Instagram Marketing For Musicians

“A photography Says More Than A Thousand Words”

Instagram is probably the largest social network that involves photography and video where you can share anything and have the opportunity to receive attention no matter what.

As for musicians… it is even a more potential weapon of mass attention and marketing than it looks like it could be, and that is exactly what we will talk about today, how to approach social media marketing through this wondrous app, the benefits, some techniques that have proved to gain a substantial amount of follows and attention and also build fan base.

So let us start by explaining in general what is Instagram and how does it work…

Instagram:

General Introduction & Benefits for Musicians.

Instagram is a social network that revolves around pictures. At its most basic form, Instagram is an image sharing database, but unlike something other photo sharing websites the pictures tend to be a little more personal, which works as a benefit to our music promotion and marketing needs.

You can not share high quality images as the system compresses them and turns them in a small square format to protect the photo’s legal rights to the owner, as many people who use Instagram are not only celebrities or the “common average Joe” but plenty professional photographers with licensed photos use it to promote their work, In fact, one of Instagram’s main goals was to make this a social network fully functional specifically to photographers, but anyone can reap the benefits from it, whatever it is you do in your daily life or professional capacities.

Instagram is about telling your story or finding beautiful moments in the every day so if you were to go on touring or wanting to share a peep into how the studio you are recording your new album looks like, you might take hundreds of photos for Facebook but Instagram would be where you’d upload the select few highlights, this is about expression, communicating with your fans, promoting your band & overall gaining substance in “followers” to approach a wider base of possible buyers for your upcoming material.

Instagram is fast-paced and you can upload several pictures a day but there are ways to reach more people by uploading certain material ( we will approach this later on) there are three very important functions to take note of in the Instagram world:

Likes: When someone likes your photo, his or her followers will see this in their likes feed, as you can see what others like this way.

Follow: when someone subscribes to your account and you will start appearing on your newsfeed, this is what we want to achieve with our marketing & promoting campaign so that we can start expanding our attention rate.

Hashtags: Just as in Twitter, just that in Instagram’s case they somewhat hold more value, it is very possible they find your photos by typing in a hashtag with oyur music genre that you have used in one of your photos, the only problematic is that if it is a very famous or over used hashtag in a matter of minutes you will be history as when you search a hashtag it only shows the top 9 most liked images and the most recent ones.

You will approach all these solely on using photographs with hash tags written on them, there is a limit to how many hashtags you can use which is a total of thirty but trust me, that is plenty to at least grab a couple of new faces to check out your stuff.

Benefits

The benefits lie in a multiple amount of aspects:

Marketing: Instagram is great for selling your products, your work, your music and offering services, not what it was made for, but… a business is a business, Instagram users usually update a photo with a small text explaining what you can get via their website or to check out other social networks they have.As for musicians, just uploading your new album’s artwork or showing the process can be attractive enough, it can also perform as a “new fans magnet” as if they see you explain what genre you play and you target the right audience it will be even more beneficial.

Fan Interaction: Many musicians seek out a point where they can interact with their fan base in a fair way that can concern them all, and Instagram is the perfect tool for the job! Instagram’s videos can be recorded directly from the app, and uploaded in that same moment as long as you have internet connection.Fan interaction is essential once your fan base grows larger as this helps us when we want to spread the word out, through Instagram you can hold a varied amount of events with them (polls, Q&A, funny band moments, a couple good band photos and ask for opinions, new merch) there are several which we will explain later on the benefits they have.
More personal: Instagram just can’t stay too neutral when it comes to a musician, whenever you upload something worth watching people tend to appreciate it more than a Facebook post or a tweet, the reason is that Instagram has a scroll news feed when you open the application and it shows you photo by photo with nothing else on the sides, no advertisement, no chat windows no bars with extra options but the one on the bottom to check your likes and search for something, the functions are very simple and so, the user’s attention is far more easy to catch than in any other social network.

On the go: Being an app for both, android and iPhone, you have it with you all the time, so you can take a picture of almost any moment you wish to captivate, and not necessarily through the app, you can also import photos from your camera to your phone and upload them from your phone’s gallery.

