So what does SEO mean exactly? SEO stands for ‘Search Engine Optimization'.
Basically when people are searching on Instagram, SEO helps your account show up, which means you get more exposure and of course this means you get more followers on instagram!
Here's a simple way to SEO Optimize Your Instagram Account!
Now the Keyword is basically just the things people are searching on Instagram that are related to what your account is about.
For Example:
This is very simple to do, but is important and a lot of people don't do this, so when you do it your account has an edge and will get shown more when people are searching and help you gain followers on Instagram 🙂
So definitely make sure you use your Instagram Bio in a way to help you rank higher in Instagram Search so that you can get more followers on Instagram!
With Instagram people think it's all about the Image, and then they pay less attention to the caption and will just slip in something meaningless or short.
But the caption is really important on Instagram, as it's what allows conversations to happen and that actually allows the engagement.
Write Micro-Blog like Captions
One effective way to do this with your caption is to write long forms of captions, so your Instagram account becomes kind of like a micro-blog.
When you do this what you will find is you'll spark a lot more one-on-one conversations with people this way.
DMs are Your Hottest Leads
Now most people just look at metrics such as Likes and Comments, but the success of your Instagram account should be seen as the amount of private conversations you have with people in the DMs. Why?
Write Captions That Resonate with People
If you write meaningful, deep, captions that resonate with people such that they will reach out to connect with you, then this will catapult your success on Instagram as it allows you to build relationships with people and turn them into clients.
The people that resonate with your long micro-blog like captions will become potential clients, or your biggest fans, because they feel a strong connection with you, and like and trust you.
By doing this, you don't have to find your clients, they find you!
Using hashtags is important if you want to get more followers on instagram for free, but using them the right way really is the key!
Another Instagram hack no one ever mentions is mixing the size of the hashtags you use! This will allow people to actually find you and increase your reach, so ultimately you increase instagram followers.
The WRONG Way People Use Hashtags
You are probably thinking you already use hashtags, but a lot of people use very widely used generic hashtags, like #fashion #business #makeup etc.
Now the problem is, those hashtags are used by everyone, so they are very high competition!
The RIGHT Way To Use Hashtags
What you want to do is mix up the size of your hashtags!
You'll need to do a bit of research to find the small-to-medium competition hashtags, so that way when you create your posts, you basically will stay on the hashtag explore page for as long as possible so people can see your content!
How Do You Pick The Right Tags?
Here is a Rule of Thumb for Hashtag Sizes:
Low-Competition (Very Niche) = Under 100K posts
Medium-Competition (Fairly Niche) = Under 500K posts
High-Competition = Over 500K posts
Let's Look at an Example
So let's say you have an Instagram page about makeup/beauty, and you post a Wedding picture of a bride.
Then we want to find around 10 tags for that post.
Why Do Niche Tags Work?
Niche tags have a lot of communities inside them, because people are more likely to search for those tags and follow them on Instagram. The people who look for these hashtags are most likely to engage with your content.
Since competition for niche tags is lower, using tags like this will also help you to stay on the hashtag explore page for as long as possible, compared to if you only used really high-competition tags like #makeup #skincare etc.
So instead of using only short and generic hashtags like #makeup #skincare which way too many people are already using, you want to instead use mainly longer ones out there for your market/category.
The more niche that you are, the more chances that people are going to want to follow your content because it's speaking to the right audiences.
Another thing you want to do is mix up the hashtags you are using in your posts!
A big mistake a lot of people make is they use the exact same hashtags over and over again, and this means you won't gain followers on Instagram because your reach will get limited.
If you use the same hashtags too many times, Instagram is going to think you are spammy and actually decrease your reach.
Always Rotate Your Hashtags!
So when you do what I covered in Tip 3 which was to use a mix between low, medium and high competition hashtags, you also want to make sure you rotate the hashtags you are using in your posts and mix it up each time.
So after doing the hashtag research from Tip 3, you then want to create about 4 groups of hashtags that you will store on your phone in a notepad file or wherever, and then you can rotate between them each time you post, so that way you are not using the exact same hashtags every single time.
The last and final tip is about community engagement!
Now community engagement can be time consuming, but if you want to actually grow organically on Instagram, you need to put in the energy to engage with other people!
There are a couple of reasons why community engagement is important.
1. The Instagram algorithm
The more people engage with you and your content, the better! So if you take some time out of your day to engage with others, and they engage back, then that will show Instagram that this is the content people want to see, and it's going to increase the chances of your posts showing up in their feed.
2. It increases your organic reach
The more you interact with other people, especially if they aren't following you yet, it's actually going to increase your reach organically, because people are going to be curious about you and want to click on your page, and so you gain followers on Instagram.
Don't automate this!
So if you are using Instagram for business and want to attract new clients and potential business opportunities, then it's a good idea that the messages actually come from you, and you are the one that's liking and commenting on other peoples posts
Follow Relevant Hashtags
Now here's a little trick to make community engagement a lot easier!
Instagram has a cool feature that allows you to follow hashtags. So if you follow key hashtags within your niche, then Instagram will show you the top posts using these hashtags in your feed!going to increase your reach organically, because people are going to be curious about you and want to click on your page.
So since it automatically shows up in your feed it makes things easy, and at the same time you can engage with your existing audience as well.
Let's Look at an Example
Let's say you are a female life coach, then you may want to follow the hashtag #lifecoachingforwomen that has 107K, for example.