product or service if you are willing to give that product to them for free to test themselves.

When it comes to choosing influencers, bigger isn’t always better. For example, it would be more beneficial to select an influencer who has 10,000 followers with great engagement over an influencer with 50,000 followers and low engagement. People with higher engagement are more likely to have a good relationship with their audience, meaning their followers would trust their reviews more.

Create Exciting, Relevant Content

Your content is what most users see first on Instagram. You want to create inviting, intriguing content that is exciting to the eye and makes your audience want to see more. Users are going to see your pictures or video’s before they read the caption, so you want to make sure it’s gripping for them.

Some great ways to make your content more exciting are mixing between video’s and pictures, incorporating bright colours and even having a theme. Themes have become a big trend on Instagram, they make sure all of your content matches in some way to make it flow nicely on your page. A lot of accounts go for a white theme with pops of colour and some use a certain filter on all their content. Themes aren’t everyone’s first choice, they’re very hard to keep up with, especially if you are re-posting other users content.

Your audience is following you because you create content that interests them. Keep your content relevant to your niche as this is what your followers are most likely to interact with. Over time you will be able to gather information on what type of posts do best with your audience and will be able to post more of what they like to see.

You are able to generate good website traffic through Instagram as long as you are aware of your analytics and what your audience want to see. By following these 7 steps, whether you are just starting out on Instagram or have been there a while, you should see an increase in your traffic very quickly.

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