How to build a community on instagram

5 Ways to Grow Your Instagram Following and Build Community

What’s the secret to building a thriving community on Instagram?

It’s not exactly an easy question to answer. But I’m sure you follow an account that has thousands, if not millions, of followers who are engaged and interacting with every post the account shares. But how did they do it? Do they know something about Instagram marketing that you don’t?

Well, they probably do.

A lot of people don’t realize the work and thinking that goes on behind the scenes of these major accounts. They don’t realize the work that goes into building a following of more than 50,000 people and engagement on every post.

Luckily, I’ve helped, worked with, and built accounts just like this. And today, I’m going to show you some of my favorite strategies for creating an engaged and growing community on Instagram using some advanced tricks of the trade.

But first, if you’re new to Instagram, this deck might be helpful:

The Ultimate Guide To Instagram Marketing from Ross Simmonds

1.

Use Emotion to Make Your Content Reach More People

I know: You’ve read 100 blog posts about the power of emotion in content marketing. But what I’m talking about is not just the idea of making people feel good or get angry. I’m talking about taking that emotion and using it to spread your message.

Studies have shown us that we share content for five main reasons:

To bring valuable & entertaining content to others
To define ourselves to others
To grow and nurture existing relationships
To feel better about ourselves
To get the word out about something we believe in

Once we recognize these as the five forces driving people to share, we can utilize them to create Instagram content more likely to be shared and passed along. Here’s a couple ways to do exactly that.

2. Tell People to Double Tap If XYZ

You know that people connect with content that makes them feel better about themselves, so create content that will allow them to do that. A post like the one below connects with people who are ambitious and living an interesting life:

Double tap if you aren’t just alive to go through the motions, that you are working to break free and live the life you want. Shout out to @mando_musiq for keeping us motivated as we work to break free.
A photo posted by Hustle & Grind (@hustlegrindco) on Nov 8, 2015 at 6:58pm PST

Double tapping on this image makes you feel inspired to live life to the fullest and not just sit back, pay your bills, and die.

Here’s another example from Birchbox:

✨PJs all day✨ Double tap if you think a lazy Sunday sounds amazing… ?✌️ (?:@birchboxfr)
A photo posted by Birchbox UK (@birchboxuk) on Aug 2, 2015 at 12:53am PDT

Brilliant right?! The same approach can be used regardless of your industry & account:

Cleaning Company: “Double tap if you hate cleaning on the weekends. ”
Marketing Company: “Double tap if you think drones are the next big thing.”
Local Restaurant: “Double tap if you think you could eat this jumbo meal.”

3. Tell People to Tag Someone Who XYZ

This is a tactic that gives you a chance to gain new followers in an interesting way. We know that people want to grow and nurture relationships, and we also know that people want to bring value or entertainment to others. So how do we leverage that? We create posts that inspire people to do exactly that.

In this post from General Electric, we see a quote from Marie Curie, a physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity in the 1800s and early 1900s. Because Marie had such a powerful legacy, and GE recognized it with this post, people started tagging their friends so they too could see the quote and learn about Marie.

It goes back to the reason we share: to deliver value to others.

And then there’s the approach built on helping others build and nurture relationships. The @Yoga Instagram account leverages this insight by writing, “Tag someone you love,” or, “Tag someone who inspires you daily,” at the end of their captions. You can see how they get creative with this tactic in the post below:

Tag someone who brings light into your life ? – @philosophiemama fills the light with grace in this beautiful and balanced crow pose, or Bakasana. – – #myyogalife A photo posted by Yoga (@yoga) on Nov 3, 2015 at 10:48pm PST

4. Grow Using Hashtags and Tags Without Looking Spammy

#We #All #Know #Someone #Who #Posts #Like #This Don’t be that guy. There are a few things you need to know about hashtags and tagging on Instagram. The first is to understand that hashtags can be one of the best ways to grow an Instagram following quickly but also one of the fastest ways to make your current followers hate you. First, let’s discuss the importance of relevance.

