Last night Analiese Ross, the founder and CEO of AMR Digital Marketing, hosted a workshop at Hub Ned all about how to understand your Instagram Analytics in order to leverage them for more engagement and more followers that ultimately benefits your business. If you were not able to make the workshop last night, here are our top takeaways from the event!
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First up … why do analytics matter?
If you are not evaluating your Instagram analytics then you’re missing out on the opportunity to grow your influence and to understand your customers/audience.
Analytics can…
- Tell you what type of content is working and what is not working. This helps you know what type of posts and content you should be putting effort and money behind and to stop putting effort behind content that isn’t working. This will help you save time and focus your efforts on growing what’s working!
- Help you understand your audience. We all want to make sure we are reaching the people you want to reach. Delve into the demographics of your followers…where do they live? What are their interests? How can they benefit from your content?
- Help you understand your competitors. Competitor research is essential for any thriving business and guess what … your competitors are on Instagram! Take a look at the type of content they are posting, what’s garnering the most engagement, and what posts are duds. Learn from their efforts.
- Track performance and growth. Once again, analytics have the power to tell you what’s working and what’s not. It allows you to adjust your strategy to optimize post performance and engagement.
The key to success is understanding…
- WHO your audience is.
- WHAT resonates with them.
- HOW to reach them.
Why You Should Switch To A Business Account
Switching from a personal account to a business account gives you these added benefits for your business:
- Access to Instagram insights.
- Better planning and scheduling tools.
- Make money with shoppable posts.
- More Features:
- Add links to your stories
- Contact buttons
- Shoppable store
Understanding Your Analytics
Navigate to the Instagram Insights page and you’ll find:
- Activity
- Tells you what’s happening on your page.
- Content
- Here is where you determine what’s working and what needs adjustment.
- Audience
- The demographics, how many followers you have, top locations, age range, gender, when they’re the most active etc.
So, how do you use this information?
- Activity + Content
- Look for patterns among your top performing content. What type of posts gets the most engagement? Do more of those.
- Engagement is really important. Engagement might not necessarily lead straight to sales, but it builds a community and affection for a brand which is playing the long game.
- Audience
- Take a look at when your audience is online and post during those times.
Analiese’s Top Tips To Grow Your Following
You’re going to want to bookmark this page! Here are 23 actionable items you can do today and every day to grow your Instagram following.
- Be consistent
- Post daily
- Engage with new accounts
- Reply to comments
- Send welcome DMs
- Use small targeted hashtags
- Utilize stories
- Go live
- Collaborate with other accounts
- Giveaways
- Post a peak times
- Get reposted
- Create a cohesive feed
- Leave comments on new accounts
- Like generously
- Experiment with video content
- Find new users in your niche
- Use location tags
- Always include a call to action
- Recommend other accounts
- Cross promote on other channels
- Run a contest
- Thank your audience
Thank you Analiese for coming to Hub Ned and sharing your Instagram insights with our local community of small business owners!
You can follow AMR Digital on: Facebook + Twitter + Instagram
We would like to thank
The Nederland Downtown Development Authority for sponsoring this event! They are committed to fostering local business development and we are very thankful for their support.