Social Media Means
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What is the secret to getting likes on Instagram?

Getting Instagram likes doesn't have to be hard, but it does require some work. Taking a shortcut like buying engagement will only damage your brand in the long run. Instead, come up with a consistent posting schedule, write engaging captions, post quality content, use relevant hashtags, and engage with your audience.

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Of course you do. Likes play a big role in how you use Instagram to gain popularity. Basically, more likes = more Instagram success. It’s a common story – a business creates an Instagram account hoping to market their awesome product to the platform’s one billion users. Fast forward a month – the company’s 10 photos only have a few likes each, and there hasn’t been any discernible improvement in business success. Long gone are the days when simply posting an image on Instagram will help to grow your business. Today around 90% of Instagram users follow a business on Instagram, which means there are thousands of other brands (both locally and globally) fighting to get the attention of your followers and potential customers.

Let’s get into it.

Yes, absolutely. Likes on Instagram still matter as much as ever. They’re an essential part of the Instagram algorithm and they still play a major role in what content is recommended and what posts are most visible. Instagram gave users the option to hide public likes in an attempt to protect the mental health of users. So hiding like counts may make a difference to the browsing experience on the platform, but the underlying likes are still there – you just can’t see them.

This won’t do your account any favors.

Getting Instagram likes doesn’t have to be hard, but it does require some work. Taking a shortcut like buying engagement will only damage your brand in the long run. Instead, come up with a consistent posting schedule, write engaging captions, post quality content, use relevant hashtags, and engage with your audience. These are the basic steps to get more likes. Unfortunately, there’s no shortcut to this. However, there are a few strategies you can take to maximize likes on Instagram. If you want to get more Instagram likes, then here are a few things you need to be doing. These are all relatively simple ways to get more engagement on your Instagram posts. Instagram is a visual social media platform. Looks matter on Instagram, so much so that people judge your brand based on a singular post before even getting to know your content or products. Yet you’d be surprised how many people don’t focus on the quality of their images. Instagram users expect a high caliber of content from brands. Even if you’re a start-up, wannabe influencer, or small local company, you still need to put your best foot forward when it comes to photos. The better your photo is, the more likes, shares, comments, and engagement you’ll get, putting you one step closer to getting more followers. Really, this is the most important way to get more engagement on Instagram. With so many photo editing apps out there you don’t need a DSLR worth several thousand dollars to make a great Instagram post. The most important aspect is that your photo has great lightning and it’s in focus.

Any modern smartphone should allow you to take high-quality photos.

2. Post Plenty of Reels

Short-form video content has taken over social media. If you’re not including a lot of Reels in your Instagram strategy, then you should definitely start. Reels are the easiest way to go viral on Instagram. The Instagram algorithm loves Reels, and posting them will automatically get you far more visibility and reach. If you’re creating great content, this will result in more engagement. Including Reels in your content strategy can help you go viral, as long as you’re posting the right content. Stay on top of trends, and try to post trending content early. Have fun with reels, and experiment with different ideas. This social commerce feature can help you to gain more followers as you share your best sellers and gain a few sales along the way. With Instagram shop features, people can experience the joy of shopping versus the chore of buying.

Basically, Instagram Guides are like a combination of carousel posts and blog posts. They allow you to share more information and can be a powerful source for improved Instagram engagement. In addition to being able to group and gather your own Instagram content, Guides also allow you to bring in content from other accounts. Since this is a relatively underutilized feature, Instagram Guides could present a great opportunity to get more likes. Get more likes and followers on Instagram with the help of linking your ads to your Instagram video content. Instagram now allows you to monetize your videos to drive more traffic to your website and boost followers on your profile. “IGTV ads will be testing for the remainder of 2020,” said a spokesperson from Instagram. “We believe that emerging creators will see the most benefit from monetization in IGTV but will test with a variety of accounts as we roll this out slowly to ensure we get the experience right. No specific plans to share on expansion at this time.”