The best part about Instagram is that there is not really a “paid for fame” method, almost all users who get fame is for two reasons, they exploit the apps potential or they simply share it on a social network where they already have some fan base and migrate them to Instagram by petitioning them.
So now..

How will I get my share of fame and use it to take advantage of all this benefits, you may ask?

Without more delay let us approach how to market yourself or your band in this social network and how to reach out for the right people, some good techniques used by other Instagramers (How Instagram users call themselves) and what you can start doing right now from the tips of your fingers and your phone to raise yourself a little attention.

Let’s go!

Instagram Marketing

Audience Targeting, Creating Content and The Right Way To Use It.

First things first is knowing the kind of individuals you want to reach out and why, this in general marketing for those who are new to it, is called Audience Targeting this basically refers to approaching the people who you consider are more suitable to become your fans, the aspects that determine this situation are:

Age & Gender: the best way to do this is remember your last gig.How old did they look and where there more men than women? These aspects is not crucial, but imagine you are a glam rock band and most of your followers are women who have the hots for your lead singer, and in your online store you sell… men’s boxers? Get my point, right? It would be way more proficient to sell a women fit T-shirt with a potent phrase from one of your songs.

Genre: what style of music do you play? Well if you use the hashtag #rock in Instagram you will find many things, (even literally rocks!) but if you type in #Jazz or #progmetal a more specific set of things will pop out, and here you can find some fans, look at their pictures and subscribe to them.If you play very similar to another artist you might want to go into their followers list and add a couple 20 every day and upload photos inviting them to check out your music on YouTube or any streaming service you might be using.

Audience targeting has to be about searching for the correct people, those who won’t just subscribe mindlessly without checking you out (there is a lot of people who does this, trust me!) you can share a photo to each user privately and request them to check out your song, just careful here, we will explain how to write this so that it doesn’t look like spam and they really feel the intention behind your marketing campaign.

So, that said, how do we create content? Worthy content, attractive material that Instagramers feel pulled to stare at for hours… maybe?

As for your account may be right now, you probably have very little followers, and to attract more you need to create more! So before we approach the whole explosive amassing people method, let’s set your profile with some professional looking stuff you can take care of in less than 2 weeks!

Quality Content In A Breeze

When it comes to Instagram, as we said, it all comes down to photos, and don’t worry you don’t have to be the best photographer out there! If you are new to the social network you would be surprised by what some people upload!

But for now, let’s focus on you, what should a musician photograph?

Here is a helpful list for starters:

Instruments: Take photos with your instruments, in a moment of inspiration or while playing live ask someone to take photos of you with good lightning and from a close range to the stage.

Recording: A attractive sight, always has been a music production studio, today there are home studios and many independent hobby musicians who are on the look out for how other artists are set up and create their artistic environment, so with this you can not only approach fans but also other artists to share what you post from time to time.

Photo shoots: any band photos you have that are worthy to upload, do it, this will help you not only to approach your fan base but also see who it is the people behind the music, you can also upload an independent photo of each member and describe a little stuff about them, what they like or dislike and what it is that they do, if they are your sound engineer but also the drummer or the lead singer is also good at acoustic wall treatment and he made the panels for your new home studio, stuff like that attracts attention as it shows that you are not in it only for the money but there is passion in your art form too.

Live Shows: whether you hire a photographer or you take the pictures in between songs, a good audience photo or stage photo is a proof that you exist and you want to prevail in the music business world, many artists get plenty subscriptions this way.A benefit if you hire a photographer is that if he or she also has an Instagram account they will share you automatically with their fan base, and show others who you are, this is a very good approach if you have a little extra budget and an upcoming gig.

As an Additive we would like you to understand some basic photography terms used in edition (Instagram has a filter and editor integrated that you will see them every time you upload a photo)

Some of these aspects can help you make your photos a lot more professional, therefore eye catching:

The place: make sure that you always think about your foreground, your middle ground and your background. Think about your composition as well in terms of where the ‘subject’ (focus) is.

Brightness: For altering the brightness.

Structure: This essentially adds detail to your images.

Adjust: For changing the angle and zooming in.

Contrast: For changing the difference between different tones.

Saturation: This is the amount of color in the image. Turn it all the way down for black and white, or all the way up for overly vibrant, dream-like colors.