Don’t Use Irrelevant Hashtags for Your Posts

Imagine you’re forty pages deep into a fiction novel that has you hanging onto every word. You feel deeply connected to the characters and are itching to find out what happens next. To your surprise, when you flip the page, you’re met with a recipe for apple pie. How would you feel? Confused? Upset? Shocked? That’s exactly how people feel when brands start using hashtags that have no relevance to the content they’re creating. Don’t use hashtags if you’re not sharing content similar to the rest of the stream. If you do, don’t be surprised if you have a handful of people commenting negatively or even reporting your content.

Comment On Your Own Posts With the Hashtags

My other trick of trade regarding hashtags is quite straightforward. Instead of using hashtags in the caption of your posts, press share, and then comment with those hashtags. This way, they’re not the first thing someone sees when your content hits their feed. Hashtags placed in the comments stills give your content the chance to be found and distributed without looking spammy. Plus, as more people engage, the comment with your hashtags will eventually be hidden.

Hashtags and Tags Drive Recommendations and Discovery

One of the best things about Instagram is its discover and follow recommendation feature.

On the left, you can see the “Discover” page for Instagram, which is the default when you click search. On this page, Instagram makes recommendations surrounding posts that their algorithm believes you would be interested in seeing. The recommendations are based on your likes, your followers’ likes, likes from the pages you follow, plus things like the hashtags you use and accounts you mention.

If you’re using a handful of hashtags that are very relevant, Instagram will start sharing your content to others who they deem interested in those topics.

A similar algorithm is used for the “Follow Recommendations,” found in the frame on the right. If you have similar followers to another page, engage and interact with that profile, and use similar hashtags, it’s likely that Instagram will recommend you to that account’s followers. You can see this happening in the example above with the Oregon Ducks, Nike, and Sportscenter.

5. Establish Relationships With Influencers to Grow Quickly

The “Shout Out” is one of the most powerful tactics on Instagram. A shout out is when one Instagram account promotes another to their following by saying something like, “Shout out to @HustleGrindCo.” Here’s an example of this in action:

Now this is the perfect day from @hustlegrindco Waking up knowing exactly what you have to do, and getting one step closer to the mission! Via @hustlegrindco Double tap if you agree! A photo posted by Young Entrepreneur Magazine (@foundrmagazine) on Nov 2, 2015 at 7:39am PST

Foundr Magazine has more than 450k followers, so the shout out Hustle & Grind is a big win. It’s an opportunity to have the Hustle & Grind brand placed in front of their followers and ultimately drive a handful back over to our account.

You open up these opportunities by having a quality product and building a relationship with the person behind these accounts. From there, you can start to establish a relationship in which you share content from one another on a regular basis.

Brands are leveraging this tactic on the regular without people even knowing what’s going on behind the scenes. Instagram celebrities and models are being paid anywhere from $250 to $50,000 per post. My favorite types of shout outs are those that happen organically, but sometimes, you have to put down the capital to really drive reach.

When I first started using Instagram, the process of building relationships with influencers was all about one-to-one interaction. Today, companies like Dash Hudson exist to help make the process of hiring Instagram influencers easier and more manageable.

Bonus: Drive Users to Your Website With a Call to Action

If you’re looking to drive traffic to your site, adding a link to your caption is pretty much pointless. Instagram doesn’t allow users to include clickable links in the caption, but I still see people do it. I’ve tested this approach over and over again, and the results conclude that the best approach is to take a different approach.

Instead of including the link in your caption, include it in your bio, and tell people to click the link in your bio to learn more. See it in action in this post:

Even Brussels Sprouts haters will get a kick out of this one… Beer & Bacon Brussels made with Mirror Pond Pale Ale. It’s amazing!!! Thanks @spicyperspectiv for the recipe. Find the recipe on our Deschutes Beer Inspired Thanksgiving Blog with link in our bio… Cheers! #thanksgiving #brusselssprouts #cookingwithbeer #beer #craftbeer #worthsharing #meal #sidedish #eatyourveggies #bacon
A photo posted by Deschutes Brewery (@deschutesbeer) on Nov 25, 2015 at 4:03pm PST

If someone really wants this Thanksgiving recipe, they’ll visit that bio and visit their website to learn more.

For more tips on cultivating a thriving Instagram community, take a look at this Slidedeck, How to Generate Your First 20,000 Followers on Instagram.