6. Create Engaging Stories

You can keep your current followers engaged with your brand and content in your feed. You can add hashtags to your stories to get discovered by new followers and encourage engagement So, to increase Instagram likes, promote your feed posts through your stories. This could make your posts visible to more people who otherwise wouldn’t have seen them. You can also upload Reels as stories, repurpose your Tik Tok content into stories, include Gifs, add stickers to help get your followers involved, and more. Another reason Instagram stories can help increase followers is that it shows that your profile is active and interesting. No one wants to follow an account that has dust gathered in their feed or story. Since stories disappear after 24 hours which makes them easily consumable for Instagram users. This allows you to post every day on your profile if you don’t plan to post daily in your feed. Posting frequent stories is also a good tactic for the Instagram algorithm because it keeps your content fresh and timely. This means more visibility for your feed posts and more Instagram engagement.

Embed Social found that the main attributes of the Highlights are:

Highlights covers: Option to add a custom image or an icon that will represent the topic of the stories that are saved inside. Highlights name: Option to name the Highlight the same as you do with naming folders. Highlights can cover anything from past Q&A sessions, product updates, features, and FAQ’s you’d like to keep available for new customers. Pro Tip: Highlight covers are just as important as the highlighted stories. Be sure to create an enticing Instagram highlight cover with Canva or try one of these 12 best Instagram story apps. Using your Instagram Insights can help you learn more about what attracts more followers to your account. Your analytics are based solely on the data from your Instagram Business account. There are actually two main analytics you should be focusing on that will help to guide you on what type of content will boost followers and grow your page along the way. Top locations: This information allows you to see the top five cities and countries where your followers are located. This information allows you to see the top five cities and countries where your followers are located. Age range: How old are your followers? This is an easy way to find out. Instagram breaks it down with the following ranges: 13-17, 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65+. How old are your followers? This is an easy way to find out. Instagram breaks it down with the following ranges: 13-17, 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65+. Gender: The distribution of your followers separated by men and women. The distribution of your followers separated by men and women. Follower hours: A very helpful statistic to see the average time of day your followers are on Instagram. A very helpful statistic to see the average time of day your followers are on Instagram. Follower days: Similarly helpful, this section shows the days of the week your followers are most active.

Individual Post Analytics:

Interactions: These are actions that were taken directly from your post. Whether that’s visiting your profile, a hyperlink, or using the call/email button in your post, these items are tracked and recorded here. These are actions that were taken directly from your post. Whether that’s visiting your profile, a hyperlink, or using the call/email button in your post, these items are tracked and recorded here. Discovery: Anyone who is as addicted to Instagram as I am has likely used the discovery feature before. Instagram will then inform you of the number of accounts reached through discovery that are not currently following you. Anyone who is as addicted to Instagram as I am has likely used the discovery feature before. Instagram will then inform you of the number of accounts reached through discovery that are not currently following you. Follows: How many new followers you received from a post. How many new followers you received from a post. Reach: How many unique accounts the post reached. How many unique accounts the post reached. Impressions: The total number of times your post was viewed. Instagram also breaks this down by category to see where on the platform the post was viewed from home, from hashtags, from profile, and from others. The total number of times your post was viewed. Instagram also breaks this down by category to see where on the platform the post was viewed from home, from hashtags, from profile, and from others. Saves: The number of unique accounts that saved your post to their personal saved folder. The number of unique accounts that saved your post to their personal saved folder. Comments: The number of comments on your post. By paying attention to your analytics, you’ll be able to better optimize your content for your target audience. This will help you get more likes and engagement.

9. Pitch Your Brand in Your Bio

An Instagram bio can be a visually appealing message to introduce yourself. Think of your Instagram bio as an elevator pitch, you want to be as specific as possible with the least amount of words. SEO keywords will help your profile appear higher in the result pages of various online search engines and help drive more potential followers your way. You can also use a unique or branded hashtag to establish a better connection with your online audience and will motivate your new followers to join the trend. If your bio is optimized your profile will be more visible to the right target audience. This will help you get more likes on Instagram. Instagram’s Close Friends feature allows you to create a list of “Close Friends” you can exclusively share stories with on a day-to-day basis. It’s perfect for posting exclusive content, which means you’ll need to decide who gets access and who doesn’t.

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With the help of an exclusive group of people who have access to updates, discounts, and previews of products to come you can get more likes, and followers will follow. So much so that we found 5 Ways to Use the Instagram Close Friends List for Business.