Warmth: This brings out or subdues the warmth in your images – so you can have more reds, oranges and other warm tones, or more blues, whites and ‘cool’ tones.

Contrast: For changing the difference between different tones.

Color: This lets you choose a certain color to add more of in your image.

Highlights: Increase/decrease the whites and light colors in your image.

Shadows: Increase/decrease the blacks and dark colors.

Vignet: Add darker corners to your photo to highlight the center.
Fade: Fade lets you create the effect of your image having faded somewhat – this can make it feel older.

Tilt Shift: Add a blur horizontally or surrounding the image in a circle. This lets you create the sensation of movement or of focus.
As for now, don’t break your head trying to understand all of these, experiment with them, watch some professional looking photos from other bands and try to replicate what they did.For the filters our rule number 1 is….Less is more! Never boost anything to a 100% percent, all this stuff might sound complex so let’s imagine each filter is like an instrument, if you boost the volume to a 100% then the only thing people will hear (in this photography case, see) is one simple effect with no meaning or rhythm behind it, a photo is like a micro composed song, once the “mixing-effects” sit together well, the whole thing is taken to another level.Now that you have the basics on how Instagram works, what it is for, and even a basic skill comprehension of photography we are ready to go with the marketing skill set you will apply to expand your fan base borders to the next level!

Marketing tactics for the Instagram Musician

Finally! The Holy Grail we have been approaching like a lion approaches his prey, slowly and sure of what he is doing!

Now you have the amazing photos, whether you hired a photographer or you took them yourself you have a nice repertoire to keep your fans engaged and go on the look out for new ones at the same time.

As we mentioned, Target audience is critical, but it goes hand by hand with Consistency.

Consistency is simple enough in Instagram terms, have a set of photos to upload, some material ready for your fans.

Your consistency system is up to you, and what we mean by system is the next.

Make a weekly plan that includes the objective of each photo and what your audience should react like:

Monday	Market Album	Buy new album
Tuesday	Fans Sneak peek (Studio or any other thing you want to share with them)	Fan Engagement
Wednesday	Album Artwork & Marketing	Fan Entertainment
Thursday	Offer for merchandise with a free “x” item (stickers or guitar picks)	Buy
Friday	Share Petition	Shares and New people
Saturday	Market album reminder	Buy new album
Sunday	A fun video or short set of blooper photos	Fan Engagement

As you can see ( and this is just an example of a semi-well structured weekly plan for marketing) it is only mentioning one photo a day, this does not mean that you only HAVE to upload one photo a day, you can upload 3 or 4 with different purposes, so is there a limit to how much I should share?

Yes, there is, you can upload as many photos as you wish but you should leave a Time gap in between them, Why? Well…:

Marketing Amount Of Work: If you upload 10 photos the same day you have to work on all 10 of them, you will not reach many people with your messages as they are all bundled in one day and they would be rather annoying to your new fans as they are not accustomed to you, without mentioning it would consume your whole day.
Has Tag Search: Many will find you by searching the endless tags you use but there are certain hours in which (like in all social networks) there is more traffic than usual, estimate the average hour at which everyone comes back from work and picks their phone to check out their accounts, there is a good starting point for when you should upload a photo

Timing: This is Crucial! If you upload a photo after a gig it will be more probable that the people who assisted it will find it rather than a week later, even a day later can make a huge impact difference! For every action you do that involves fans, upload it within a 12 hour time-set.And as we mentioned we insist that you investigate the most trafficked Instagram hours where you live, for example in some countries Instagram receive the most attention at 8:00 AM but in New York is a variation of spikes as there is people constantly login in and out and liking and sharing at all times.

Social network Integration

Yes Instagram is a social network on it’s own with a lot of potential but we want to instigate a new aspect into you, the aspect of being a complementary network that you can mention in any other social networks you have and integrate the “website” button to your website or blog.

It is an endless loop of sharing and gaining fans when it comes to Instagram, the best way to earn fans from other social networks is leaving a direct link through Facebook or twitter or habilitate the option that when you upload a new photo to Instagram it automatically shares it to both social networks.