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How to Build a Strong Instagram Community

Creating an Instagram community for your business is one of the best ways to gain brand loyalty, boost engagement, and stay connected to your customers.

And with social distancing measures still in place, there’s never been a more important time to create meaningful connections with your audience online.

In this blog post we’re sharing how and why you should build an Instagram community, as well as 6 tips to help you get started:

Why Build an Instagram Community

Investing in an online community can be one of the most valuable moves any brand can make for long-term success.

A community is something your audience feels part of — it’s so much more than being a one-time customer or a disengaged follower. Community is about shared interests and meaningful connections.

By crossing the bridge from followers to community, brands can see a much deeper sense of loyalty from their audience. Community-orientated brands become so much more than just the value of their products — they’re an expression of identity.

Glossier, Summer Fridays, and Create & Cultivate are all powerhouse community-orientated brands who have seen huge success on Instagram and beyond.

Members of their communities are proud to show their love and appreciation, taking the brands from a provider of products and services to a personal alignment of lifestyle and ideals.

And it isn’t just large-scale brands seeing the benefits of a community-first mindset. Independent businesses like Paynter Jackets have built hyper-loyal and engaged communities around their brand values and a transparent approach on social media.

Having a thriving community at your fingertips isn’t just about driving customer loyalty and sales though. Brands with strong Instagram communities are often the most attuned to what their audience want, who they are, and how to add value to their lives.

Ready to start building an Instagram community? Here are our 6 top tips to help you get started:

Instagram Community Tip #1: Make it Personal

The first step towards creating a strong community on Instagram is to make it personal.

Everyone knows that there is at least one real-life human behind an Instagram account, so removing the anonymity and sharing the faces of your brand is a no-brainer.

It can humanize your brand and help create a deeper, more emotional connection between you and your community.

If you’re not sure how to make your brand more personal on Instagram, think about how you would interact with your customers in real life.

The advice, tips, recommendations, and small talk you’d share naturally are all important parts of your brand personality that you can bring to your Instagram strategy — whether that’s through conversational captions, a series of chatty Instagram Stories, or a new IGTV series.

Providing valuable, targeted content is another way to make your Instagram more personal. During COVID-19 we’ve seen brands (like Missoma, below) going above and beyond to help support and entertain their communities on Instagram, often with no direct sales incentive.

TIP: Use engagement-boosting Instagram Stories features (like Poll and Question stickers) to encourage more interactions from your community.

Did you know you can plan, schedule and auto-publish to Instagram with Later — for free!

Instagram Community Tip #2: Champion Your Brand Values

Knowing what your brand stands for and being open about it with your audience is an effective way to strengthen your Instagram community.

This could be advocating for a social cause you care about or simply championing the lifestyle choices your brand supports through your content strategy — there’s no right or wrong way to do it, as long as it’s authentic to your brand.

Having clear brand values is a great way to attract an audience of like-minded people who are more likely to connect with you and one another about the subjects they care about.

For example, PANGAIA put their mission to design a better future for the planet at the forefront of their content strategy on Instagram, creating a hub for sustainability advocates to join.

Not only is this great for engagement, but it also means your community will be more invested in your brand mission — and much more likely to stick around for the long haul.

Instagram Community Tip #3: Listen to Your Audience

The key to a strong community isn’t just about sharing your story. Creating opportunities to listen to the voices of your audience is just as important — engagement is a two-way street.

And this isn’t just important for your audience. It can also be a super valuable way to gain insight into what your followers care about the most too.

For example, Summer Fridays regularly ask their audience to share what products they would like to see next — using real-time customer demand to shape their go-to-market strategy.

One of the most effective ways to demonstrate that you care about your audience is by replying to comments and DMs in a meaningful and thoughtful way.

At Later, our social team tries to respond to every comment and DM possible — no matter how trivial they may seem. It’s important to show your followers that you’re listening to their voice and appreciate their input.

It’s also a good idea to set up comment filtering on your Instagram account. This will protect your community from offensive or inappropriate language, creating a safer space for your audience to interact with one another.

TIP: Allocate time to review and reply to comments and DMs at least once every day. You can also save time with Later’s Conversations feature, which allows you to review and reply to all of your most recent Instagram comments in a feed on your desktop computer.