11. Don’t Ignore Your Haters

Whether the person states a negative or positive, it’s your job to respond to the comment. When people see a brand that responds to comments and engagement they’re most likely to follow and like their content because it means that they’re being seen and heard. That’s why around 44% more people think that a brand’s conversations (including direct messaging or in response to a comment posted) are more persuasive than a brand’s advertising ads. After all, it’s called social media for a reason! It’s all about being social. So, to learn how to get more likes on Instagram, make sure that you have a good relationship with your audience in the first place. This can be achieved by engaging back with them. Add an Instagram widget to your website to help drive more likes and followers to your account. This makes your Instagram accessible to your website traffic coming and going as well as your customers, so they can connect with you easily online. You can also encourage your followers to post pictures for your brand using a branded hashtag so you can find them while you practice daily social listening. This code can be placed on business cards, thank you cards placed in order packages, at your till, stickers, and boxes used to ship out orders. This allows you to actively promote your Instagram profile offline and online. You can also use a QR code converter that converts URLs into QR codes. Open your Instagram app. Go to your Instagram profile. Press on the Name Tag icon on top of your screen (the second icon). You will see your Name Tag screen. In June 2020, Instagram decided to allow pin comments to be used everywhere. Previously it was only used on Instagram Live. You can pin comments from raving fans, customers, or followers who you’d like to highlight in your post. You can also pin important information you might have forgotten to add as well. People will see these great comments, and get more value or enjoyment from your post. This will help you get more likes.

15. Use a Consistent Aesthetic

If your account looks good, it will get more likes.

You can use this by using the same filter, layout, or look/feel that helps you to maintain your visual identity on Instagram. This makes your photos instantly recognizable on your followers’ feeds, increasing recognition and getting you more consistent likes. You can use tools like Later, Preview, or Vsco to help achieve this look. Your blog is another great place to share your Instagram posts. Instagram allows you to embed posts or you can use external widgets. You can also add a link to your header or footer to your website. Using local hashtags is an awesome way to reach potential customers near you. Find popular local accounts (you can do a quick Google search for “top Instagram accounts in [city]”) and see what hashtags they use for their photos. Use these hashtags, and there’s a good chance you can connect with people near you or accounts who might be interested in featuring your photos or your business. Using popular hashtags helps your photo be seen by more people, which is an easy way to rack up a large number of likes on your photos. Remember that they’re not always high-quality likes, but if you’re just looking for a way to boost your account’s credibility, this is a good way to go.

18. Celebrate Social Media Holidays

Celebrating social media holidays helps grow your Instagram account and get more likes. It helps you share content your followers would be interested in and helps you to easily create new content. Social media holidays break up that monotony and allow you to step outside the box with new content ideas to post on your social media platforms. There are hundreds of social media holidays, but all you need to do is focus on the holidays that align best with your brand or your mission statement. This can be a fun social media holiday or it can be a worldwide holiday that stands for a cause. Adding a location tag to your post helps to boost your local engagement and likes on Instagram. This is because these posts will be made more visible to people in that area. You can do this by adding local hashtags as we stated in our previous tips or you can add a geo-location to your post. You can also add your location with an Instagram story sticker as well. This helps your stories to pop in the discovery feed of those nearby or in that exact location. Tagging a location in your Instagram posts lets people in your area see your photos more easily. Tagging a general location (like “Downtown LA” instead of a specific restaurant) will increase the chances that people will see it. People looking for photos near them will be likely to engage with them, meaning you have a good chance to get more likes on your photos. Again social media is a place where you can connect with your fans on a more intimate level with your fans and followers. This not only gets you more likes but it helps to build your brand personality. Give your followers a look behind-the-scenes of your business – preview an upcoming product, show off your employees, or take them on an office tour. This type of content is unique and engaging, meaning it’s likely to garner likes from your followers. You can share a teaser of a new launch, employees in the office or you can share day-to-day activities. With features like Instagram stories, feed, reels, and IG Lives you can share this type of content wherever and however long you’d like.

Everyone loves free stuff!

