Posted by If you are like most people, you probably think that Instagram likes are vanity metrics. After all, it does not reflect business growth or directly impacts the profit margin of your business.
Well, that’s all true — but Instagram likes are essential! It’s one of the metrics that influence how influencers perceive your brand.
Let’s face it, a high number of likes shows that your audience loves your content. And if your audience loves your content, it means that you are doing something right.
Also, it takes less commitment for a viewer to like an Instagram post. By merely double-tapping on a post, you get to like it.
What does it say?
Instagram likes is a vanity metric, but to some extent, it reflects the quality of your content and shows the kind of content your audience loves.
That’s not all…
Instagram likes is one of the metrics that the algorithm considers while ranking a post.
Yes, Instagram may hide public like count, but it does not change how likes affect its algorithm.
Now you know the importance of Instagram likes and how it matters for brands; how do you get more likes on your posts.
First things first, do not buy likes. Buying Instagram likes may seem like an easy way out, but you are just shooting yourself in the foot.
Furthermore, always think of what you can do for your Instagram audience.
The drill is quite simple — provide valuable content and get rewarded for it.
Here’s how to do just that.
1. Publish eye-catchy images
Instagram is a visual platform. If you want to drive massive traffic and boost your number of Instagram likes, one of the best ways of doing that is by posting eye-catchy images.
There are no two ways around this — the sleeker your images are, the higher your chances of getting more likes on your images.
To up your photography game, you can either take a good photography course to enhance your skills or simply upgrade your equipment.
2. Launch a like-based contest
Everyone loves an Instagram contest. It’s an excellent way to reward your audience with fantastic prizes and also generate lots of engagement. A good contest would help you grow brand awareness, drive traffic, and also help you to build brand credibility.
For a like-based contest, one requirement is for the participant to like the post. You can also take an extra step by letting all participants tag a friend and follow your account.
Here’s the thing, liking a photo is a low barrier entry requirement that’s sure to generate lots of engagement.
3. Use the right hashtag strategy.
Hashtags play an essential role in the world of social media. It makes it easy to effectively track the contest and perform quick searches.
The problem is, most folks get it all wrong.
An effective hashtag strategy goes beyond spamming your post with lots of #BestCars, #PresidentialElection, #Relevant, and other forms of hashtags.
To get started, you should be selective about the kind of hashtags to use. One way of doing that is by using industry and brand hashtags.
Brand hashtags make it relatively easy to find related content, while industry hashtags are ideal for finding Instagram trends within your industry.
If you run a branded hashtag campaign on Instagram, you should use a third-party Instagram hashtag analytics tool like Socialert.
Socialert is a hashtag and account analytics tool that helps you to monitor your accounts on twitter and Instagram. For Instagram, Socialert provides thorough Instagram analytics and offers comprehensive reports on important account metrics like posts, hashtags, contributors, links, and much more.
4. Use engaging captions
Yes, Instagram is a visual platform, and if you want to get the best from the platform, an eye-catchy imaginary is the way to go.
Visually appealing images are all fine and cool, but you can make it more thrilling by using engaging captions.
Here’s the thing; good captions are everything in the social media world. And if you want to make it boom, you’ve got to use the right tone and words.
Using engaging captions creates an expectation in the mind of your audience. And if you maximize this superpower, you would pretty much make them long-for the next post.
The right expectation translates to engagement, which will, in turn, lead to more likes on your post.
5. Use different Instagram content types.
Instagram stories seem to be the next big thing. To generate more engagement, you’ve got to use the various content types.
Here’s the thing; post likes, story replies, and video views all count in the grand scheme of things.
You’ve got to maximize these channels if you desire more robust engagement on your account.
By merely updating your story, you’d engage passive fans who have a knack for viewing Instagram stories.
6. Use trends or meme
Memes are not just some fun stuff for casual entertainment. If you use them adequately, you will drive lots of engagement to your account.
There are dozens of accounts dedicated to memes and trends. But before using this strategy, you’ve got to make sure that your audience is up for it.
Do your fans enjoy such things? And can they recognize it when they see it?
Answers to these crucial questions would provide direction into how you use memes and trends during campaigns.
If memes are fit for your brand, then you are up for a good time. If, however, they are not a good fit for your brand, then you are screwed.
7. Partner with an industry influencer
Having an influencer is a quick way to grow followers, build influence, and achieve relevance.
You can start by reaching out to an influencer with a sizable number of followers. Let the influencer take a cool photo with your product or simply recommend your service to the public.
This way, your brand would reach more people in a short time.
Yes, influencer marketing is the shortest reliable way to drive traffic and build credibility in your industry.
If you can afford hiring Instagram influencers it can be a game changer for your brand as well.
8. Share behind-the-scenes images
Most folks believe that everything online is fake. But you can prove them wrong by sharing behind-the-scenes images of your brand. These shots are usually real, and everyone loves real things.
Behind-the-scenes images help to create a deeper emotional connection with your audience.
If you genuinely want to develop your brand’s personality, strengthen the connection you have with your audience, then behind-the-scenes images are the way to go.
Let them get to preview an upcoming product launch and get a feel for everything going on in the back-end.
You can also add some twist by taking your audience through an office tour.
All in all, a behind-the-scenes image is a sure way of generating organic likes and growing your brand on Instagram.
9. Be consistent
Consistency is the pathway to mastery.
Nothing beats consistency!
If you want to boost the number of likes on your post, you’ve got to develop a solid content marketing strategy and stick to it.
One way of staying consistent is by having a content calendar. A content calendar helps you to plan the number of quality posts you would be publishing. This way, you’d have a chain of quality content at your disposal.
As you become consistent, the number of likes on each post would slowly but surely grow.
One more thing…
Consistent posting is not enough — you’ve got to monitor it. One way of monitoring your posting is by using inbuilt Instagram analytics and metrics like Instagram impressions on your posts.
Boost your organic likes on Instagram
Increasing your like count on the Instagram platform is not rocket science. You can start by using a meme and adding a location tag.
That’s not all…
You should post at the right time to maximize your engagement and like count on the platform.
Conclusion — get more Instagram likes the right way.
Instagram likes are much more than a vanity metric. It influences how your brand is perceived by the public.
To some extent, more likes translate to better value and more Instagram impressions for your brand.
To get more Instagram likes, you’ve got to apply the strategies outlined on this list.
Now you know how to get more Instagram likes, what’s your target like count on each post for the coming year?
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