Instagram Community Tip #4: Develop a Consistent UGC Strategy

If you’re not sharing user-generated content on your Instagram account, you could be missing out on a huge opportunity to build brand love and strengthen your online community.

UGC is brilliant as it allows specific community members to feel like VIP contributors, while the wider community benefits from seeing real people using and enjoying your products or services.

Sharing UGC that reflects your audience can help members of your community to feel represented, which can also be a powerful way to show you’re here for all of your followers regardless of shape, age, gender, race, orientation, and beyond.

TIP: Encourage your audience to create more UGC by hosting a daily or weekly competition like Sezane and creating a dedicated hashtag.

Speed Up Your UGC Collection with Later

Struggling to find the time to gather quality UGC for your content strategy?

Later’s UGC tools automatically pull in all the posts you’ve been mentioned or tagged in into an easy-to-use dashboard.

You can even search for posts that include a certain hashtag, or add any cool posts you find just by copying and pasting a post’s URL — which is great for when you find a post that fits with your aesthetic even if your account wasn’t tagged or mentioned.

Later will maintain the high-quality resolution of the original post (no screenshots needed here) and will automatically add the handle of the user who originally posted it.

Improve your UGC workflow with Later’s user-generated content tools — source, schedule and repost UGC to your feed in minutes! Upgrade to Later’s paid Business plans to get access now!

Instagram Community Tip #5: Go Live on Instagram

Going Live on Instagram is one of the most direct and unfiltered ways to connect with your community, which is great for showing the more authentic side of your brand.

Instagram Live views doubled in one week during the COVID-19 lockdown, creating a huge opportunity for brands to provide support and entertainment for their community in a new and creative way.

Revolve has been sharing daily workouts, recipes, meditations, and styling sessions since social isolation came into play, demonstrating to their community that they’re here to provide helpful content that goes beyond boosting their bottom line.

TIP: Broaden your reach and grow your community by partnering with like-minded brands or creators in your next Instagram Live broadcast!

Instagram Community Tip #6: Find Creative Ways to Give Back to Your Followers

Giving back is a great way to show your gratitude for the engagement and support you receive from your community — and it doesn’t have to break the bank to be effective.

Loyalty programs, discounts, giveaways, and even donations to social causes are all simple but effective ways to reward your community for their loyalty.

Similarly, brands can use Instagram Checkout to reward their Instagram community with exclusive products drops that aren’t available anywhere else.

SoulCycle has started sharing limited edition product drops that are only available through Instagram, creating a unique offering for their audience.

However you decide to give back, keep your community and their needs at the forefront of your strategy — and you’ll have a successful campaign that drives value for your brand and your audience.

So there you have it!

By consistently following these 6 top tips, you’ll be able to create a loyal and engaged community on Instagram over time.

And although there’s no such thing as overnight success when it comes to building meaningful customer relationships, this is one long-term strategy that’s well worth the investment.

Ready to join the Later community? Sign up for our newsletter and get the freshest tips and tricks, delivered to your inbox twice a week:

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How to create an Instagram group or community - step by step

Instagram has a multi-million audience that continues to grow every day. Therefore, it is not surprising that many people use this platform as a tool to make money. In the network, you can get promoted perfectly, and then receive income. This is quite realistic to achieve with the help of various advertising campaigns or group publics. Don't be surprised, chats with interesting content become successful pretty quickly. nine0003

If you still don't know how to create your own group on Instagram, don't worry. Let us help you figure this out. To do this, we will talk about the principle of community registration, as well as their administration, promotion and removal. So stay with us and you will surely find a lot of useful things for yourself.

Why create a group on Instagram

If you have not yet understood what publics are for, then we will repeat. When a group chat has good content, it is more likely to attract a huge audience and you become popular among users. You may then be approached by major firms/companies to purchase ad space from you. As you probably already guessed, advertising from a famous blogger is now very expensive. Therefore, the conclusion: groups are needed for a decent income. nine0003

Do not "lose your head" from the first success, because at any moment you can scare away your followers. Therefore, remember: you need to not just click “Create a chat” - “Send a message” a couple of times, but you need to adhere to certain principles and not reduce the quality of the content.