Sharing across accounts is easy. At the same time though, you should also think about updating your various social media profiles so that they all feature consistent branding.

The like “Obsession”

“Likes are the reason one grows popular on Instagram, everyone takes a peek to what you like whether to find out more about your tastes or just out of boredom ”

And, this is a reality quoted by a famous Instagram photographer showing others how to grow a larger fan base, although there is no magical trick to earning thousands of likes but having thousands of followers there is a unorthodox method very and vastly used today as we are always liking and thanking others for support.

If you are still a very small fan based musician a good way to reach new people is by liking a lot of their photos, yes it is time consuming but it starts accumulating over the weeks a bit more fans.

We do not recommend it as a main way to earn fans, but it works when your profile looks professional as many users check each like independently unless they have thousands of followers.

Try liking 40 photos a day from potential possible fans, as we said apply target marketing in the process, and it might turn beneficial for the time you invest!

Engage Others

If you want to take a more active approach to growing your network, then another thing you can do is to comment on other people’s images (specially your current followers to remind them you are there!) like them and follow people.

65% of Instagram users find this flattering that you do this, this also plays to one of the big strengths of Instagram in particular – which is its highly narcissistic nature, we all enjoy being told we are good at something or we are good looking, you as a musician want to be appraised for your efforts probably and your fans will do it automatically for every photo you post.

Exclusive to musicians

These are exclusive or more oriented to people who engage audiences online and offline, in our case highly beneficial:

Fan shares: you just did a concert where you took photos with so many fans? Look for them, in the concert ask them to use a tag you make up like “#YourBandsName” and ask them to upload to Instagram, showcase the best ones or the ones that show happy fans and people having a good time with you.This will help to grow their fanbase and yours.
Band shares: Band shares are the exact same thing with fans but with other bands, if you made collaboration with other bands and you are seeking to grow both fan bases by sharing your mutual care, then ask each other for the photos and petition them to tag you.
Like and we will..: Take a photo with a “If you like this photo we will make our new single free for 24 hours tomorrow” Who doesn’t like free music? Ask them to share on other social networks and petition them to do what they can to earn you some followers even; asking your fans for things it’s not wrong.You can come up with anything for this method, even hold contests we can’t tell you how many people have gotten creative and doubled or tripled a small fan base with this!
Private message: We mentioned this earlier in the article and now we will address it, there is “private share” arrow in every photo… but after several times they report it they might even block your account.So, how can I use this as a tool and not become a double edged sword? Simple, just as them to check the photo, an opinion use this for honest answers from fans and explain them why you are doing it.If you also select random possible fans using a good eye and audience targeting, it will go the right way and you will be on the right road, don’t petition people to purchase things these way, but use it as an “approach to fans” tool seeking for opinions.

Events: share every time you are going to play live or you might livestream your music, as once you have a large fan base this will be beneficial anywhere you go, Instagram can show your “ Location” and this will show your posts to people near you if you are an influential Instagramers, this means you have more than 10,000 followers which we hope someday you do.

Videos

Another great feature on Instagram is the ability to upload short videos as we mentioned, which is somewhat similar to Vine or to Snap Chat. You can use this to talk directly to your viewers, to tell a short story or to convey something that you can’t put across in words – you can even place a small advert here – though again you don’t want it to be too ‘on the nose’ in terms of marketing.

Something that’s currently very popular is to use an app called ‘Lapse It’. As you may have guessed by the name, Lapse It is a time-lapse app which means it will ‘film’ you for a while by taking photos once every 1, 10, 60 etc. seconds. This then creates a video that shows you changing position rapidly and which can tell a much better story in a few seconds than a regular video.

Lapse It can be used for instance to show you and your friends playing in the sea or on the beach if your video is about travel, it can be used to show time passing while you practice your instrument, it could be used to show a recording process in your studio in a short space of time… etc.

We leave up to your imagination how to combine these with the photography tactic we gave you before, as this will help you build your marketing skills and mind planning.

Local Marketing

Instagram can also be marketed via offline methods and not only in your concerts, you can petition local stores to let you leave a flyer or a card with your bands name, your music style and the Instagram logo with your account name.

A good tactic is to share your account in all social meetings you assist to, and petition them to check your work out, or if you are performing in a social place like a bar announce it every now and then for people are coming in and out.

