As COVID kept people at home, time spent on social media and the number of users on platforms like Instagram grew sharply. It is a prime opportunity to drive reach through social media, yet plenty of companies struggle with questions like “I do not know how to run it,” “I have started but followers and engagement are not growing,” or “I do not have the resources to run it.”
In this article we share three small tweaks that grew engagement and reach in accounts we have managed, along with concrete examples. None of them requires a large-scale change, and all can be tried starting today.
Tweak 1: Drive Reach with Giveaway Campaign Ad Creative
A giveaway campaign is an effective tactic for growing Instagram followers. By drawing a winner from your followers and giving away a product, you spark interest in the product, and because many people follow to enter, you can expect follower growth. You can announce this campaign through Instagram’s ad delivery.
That said, many companies do not pay much attention to how they deliver ads and end up running them inefficiently. To build awareness efficiently, you need to design your ad delivery carefully. Here is an example where we improved the results of ad delivery aimed at expanding campaign awareness.
For a watch select shop’s account, we ran giveaway campaign ads with the goal of growing followers. Before changing the delivery approach, the account gained about 400 followers a month. For the ads, in addition to a photo of the giveaway product, we added the following three elements to the feed photo so it read as a giveaway campaign at a glance.
- “That it is a giveaway campaign”
- “The product name”
- “A gift-like ribbon illustration”
Once these ads ran, follower count rose by 600 a month, roughly 1.5 times the previous monthly gain. This shows that in ad delivery, creative that catches the eye instantly, not just a pretty photo, lifts the click-through rate.
For feed posts, consistent photos that protect the brand image matter. For ad delivery aimed at promotion and reach, however, photos that convey the information at a glance, as above, may be more likely to catch the eye.
Tweak 2: Win a Major Magazine Feature by Updating the Profile
In Instagram management, post content tends to get the most attention, but what you write in the profile matters greatly too. The profile is the first thing people see when they view an account, so it is worth building carefully.
Here is an example where changing the profile led to a feature request from a major magazine. For a company account selling exercise support products, we changed the profile field as follows.
- Changed the account name to “company name plus tagline”
- Turned the profile text into bullet points
- Listed the bullets in the order of product description, then results, then site URL
Example:
| Before | After |
| Rapid-slimming exercise! Make dieting easier! Post photos or videos of your diet with #rapidslimming ↓ The support band is on sale too Product link | Rapid-slimming exercise / easy dieting / better physical health ・ For those who want to slim down without dietary restrictions ・ Promote health in pursuit of beauty ・ Devised by 〇〇 of the world ・ Beauty product special price (featured on 〇〇, repeatedly sold out) ↓ See the support band details here Product link |
We made these changes so the profile felt cohesive. We also provided consulting so the feed posts were arranged for the same consistency. As a result, within a month of the change, the magazine STORY requested a feature. The fact that this happened without any difficult changes, simply by organizing the profile and posts, shows how important a profile’s clarity is.
Beyond just using bullet points, the order of the items matters too. Listing them step by step, from product description to that product’s results and finally the product site URL, leads to clarity. With so many posts out there, the chances of people seeing your account’s information are limited. Make the profile clear, and you can convey information to users clearly even in limited time. Whether you change this or not makes a big difference in the impression users get.
Tweak 3: Lift Brand Image by Liking User Posts
Instagram users can like posts they enjoy. A like is also one of the things that lets the person being liked feel that others are watching and appreciating them.
Some companies avoid having their account like ordinary users’ posts, or feel uneasy about it, for branding reasons. But here is an example where a company account doing exactly that led to a real lift in brand image.
When an apparel brand launched a new product, an ordinary user posted their excitement about it on Instagram. The brand’s official account liked that post. The user then took a screenshot of the like notification and shared it to their stories with a delighted comment, passing it on to their followers. This raised brand awareness among that user’s followers and lifted the brand image.
When you engage with users through an official account, you may give them the feeling that “this account might be watching, so let me look at the products more and support them.” As a result, this can lead to higher engagement rates and follower growth.
That said, liking at random can backfire. It is effective to run plans that spread your products, such as hashtag posting campaigns or regram posts, and to focus likes on the users posting for those campaigns. Most users who post about your company on their own are likely brand or company fans, so this approach also serves as good targeting. Using social listening tools to detect fans and engaging with them well can produce even stronger results.
Conclusion: Use Tweaks You Can Try Today to Grow Followers
In this article we shared Instagram management know-how with examples. None of it requires a large-scale change, so all of it is ready to try right away. If you are struggling with your account’s follower count or how to run it, why not give these a try.
Ad management in particular is likely to drive follower growth; even the accounts Lxgic manages gain followers in the thousands every month. On top of that, changing your profile to text that is clear to users opens the door to further follower growth.