Creating your own Instagram group: a step-by-step guide

Let's not hesitate and get straight to the point - we will try to create a new community. It is not as easy as it may seem "in words". Therefore, carefully read the step-by-step instructions and try not to deviate much from it. nine0003

For convenience, we will divide the procedure into several stages:

registration and page design for the public;
start a group chat in Instagram Direct;
Adding and removing members.

Let's consider each of them separately.

Setting up and designing a group

If you decide to start administering the chat right away, you will need to create a separate business account for the community. This is done as follows:

Launch the social networking application and click Register.
Enter a phone number or email address. They must be up-to-date, as a letter with a hyperlink will be sent there to confirm the procedure.
Come up with a login (nickname) and page name. It is advisable to use a name suitable for your direction.
Enter the password and complete the procedure.

You must immediately switch to the commercial account type. For this:

Tap on the "man" icon and click on the menu button.
Go to settings and open the "Accounts" section.
Scroll to the bottom of the screen and select Switch to Professional Account.
Link a Facebook page. Without this, the account change will not take place.
Save changes.

After that, you will need to edit the profile (the “person” icon on the bottom panel). Provide a website, contact details, and “About Me” information (such as what you do). nine0003

Important. In the "Accounts" - "Linked Accounts" section, you can synchronize Insta with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Ameba, Odnoklassniki. This will open up the possibility of cross-posting.

When the page is created and there are already a couple of subscribers, you need to start the chat. The algorithm of actions for this is as follows:

Open the social network program and go to the feed tab.
Tap on the paper plane icon located in the upper right corner of the screen. You will see dialogues in Direct. nine0024
Click on the pencil icon and check all future participants.
Select "Message in chat".
Write a welcome message by clicking on the text box. Attach a photo or gif if you wish.
Edit the title at the top of the dialog box.

Done. Now all your participants can exchange messages with each other.

Good to know. In the chat settings, you can change the name of the group, as well as enable or disable notifications for this public. nine0003

Adding members

You can always add a new member to a group. To do this, you need to open the chat settings by tapping on the icon in the form of "i" in a circle, and select "Add people". Then check the box next to the one you considered necessary to invite to the community and click "Finish".

Please note that a person does not immediately get to your public and see messages in it. First, he must give his consent or refusal to join the group in the "Notifications" section. nine0003

Deleting members

If you don't like a member, you can easily delete it. You are the admin. Open the chat settings and scroll down the screen to the right person. Click on the "three dots" button and select "Delete User".

If, on the contrary, you want to give someone the functions of an admin, then in the same way open the subscriber's menu and tap "Make administrator".

Instagram group administration

Proper administration of the Instagram public is the key to the success of a group chat. To get started, here are some simple rules to follow:

Create your content plan. It is advisable to do this for a couple of weeks ahead, so that it doesn’t turn out that “tomorrow” has come, and there is nothing to post. Participants from a long lull will simply scatter.
Post news at least several times a day. This point smoothly follows from the previous one: no records - no subscribers. nine0024
Organize cross-posting in other social networks. To do this, don't forget to sync multiple business pages together.
Moderate and clean up the channel from inadequate followers, but in some cases do not go too far.

Good to know. To complain about a message in the chat, hold it down and click on the corresponding button.

How to promote and develop a group

Like any other new group, yours needs a good start. Without it, it will be difficult to gain a “decent” audience. For promotion and promotion:

Contact bloggers. At the same time, it is advisable to select a user with an adjacent direction for advertising, otherwise such a marketing ploy simply will not work.
Add hashtags to your posts (example: #hashtag). Such tag words, of course, will not attract a lot of people, but they will still increase the views of posts in the feed.
Try to be active. Communicate in the comments, put marks "I like", subscribe to other users. This will allow you to constantly draw attention to yourself. nine0024
Feel free to use online promotion services (Tooligram, Zengram, etc.). For a small fee, you can order mass liking or story views.

How to link a group from VK to Instagram

Recently, Instagram has removed the option that would allow you to synchronize the page from the photo network and the Vkontakte account, but you can still link them. To do this:

Go to the Vkontakte web resource.
Log in to your account and tap on the "Edit" button located under the avatar. nine0024
Go to the "Contacts" tab.
Select Customize Import - Instagram.com.
Enter your username and password from your Insta profile.
Allow data access.
Tap on the gear next to the inscription "Set up import" and decide where posts from Instagram will go.
Save changes.