92 Ways to Get the Most Out of Instagram

As a musician, you must have already felt that it is important to effectively engage with your audience. In today’s technology driven society, social media is the best link that connects artists with real people. No matter how many new social media sites pop up everyday, Instagram has always been the queen of the social media game. Even in Hollywood, the number of Instagram followers of each artist has a direct correlation to their power and popularity. Whether you have just gotten in to the Insta world or are a real pro with many followers, you have to always strive to stay on top of the game every day. That’s why it’s super important to know how to get the most of Instagram’s awesome features.

instagram21

Practice Makes Perfect As a musician, you probably already knew about this. It’s extremely important to be ‘religious’ about your Instagram activity and consistency. It’s better if you can at least post one a day. You have to be seen, if you want to be heard of. Once you get used to posting every day, it will feel more natural and effortless for you too.
Be nice to each other. Yes, I just quoted Ellen DeGeneres. Because the more love you show to your followers and fellow artists, the more love you’ll get back. Search for relevant hashtags. ‘Like’ the photos and comment on them. Follow back your followers. Give nice compliments and most likely, they’ll do the same for you. But remember to be genuine about it, without sounding too desperate.
Become a pro at editing your photos. Step outside the boundaries of Instagram filters. Although it’s true that the Instagram filters can make anything look good, sometimes you need a little bit more (or less). Thankfully, there are thousands of amazing photo editing apps available for us today. Don’t limit yourself and express your creativity by using photo editing apps to edit your photos before you post them on Instagram. Add effects, edit frames, make collages… the possibilities are endless.
Step outside and show off your surroundings. Whether you live in New York or in Billings, Mont., your town no doubt has interesting and beautiful sites. Show it off! People will relate to you better and it will also give a unique look to your profile.
Spark a conversation. Create a hashtag for your followers / fans. Create hashtags for your separate projects and albums… Host contests and free giveaways. Ask questions and respond to comments.
Be unique. Social media is also an art. So, develop your own style to stand out from the crowd.
Post previews. Post previews or pre-releases of your music to get the attention of your audience.
Be smart about hashtags. Keep hashtags in your caption relevant and to a minimum. Create a second comment on your own photo with several applicable hashtags. It will be clearer and more effective.
Complete your profile. People underestimate the importance of having a complete profile. But your followers will always checkout your bio when they want to know more about you. Be sure to keep it short and sweet. And don’t forget add your website.
Know the stats. Use a site like Statigram to track your statistics, view your own feed and photos from the comfort of your computer. Analyze the data and figure out when your followers are most active and what kind of posts perform better.
Follow and unfollow method – Follow all the people that might seem to be interested in your work. You can always unfollow them later.
Like method – Double tap lots of images in the same niche (hashtag search).
Comment method – Comment on posts under specific hashtags (your target niche again). Make sure everyone’s heard of you. Be smart with words.
Make it clickable: The only place where you can put a clickable link on Instagram is in your profile, below your bio description. If you’re going to see any success with Instagram, you must use this link effectively. The good news is that you can change this URL as often as you like
Add text overlays to your images: Another way to spice up your Instagram photos is to put a text overlay on your image. Whether you’re sharing tips, promoting a sale or just branding a pic, this ensures people won’t miss your message.
Use call-to-actions to make them reach out to you: Use call-to-action phrases in your captions to make the followers engage in an action of your choice or make them reach out to you. This caption is the first comment that you add when you upload the image to Instagram. It will always stay on top of the comments list. So it is a valuable space that should never be left blank. Don’t repeat what’s in the picture. Try to improve what’s in the image by using a clever play of words.
Promote your other social accounts/channels: It’s important to have all your social media accounts linked together and well connected to each other. Although Instagram is a great platform, it might not be the best primary marketing tool for you. You can use other social media channels to direct fans to your Instagram and vice versa.
Show some BTS action: Your followers will feel like they know you better when you let them take a peek at your personal life. So, post some behind the scenes shots and private moments from your daily routine like having breakfast or going to a salon. It will help you make a personal bond with your fans.

