Instagram has become a global social platform, having over a billion active users. Whether you apply your Instagram account for business or just for personal use, you could reach out to a billion users on the app with the right tactics to optimize your profile. Instagram’s optimization increases your discoverability and profile visits significantly, and it converts to prospective clients or customers.
So, here are some tactics you can use to optimize your Instagram account to improve your reach.
Optimize your Instagram profile
Ensure that your profile is public and has an appealing profile brand image. Choose a username that is easily searched. Use a keyword in your name and username to increase your chances of appearing on relevant searches. It is also important to have a good bio. A luring bio should include your keywords with your brand and business. If possible, apply hashtags that users can click to increase the possibility of your profile appearing on any relevant search results.
Apply relevant key-word captions
Using keyword captions increases your chances of showing up on the Instagram explore page. If you post regularly on, say, sports and sports-related content, your explore page will display sport-related postings and any posts that are similar or align with your interests. The explore page shows content recommendations that are similar and related to your interests.
Using descriptive captions with your relevant keywords in your posts will improve your chances of appearing on your followers’ explore pages who are engaged in your topics of interest.
Use keywords as hashtags
Applying hashtags is the best way your posts will reach a bigger audience and get discovered by new users on Instagram, which subsequently leads to more engagement, more followers, and more clients who are interested in your business.
Hashtags boost discoverability and improve your SEO. Instagram’s posts are searchable by hashtags and location tags. Hashtags are therefore used to unpack new content on Instagram. You can also use them for community building, running campaigns and promotions, getting user-generated content, and research your audience.
Without a hashtag, you could miss out on available opportunities to optimize your Instagram account and getting more engagement on your posts.
Create your ALT text
Instagram has a feature that allows users to create alternative text to describe their photos in detail. This option was initially designed to aid users with visual impairments, but can also be used for SEO. Once you create an alternative text, the app then reads it out loud, so users can hear the descriptions of the photo posted through the app inbuilt screen reader feature. Using ALT text helps the app to understand the visual content and what it contains and how it applies to other users in a better manner. Instagram also autogenerates alt texts for your photos.
Use tagging
Tagging is also another way to increase your discoverability on Instagram. When a user tags or mentions you in their posts or Instagram stories, other users can now click on your profile, and thus you receive a larger audience. There are ways to grow your chances of getting tagged or being mentioned. For instance, you can achieve it by just being creative and having great content that other users will want to share on their pages or Instagram stories. Such posts create a clickable link that directs users to your original post.
Track your Instagram reach and insights
If you want to analyze whether your SEO methods are effective, it is important to measure if your efforts are paying off by auditing your Instagram account regularly. If your account is a business profile or a creator profile, Instagram has an inbuilt analytics tool to measure how your profile is performing.
The analytics feature will show you detailed information on your reach and impressions and how you have managed to get your audience, whether through profile visits, hashtags, or on their home page. You can also invest in a more comprehensive and detailed analytic tool that can help you boost your Instagram account in a faster way. This will show you competitive analytics and follower insights while measuring your performance and, more importantly, give recommendations on how to grow your engagement and concerning the optimal time to post.