On Instagram, each picture can get you closer to your next client. If you set up your Instagram account right and share engaging photos, you can quickly grow a massive following.
Some brands like Foundr Magazine went from zero to hero on the photo-sharing platform. In less than two weeks, the brand got its first 10,000 followers. In under six months, the account exceeded 110,000 targeted followers.
While Foundr Magazine is an outlier of the typical Instagram experience, it is possible for you to take your account to levels beyond your expectations. If strategically utilized, Instagram can become a blog traffic generating machine. If you promote a product or service on your blog, that additional traffic can create revenue for you.
Blog traffic from Instagram is a valuable yet underrated source of traffic that you can start utilizing today. Here”™s how you can get started.
Link to your blog in your bio
Perhaps the easiest way to start getting blog traffic from Instagram is to link to your blog in your bio. While you won”™t get mountains of visitors from this method, it will help you generate some traffic.
Within this tactic lies a power move that can make or break your sales efforts on Instagram. Many online marketers do not link directly to their blogs. Rather, they send visitors straight to their product, service page or email collection funnel.
Why not give your Instagram followers a direct link to the pages that generate the most revenue?
Post a picture of your latest blog post
Most people exclusively post on Instagram from their smartphones. What relatively few people know is that you can post on Instagram straight from your desktop and schedule the pictures as well.
The next time you publish a blog with a picture, you can post the image on Instagram, provide some information about the blog and then include your website link at the end of the description.
A quality picture will generate more likes. As your post engagement increases, more users will view your content and check out your website.
Utilize S4S
S4S, otherwise known as ”˜Shoutout for Shoutout,”™ is arguably the most powerful way to market yourself on Instagram. You can promote someone else and they talk about you in return. While most people use this method solely to get more followers, S4S is an excellent way to get in front of targeted followers.
Instead of exchanging shoutouts with any Instagram account you come across trade mentions with an account in your niche. If you enjoy sharing motivational quotes, pair up with someone who posts inspirational quotes as Instagram pictures.
To begin this relationship, just contact them via an Instagram direct message or from the ”˜Contact Me”™ section of their blog. Let them know what”™s in it for them. To ensure mutual benefit, contact individuals who have a similar audience size. If you contact someone with 1 million followers while you only have 500, it”™s obvious who”™s benefitting from the relationship. Create win-win partnerships that equally strengthen both brands.
If you do one S4S every day, you”™ll get promoted by 365 different Instagram accounts by the end of the year. Focusing your S4S efforts on brands within your niche will ensure you are getting more followers who are interested in what you post on Instagram. All of these new targeted members will result in more engagement and clicks the next time you post a picture promoting your latest blog post.
Marc Guberti is a student at Fordham University and a social media and business blogger and author. He”™s on Twitter @MarcGuberti and can be reached by phone at 914-722-6005 or email at Marc@MarcGuberti.com.