19. Hashtags are important: There are a number of features that make Instagram a powerful tool for engaging with people. Hashtags, for example, are an excellent way to follow conversations within your niche and discover customers who’d be interested in your brand. Search hashtags to find people who are already talking about your brand online and have a large following in your niche.

20. Keep an eye out for competition: This will help you identify Instagram influencers within your industry and begin growing your Instagram following.

Engage and interact: the core value of Instagram is its engagement rates. Aim for two to three new photos per day showcasing what interesting or happening in your life that would lead to a conversation.

Share artwork, album covers etc… – As an indie musician I would highly recommend having artwork to represent your music. Especially, when you have a new release coming. If you can’t draw don’t worry because we have a whole module focused on how to outsource such work so you can focus on your music!

Post videos – try to post interesting videos several times a week. A picture is worth a 1000 words they say … I bet that makes a video worth much more. If it’s a good quality video with interesting content best believe it will go viral soon! It could be a short video showcasing a new song or just you talking about something you’re passionate about.
Research Potential Fans – Take a few minutes a day to research people that may be interested in what you do. Look at their pictures and see if you have anything in common. Also, keep an eye out for new social media trends that you can use to attract more fans in the future.
Be generous with comments: Comment on the postings of the latest people you started following. When I say comment I’m referring to a comment of substance and not a response like “thanks for following me”, which sounds lame and desperate. Be real with people and they will be real with you.
Be inquisitive: Ask your current followers to capture what they do when listening to your music and share them under specific hashtags. Your job would be to pick the best picture and feature the winner on your profile. That’s how you should keep your followers engaged and active!
Celebrate your fans: Showcase random thank you pictures of fans that may have purchased your music or came to a show. Also have them tag people they feel would like the picture to spread it around.
Keep your followers up to date: Post an image and comment directing fans to your bio to click on links to your latest news, buy show ticks, and fill out surveys. Don’t forget to promote new posts or news through attractive images.
Get real: Use your images that are being posted to tell a story about your life as a musician and who the real you are.
Don’t miss out on “Insta-days”: Research has shown the best days to post are Sundays, Mondays, and Thursdays.
Use hashtags wisely: Don’t go overboard with the number of hashtags you use. It will make the post look messy and needy. The average number of hashtags for a post is 11 and I’ve seen high as 60, but Instagram will be putting a stop to this soon.
Share it everywhere. I’m sure many of you are doing this already, but you want to make sure you’re sharing across all social media platforms when you post a photo on Instagram.
Follow your fellow artists. Follow influencers, engagers, and other indie musicians to extend your reach
Get in the game: Like and comment on popular photos that you feel you may find new fans doing the same
Ask questions. Add questions in your comments to spark a conversation and generate interest among your followers.
Show that you care. Reply to anyone that leaves a question
Get a fandom, develop a cult. Come up with a hashtag that represents your brand and leave it after every comment or post.
Show genuine enthusiasm for a product you purchased and are an affiliate for. Use multiple image and video updates to get your followers excited about purchasing.
Share images and videos that show results for a particular affiliate product. Nothing drives people to want to learn more about a particular product than seeing people who have gained measured results.
Create 15-second review videos that encourage people to click through to your review to learn more.
Get affiliates. If you have followers who are interested in making money online, share your referral link so that they can become affiliates under you for second tier commissions. Use a screenshot of your latest affiliate commissions to attract them to the program.
Promote a bonus if people buy through your affiliate link. Create an image or 15-second commercial for your bonus.
Switch it up, Keep it Interesting. No-one likes to see the same types of images posted every day
Event graphics. Send reminder graphics about the dates of any special events.
Let them take a peek. Post first look and previews at the start of a new project
Create 15-second commercials. Specifically make sure you can highlight the best parts of your productions and get a shortened website URL into the 15 seconds
Create images with testimonials from fans and followers as part of your social proof.

