As most of you know Instagram is a picture-sharing social network. Users can upload pictures they take and share them on their profile. Instagram has a fan base of over 800 million users that are eager to interact with the brands they love.
You can harness the power of Instagram to send traffic back to your website. Like all social networks, there are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind before you get started…
Include your link. When you’re signing up for Instagram, make sure you include a link to your website in your bio. Instagram doesn’t make links clickable on the website or through their app, except for the link on your profile.
This means if you want to get free traffic from Instagram and potential subscribers you’ll need to use your bio for that. Many brands put a link to their most recent blog post or content piece in their bio. They update this link each time they add new content.
Once you share a photo and you want to direct users back to your website, say something like: “Link in bio” or “Read in bio”. This lets your followers know to click on the link in your profile if they want to read your latest content.
Use hashtags. Hashtags are one of the most popular features on Instagram. It’s how users find content they enjoy and the social network allows you to use as many hashtags as you’d like.
Just make sure the hashtags you’re using are relevant to your post. Otherwise, you may get flagged as a spammer and have your account shut down.
If you’re not sure what hashtags to use, there are plenty of websites that can help you research this information. Try a site like TagBlender or Hashtags for Likes.
Include a call-to-action. When you’re creating a post on Instagram, ask your viewers to take the next step by including a call to action. This is where you’d say something like, “Visit our website to read the full post.” But you don’t want to just ask viewers to do that or they may stop noticing your CTA.
Mix it up sometimes by asking viewers to double tap your photo (this signifies a ‘like’ on the platform), tag a friend, or leave a comment. All of these activities create engagement, which drives the post higher in the news feed, leading to more views.
Create a branded hashtag. Since hashtags are a huge part of Instagram, use that to your advantage. Come up with a branded hashtag for your product or service.
Tell followers to use this tag when posting about you. For example, if you sell planners, then encourage your customers to share a peek into their weekly planning session with the hashtag you chose.
When their followers see the hashtag, they’re likely to click on it and discover your brand. Then they’ll be more likely to follow you on Instagram and click through to your website and want to learn more about you and sign up for your list.