Brands and influencers that want to reach more audience on social media, can certainly use Instagram.
The platform by Kevin Systrom is considered one of the fastest growing platform the web has ever seen. After being sold to Facebook, the photo- and video-sharing app has been used by billions to share their everyday lives and activities.
Instagram as a matter of fact, has become the modern culture of the young and the internet, in a way that even Facebook envies.
With the massive possibilities, many want to leverage Instagram's popularity to boost their brand recognition and post retention. Because too many is never enough, brands and influencers have to leverage certain and unique strategies when approaching their audience on Instagram, just to stay relevant.
In a post published by Vice Media, Instagram shows the strategies the Canadian digital media and broadcasting company used to form a stronger connection with its audience.
Social networks like Instagram allow users to engage with the audience in the easiest way possible, and Vice gave some good tips and pointers, that can be followed by others.
However, it should be noted that all brands can utilize the same strategy, but may not benefit the same results.
This can be caused by several of the following reasons:
- The more followers a brand has, the more the engagement they can expect.
- Engagements depend on the quality of followers and their general audience.
- Social media posts that are tied to brands, may have their own fans.
- Instagram Stories have a short lifespan, requiring marketers to carefully craft their message for instant engagement.
- Customers' loyalty comes from relationship and trust. No brands are the same.
- Different industry works at different speed.
Some marketers can still build their sales funnels based on older social media retention strategies, just because they've worked for them in the past. As a result, some may allocate fewer resources and time to learn new features or craft new methods.
They shouldn't think like this.
First of all, trends on the internet change very fast. And for that reason, strategies should be tailored specifically to meet the newer demands, if brands and influencers want to maximize retention.
Second, Instagram and other social media networks are businesses themselves. They are available for users, but with monetization in mind. They are all competing against each other for the same billions of dollars social media market. This is why social networks need to improvise by releasing new features and technologies, also at an incredibly fast pace.
New features bring more milestones and challenges, and this is where brands and influencers need to keep up.
Conclusion
The best way to keep a customer base is by showing them care.
Social media tips by others can show where brands/influencers excel and where they lack. But keep in mind that every business in unique.
Great contents and appealing posts with careful strategy are just two ways to high retention in a long run. Personalized offers, showcasing events and others, can also help as they show how brands/influencers are paying attention to their fans.
And finally, people should know that engagement is communication, meaning that on social media, it should be conducted by real humans to be considered quality that benefits.