Create a personal message inviting people to subscribe. Use the 15-second video recording to create a video greeting for potential subscribers telling them why they should join your mailing list
Appreciate the followers. Create an album on your website using the Instagram photos taken or shared by your customers to show them some appreciation
Screenshot your five-star reviews and share a snippet of them with a link to your book. It allows you to brag about your book using someone else’s words
Create images with quotes from the book, or share images directly from the book. Go with the parts that will get potential readers most interested in buying.
Create images with question sthat can be answered by parts of the book. Include a page number as an additional bonus to get people excited about buying and finding the answer.
Share some love. Send shout outs to your fans and accounts in your niche to build up your audience.
Promote your Instagram everywhere: This one is also somewhat self-explanatory, but you need to leverage this channel in the same way you do your other social networks. For example do you have social icons on your homepage or product pages connecting visitors to your social channels?
Get inspiration from others: “Steal ideas from other companies”, this was the advice my first manager at my first job gave me when I hit an inspirational road blocker. It became obvious advice once I thought it through and is genius when it comes to Instagram.
Showcase beautiful experiences relevant to your brand: “Show them how you see the world and make it meaningful to people.” Not a photographer? Not all of us can be Annie Leibovitz. Instead start a hashtag campaign and post photographs that your fans capture.
Be Strategic With Your Bio Link: For personal use, Instagram is fun and spontaneous. But if you want to use it as a marketing tool, you have to be a little more calculating with it.
Take Advantage of Trending Hashtags: Users can now use Instagram’s Explore feature to find posts related to trending hashtags such as #LoveWins, #CanadaDay and #FullMoon. If these trending tags are relevant to you, include them in timely posts to aid discovery.
Drive Instagram Users Into Your Marketing Funnel: For most brands, getting a follow on Instagram is important, but it’s just one step in the overall marketing funnel. To move your users further down the funnel, you should consider identifying ways to capture your followers’ email. One of the best ways to capture your followers’ email is to ask for it. Share an image with a call to action in both the caption and visual telling users to click the link in your bio to download music or sign up for a newsletter.
Mix Videos and Photos: My hottest Instagram marketing tip is to mix up your posting strategy by including videos in addition to photos. Considering that a video can generate three times more inbound links than written posts, it’s a valuable tool that can be used to engage fans, grow your following and drive traffic
Leverage Sponsored Ads: For me, one of the hottest marketing tips for Instagram right now would be to watch for access to the ever-growing paid feature on the platform. Sponsored ads on Instagram are becoming a regular occurrence on people’s timelines, whether it’s one ad or multiple ads using the carousel element.
Make Graphics Shareworthy: Pairing images with captions is an effective way to engage your audience. Combine striking graphics with a piece of sharable content, like an inspiring quote or a practical design tip.
Develop an Editorial Calendar: While you can access Instagram from your laptop to engage with content from your followers, to update your account with new content you’re confined to a mobile device such as your tablet or smartphone.
Think About Story Arcs: The pictures you share on Instagram don’t need to be one-off photos that aren’t associated with each other. Think in terms of story arcs and share series of pictures that show actions being taken, items that are associated with one another or progressions through time.
Give a “Behind the Scenes” Look: The Ellen Show is one of the most popular accounts on Instagram, but the images her team shares aren’t the kinds of polished production photos you’d expect. Instead, her candid “behind the scenes” shots help to personalize her brand and connect on a more personal basis with followers.
Showcase a Lifestyle: One way to tell your brand’s story without directly selling is to share lifestyle shots that reinforce your brand’s persona. Sharing surfing photos, for example, gives off a casual, laid back vibe, while sharing pictures of races creates a more motivated, driven identity.
Post at Peak Times: As you post on Instagram, pay attention to the times during the day when your images receive the most likes and comments. Use the trends you’ve identified to be sure you’re posting at peak times when you’ll be most likely to reach members of your audience.
Keep an Eye on Your “Feed Speed”: Don’t inundate your users with images. See how frequently other brands in your industry are posting and mimic their feed speed, paying attention to the impact on your account’s metrics as you vary this rate.
Start a Conversation: Through analytics and social listening, you can learn a lot about your followers’ interests and the types of content that resonate with them. What big events are they celebrating this time of year?
Show Customer Appreciation: Visual media offers unlimited creative opportunities to thank your customers and fans. Express your gratitude by engaging with photos customers share or showcasing them on your website, using captions to explain what was special about their photo. You can also surprise and delight your customers by turning Instagram milestones into an opportunity to celebrate