Running a simple like-to-enter giveaway is one of the best ways to get more likes on Instagram. Because the barriers to entry are low (it’s just a double-tap away), it’s easy to rack up a ton of likes on your giveaway photo. If you want to have a successful giveaway you need to give your followers clear and precise instructions. If participants have to take multiple steps to enter, be sure to make the instructions as simple as possible. Create or use an attractive, engaging photo of your prize (your product is the best way) to grab their attention. After stating in the caption that you have to like the post to be automatically entered to win. Book a demo to learn how our team of contest experts can help you create a high-converting social media contest today.

22. Run a “Follow to Enter” Giveaway

Just like a like-to-enter giveaway, tag-to-enter giveaways are awesome when you’re looking to generate a large number of followers. The same tactics apply, but make sure you ask entrants to tag two (or any number) of their friends to enter. This spreads the image further, increases the number of people that will see it, and achieves more entrants. This can translate easily to more followers and more likes on your future photos. At Wishpond, we’ve helped to generate over 100,000 leads for businesses just like yours. One of the most used lead generation tools is contests and giveaways. In fact, we helped our client earn over $100,000 in sales with one shopping spree giveaway. Click here to see what we can do for you

23. Partner With an Influencer

Influencer marketing has been one of the top marketing trends for the past seven years, and rightfully so. Around 50% of social media users prefer getting product information from their favorite influencers rather than the brand itself.

Boosting any of your posts for a project

Allowing brands to create branded content ads on behalf of your Creator account for the duration of a project Find an influencer that compliments your brand to partner with for a post, marketing campaign or to help boost awareness. This helps your business reach more people within your target market and increases your credibility through social proof. Influencers’ followers take their decisions into account – and this means the people they’re posting to will be more open to buying a product from your business. Influencer marketing is only successful when it’s done right. To get you on track and answer any further questions you may have about it, view these detailed influencer marketing guides below: Make sure if you partner with an influencer that you give the influencer enough time to inform their followers in the days leading up to the takeover that they’ll be on your account – this makes their followers aware of your account, increases your follower count, and gets you more likes. Again, this helps generate credibility and traction for your brand within your influencer’s fanbase.

25. Partner With Other Brands

You can take this a step further and partner with the other brand to host a giveaway, featuring a prize package that has both of your products. This is super engaging and can help both of your brands share followers and get more likes on your photos – meaning more potential sales in the future. You can also “boost” your posts to get them more reach instead of going to your Facebook ads manager. This allows you to reach more people within a single post. If your targeting is sound and your content is engaging, you can bet you’ll gain more followers who are interested in your business, which means more likes. But boosting a post is not the same as creating an ad campaign, rather it’s a mini version of it.

27. Post Videos & GIF’s

Other media types are often more engaging than photos when you’re looking at a crowded Instagram feed. The first of these media types is video or gifs. 54% of consumers want to see more video content from a brand or business they support. Posting a video featuring something like a “how-to” of one of your products, a sneak peek at an upcoming product, or some other engaging content idea can be a much more exciting media piece than a simple photo.

28. Create a Fun Boomerang

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Boomerang is sort of like a video, except it’s 1 second long, you take it as a photo, and it plays back and forth (hence the name). Posting a Boomerang is another great way to pull attention from your followers. Make sure it’s something exciting – a Boomerang with quick and dramatic movement is the most engaging kind. You can upload them to your story or feed, the key is to come up with engaging content that lasts for 1 second. You can download the app or use this feature in your Instagram story.

29. Shake Things Up With Carousel Posts

Carousels are yet another awesome way to share media on the visual content platform. Use a carousel to showcase several different moments from an event, to create a story to share with your viewers, or to highlight a few selections from your product line. If you do choose to use a carousel then use a combination of images and videos in the same carousel. This is known to generate the highest engagement rate per post.

