With more than 100 million daily active users, Instagram has become nearly impossible for brands to ignore. That said, not every brand using Instagram is doing it well.
To evaluate whether your Instagram activity is making a positive impact on your business, you must measure how your posts are driving outcomes. Whether you’re getting ready to launch a new Instagram account or looking to take a more results-oriented approach to an existing account, a few key metrics can help guide you to success.
1. Followers.
Follower count is one of the easiest and most crucial metrics to track. On your personal Instagram account, you might simply share cute pics of your dog with friends and family members. But if you’re managing a business account, you want your content to reach as many people as possible in your target audiences.
When it comes to Instagram, the old saying about “the more the merrier” couldn’t ring more true. Attract more Instagram followers by tagging your posts with popular hashtags related to your industry. Our team grew Foundr Magazine’s Instagram audience from 0 to 500,000 followers in one year by tagging our posts with key hashtags: #entrepreneur, #business and #startup, to name a few.
These hashtags allowed people interested in entrepreneurship to find our content and connect with us. You’ll want to tag your posts with hashtags that are relevant for your business. If you’re selling running shoes, you might use the hashtags #run, #fitness and #instarunners. If you’re selling high heels you might choose #fashion, #ootd (Outfit of the Day) and #style.
You quickly can identify popular hashtags by typing an industry keyword in Instagram’s search box. Don’t be afraid to load up on hashtags. Twitter restricts character count, but Instagram allows up to 30 hashtags. While it’s common to see posts that max out on hashtags, 5 to 10…