1. Figure out what you want
If there's one thing that marketers should learn from history, it's that nothing happens overnight. Instead of going into Instagram looking for a quick fix or easy popularity, you need to figure out how long you're going to really commit yourself to the platform and what you want to get out of it. Once you have that down, everything else will fall into place a lot easier.
2. Find your voice
Just like a tone in a book can make or break a story, the same goes for Instagram -- you need to find the way that's going to resonate with your audience. The good news is that you have plenty of ways to go about doing this, but it all depends on what you're looking to get out of the platform in the first place. Do you want people to just know who you are or do you want to sell them something?
3. Post at least once a day
It might seem like a lot of work to post something every day, but it's worth it in the end. The most important thing is staying active, which means that you can't just go on hiatus or take an extended break from Instagram unless you're completely ready -- otherwise, everyone who follows you will be asking where you went.
4. Only post quality images
This is one of the most important parts of Instagram, making sure that you're constantly improving your skills so you can put out top-quality work. The more attractive, interesting and high-quality photos you have on your feed -- whether it's a picture of your product or someone using it -- the better results you'll get in the end.
5. Use hashtags strategically
This is one of the best ways to find new customers and keep your old ones engaged, but it's also where a lot of people get tripped up. Because Instagram allows you to add up to 30 hashtags per post, they become less impressive over time and don't necessarily bring new people to your page. The key is using hashtags strategically and keeping track of the ones that resonate with you most.
6. Use Instagram Stories for new products
If there's one thing that marketing experts love, it's testing new things on a smaller platform before taking it more mainstream. Instagram Stories allows you to post images and videos of new products without having to worry about whether or not they'll be liked, so it's the perfect opportunity for you to try something new.
7. Follow other people and brands
The most important part of Instagram is making sure you're following the right people and brands so that when your content goes out into the world, it has a better chance of being seen by the people who matter. If you do this, it'll be much easier for you to gain an audience and bring people over from your other social media platforms if need be.
8. Grow your following organically
Just like anything else in business, nothing happens overnight so don't expect to go from zero followers to 10,000 overnight. You have to work for it, which means being committed to sharing quality content and connecting with the right people at the right time without a lot of automation.
9. Engage with your audience
There's nothing worse than an Instagram account that only shares content, but never actually engages with its followers or answers any questions that come up. If you want to be successful on the platform, you need to look for ways to connect with people and make them feel like they matter.
10. Create contests and giveaways
Another great way to engage your audience is by having a contest or giveaway every now and again -- even if it's just for your followers. Not only will doing this give you something to talk about, but it will also allow you to connect with your audience on a more personal level too.
11. Promote others
When you're just starting out, the best way to get followers is by promoting other accounts that are similar or related to your brand so that they'll share your posts and bring people over from their accounts. This is the best way to get started because it'll make it easier for you to build up your own audience without having to deal too much with negative comments or backlash.
12. Use Instagram Live
There are a lot of different live video platforms out there, but not many can stand toe-to-toe with Instagram Live when it comes to getting your audience excited and engaged with what you're doing. If you want to share your product in real time or give people a sneak peak at something they might like, Instagram Live is the way to go.
13. Be consistent
If there are two things that are incredibly important when it comes to Instagram, they're consistency and engagement. If there is one golden rule for using this platform successfully, it would be to make sure you're consistent with the quality of your content and keeping up with the amount of engagement you have on each post.
14. Post at peak times
Just like any other social media platform, using Instagram during peak times will help drive more traffic to your page than if you were to do it during non-peak hours. Since a lot of people tend to use the app first thing in the morning or during their break, those are going to be your best times to post if you really want as many people as possible seeing what it is that you're doing.
15. Schedule your posts
One of Instagram's greatest features has got to be its scheduling feature, which lets you plan out your posts ahead of time. If you want to avoid any slip-ups or mistakes that may happen when trying to post something on the fly, schedule it for later instead.