Create & Monitor Branded Hashtags: Branded hashtags serve a few purposes: they are a way to organize and track photos related to your brand, they allow you to run and measure campaigns, and they give fans a way to join a larger conversation when sharing their experiences with your organization, products or services.
Curate Content from Your Fans: Who said you had to create all of your own Instagram content? By monitoring branded and industry hashtags as well as your @mentions, you will hopefully find fans organically sharing their experiences with your brand. Encourage them to keep sharing by Regramming their photos, adding a unique caption that tells other fans how to get their own photos featured on your brand’s feed. Just be sure to get permission and give attribution when sharing content created by someone else.
Monitor Location Tags: When viewing a post on Instagram, users can click on the location (if one is listed) to see all other photos posted from that place. If your organization hosts or participates in events in different locations, add your photos to the photo map, and monitor who else is posting in those areas.
Assess & Adapt: To increase your engagement and reach new followers in an authentic way, continuously assess your efforts periodically to find out what’s working: what type of posts have the highest engagement rate, which hashtags have the most active communities and what type of impact building relationships on Instagram has made on your brand’s presence
Make a username that people will remember. It needs to contain your name, company name, etc. that you are trying to build a following for on Instagram.
Post a picture a day no matter what. Being consistent in your posting on Instagram will help you build a following faster and show people you are active in your branding.
Don’t spam! People hate it and will never follow you if all you post is sales pictures and ad photos. Post a variety of pictures like lifestyle, what your product has done for people, interests you have, quotes, etc.
Use the Followers+ app. This will help monitor how popular you’re becoming on Instagram and see a breakdown of your followers.
Get the Follow Mate app. This will make it much easier to unfollow people who aren’t interested in following you back, follow people who follow you, and search for new people that you aren’t connected to.
Download the Instaquote app. This will help you edit and write text on pictures before posting them on Instagram.
Follow at least 50 people a day. What I like to do is follow people everyday Monday through Friday and take the weekend off from doing so. Then, on Monday morning, I’ll clean out those who don’t follow back and start following new people again.
Keep your target audience in mind. When following people, make sure they’re in your targeted audience. Do your research on who tends to buy your services or product. When you have your perfect audience to target, figure out who they would follow, and then follow them.
Find competitors and other artists similar to you. When you do this, use the Follow Mate app and look at who is following these competitors. These are your perfect audience and you need to connect with as many of them as possible.
Describe the pictures that you post. Put your take on what’s happening in your posts on Instagram, so that people know what’s going on or can see why you posted what you did. It will increase interaction.
Pay attention to the top Instagram users’ posts. One of the easiest ways to get good at marketing or home business, is to just model what the pros are doing and just add a little of your personal touch.
Make a cheat sheet for hashtags. Make it easier on yourself by having a note saved on your smart phone containing your most popular, related hashtags that get a lot of interaction. Then just copy them and paste them in your picture descriptions instead of typing them every time.
Be Friendly: This is the most important strategy, and I can’t stress it enough. Instagram is not a one-person game. It’s a community. So be friendly! Always respond to questions and comments. Say thank you.
Be Authentic: Followers know when you really care about something—real passion and authenticity shines through every picture, and even through the words in your Instagram captions. Share your personal values and allow your followers to be part of your world.
Stay Active: Speaking of keeping it fresh—a rule of thumb is to post at least once a day to keep things current, and also keep your followers in the loop of what’s going on.
Deliver an experience: If you own a studio or any other establishment, use Instagram to make people want to visit by showcasing your facility. This is a great strategy if you sell your products too.
Inspire followers: For businesses, Instagram is about connecting with followers on level beyond just trying to make a sale. Brands shouldn’t just engage; they should also inspire.
Don’t Take The Images You Share Lightly: The images your share on Instagram help create a brand experience. Don’t take this power lightly. Every image you share and comment you publish is helping you grow your company branding.

Conclusion

There you go, these are by far the best advice we can give you to market yourself the right way on Instagram, we can’t do much more but investigate how other bands do it, or if they have any other valuable tips that might have not been included here, as we selected the most used and the most profitable ones we have see and come across with from great sources and other fellow Instagramers who have spoken the truth on their methods

Complete and Continue