If you want to unlink your Instagram account from VK, then in the "Contacts" section, click on the "cross" icon located opposite the "Set up import" button. nine0003

Ending the chat and deleting the Instagram group

If you are tired of your activity or there is not enough time for it, end the chat. To do this:

Open the desired dialog in direct.
Go to settings and scroll to the bottom of the screen.
Select "Leave chat" (leave the public leaving all participants there) or "End chat" (delete the public completely).
Confirm your intentions.

If you wish, you can permanently get rid of the community page. In the event that you really need it, then:

Click on the "person" icon and click on the menu button.
Open the settings and click on the "Help" section.
Go to the "Help Center" and select "Account Management".
Follow the link "Deleting an account" - "How do I delete my account?".
Decide on the type of blocking: permanent or temporary.
Specify the reason why you want to leave the social network.
Enter the password and tap OK.

Important. If you chose the temporary option, then you have 30 days to log in. Otherwise, your profile will be completely deleted.

It takes almost no effort to create an Instagram group. To keep it afloat, you need to work hard and constantly. Most importantly, when working with publics, do not forget about a few basic "commandments" of the admin: make good content, use marketing and advertising, listen to the wishes of users. nine0003

How to create a group (chat) on Instagram: how to name, pin, exit, delete a conversation However, if you do not want to go beyond Instagram, you can easily create a general chat on Instagram to chat or discuss any issues.

In this article we will tell you how to create a group in Instagram Direct, how to name it, add new members and how to apply all this in your work. nine0003

Advertising: 2VtzquY3wEz

Read also: 10 best Instagram mass messaging services

How to create a group chat on Instagram Direct: step by step instructions

Let's start by creating a group.

Step 1. Go to Instagram and open private messages (messenger).

Step 2. To create a chat, click on the pencil icon in the upper right corner.

Step 3. Add chat participants and click Create Chat.

Note that more than one recipient must be added to create a group chat. More people can be invited later. Done - the chat is created!

How to set up a chat

Step 4. Think up and write the name of the group. To do this, open the chat settings by clicking on the chat itself at the top or the “i” icon.

After choosing a name, tap "Done" to save the changes. Here you can also turn on or off notifications for new messages and mentions. nine0003

Step 5 . Set up an avatar. To do this, click "Change Group Photo" and choose whether to take a photo or upload from the gallery.

Step 6 . If you want to pre-screen those who are added to the chat, for example, to protect your community from spammers, then you can turn on "Approval of new members by the administrator. " You can do this in the "Other actions" section.

Below you can move the chat to the "General" tab or vice versa "General". nine0003

Step 7 . Chat. In the chat itself, you can send a text or voice message, use quick replies and stickers, share a photo or video, repost a post or story.

On the top panel, you can start a video call, pin a chat with a flag, and go to the chat settings.

How to add participants to the chat

Step 8 . To add people to the group, in the settings we go down a little lower and in the "Participants" section, tap "Add People". nine0003

After that, enter the name or nickname of the person, check it and click "Next".

At the moment there are no restrictions on adding members, you can add an unlimited number of users.

How do I remove a person from a group? In the settings, scroll down to the item with all participants, find the desired user, click on the three dots next to them and in the menu that appears, click "Delete user".

Delete group and end chat

At the moment, you cannot delete the group, you can only leave the chat. To do this, in the settings, below the list of participants, click "Leave the chat."

Leaving the chat means leaving it and losing access to the correspondence until someone adds you again. However, if you were the admin of the group, you will need to appoint a new admin or it will be selected automatically.

How to use groups on Instagram

At their core, groups or group chats are an alternative that Instagram offers, channels and chats in messengers. Accordingly, their use and application are approximately the same. nine0003

Notification of customers about news, discounts, promotions, sales;
Chat group, equity holders, students, etc.;
Closed VIP chat for premium clients;
Subscription paid chat;
Working chat, discussion of projects;
Conducting video chats;
Answers to frequently asked questions, discussions.
Learn more