30. Tag Influential Accounts & Brands

Look for influential accounts within your industry, and tag these accounts in your new posts (in the photo itself, not in the caption). This is also known as a “shout-out”. Not only does this inform these accounts of your new photos, but it also gets your photos to show up on their feeds in the “tagged in” section. This is a handy way to reach other people within your target market, and could possibly get you featured on these influential accounts. But don’t go off tagging people willy nilly. Ensure that your content and caption align with the person’s mission, industry, and target audience. This could be as simple as saying thank you, reposting their content, or sharing their content/products with your audience. Posting photos of your customers and users is an awesome way to interact more intimately with the people who make your business as successful as it is. Not only are these photos more genuine (photos with people tend to do better than those without), but they’re also more engaging – meaning more likes and followers. This is a great way to use social proof in your Instagram marketing strategy. Tagging the people featured in these posts in the photos increases the chances that they (and their followers) will see it – meaning more interactions.

32. Post Relatable & Motivational Quotes

People love motivational quotes. Such content is short, witty, eye-catching, and can be very relatable to help everyone find much-needed inspiration and positivity.

Quotes are attention-grabbing and easy to read.

Around 86% of millennials believe that user-generated content (also known as UGC) is a good indicator of a brand or product’s quality. User-generated content (UGC) is content created by individuals outside of the business. It’s authentic and created by people who love your brand. User-generated content is one of the perks of maintaining an active social media presence. People who are fans of brands who are active on social media often post content related to these brands. Instead of simply liking these photos or even commenting, take an extra few minutes and repost their photos, giving them credit. Here are some UGC guides you can dive into before you get started: Keep your account active and find new followers by engaging on popular posts or with popular accounts. This helps to show how active and approachable your brand is on Instagram. Your explore page feed is a great way to find new content to engage with. If you follow industry-specific accounts, you’ll find that your explore feed is full of relevant content. Find popular posts and comment on them – just a short, simple one will do! Other people who engage with that post (along with the original poster) will see your comment, and that may lead them to learn more about your brand by visiting your profile – meaning more reach, engagement, and likes.

35. Create a “Tag-A-Friend” Posts

Posting relatable content related to your industry, brand, and product is one of the most engaging ways to get more likes on Instagram. The subject matter can be anything – products other people might like, funny videos, or memes. For example, you could post a photo of your latest product with a CTA in the caption saying something like “tag a friend who would like this!”. This spreads awareness of your brand in a way that’s a little more organic than most. Following other Instagram accounts helps you get noticed, find and receive new followers. But don’t just follow anyone, you’ll be able to follow your employees, favorite influencers, brands, and thought leaders in your industry. But don’t just follow them, interact with these people (follow them, like their posts, and comment) and you’ll find they often follow you back and engage in your photos. It’s a good practice to follow a couple of new accounts a day – this also helps to bolster your own follower count, meaning your account looks more credible to future visitors.

37. Post Consistently

It works like this: posting consistently means you’re continuously engaging your current followers and gaining more followers, helping you sustain a certain level of engagement while you continue to grow. Going long periods without posting content can cause your current followers to unfollow you, decreasing the engagement you receive on future posts. To minimize the risk of this, make sure you’re posting at least every few days.

38. Find the Best Times to Post

To beat the algorithm you’ll have to also post at the best times. Posting during the early hours of the morning is often best. Of course, this depends on your audience and when they’re most active. Growing your Instagram can be an uphill climb, but with the right tips and tools. For more tips check out The Best Time to Post on Instagram & Best Posting Practices to Follow.

39. Drive Engagement With Questions

A question in photo captions (related to the photo, of course) is more engaging and gets your photo viewers thinking. You can also host a live Q&A session on Instagram stories where you can interact with customers in real-time and after resharing the experience in your feed or IGTV. Next to that, you can use Instagram story stickers.

40. Capitalize On Trending Topics

There’s always some trend that’s sweeping the internet. Whether that’s the latest meme, TikTok video, trending reel, or news item, each of these things presents an opportunity for your business to leverage it and generate more Instagram likes. Post content related to these things as well as your brand to create a piece of content that’s (usually) relatable, funny, and top-of-mind. A simple product shot with text that says something like “30% off this week!” is easy to read, and people will often save and like it to make sure they remember it. You can go a step further and say something along the lines of, “show us you follow us in-store and get 30% off your next purchase”. This increases your follower count, meaning you’ll generate more likes from these people in the future. Post about your Q&A in the days leading up to it so people are aware of it – if you’re not sure people will show up, hinting that there’ll be a discount or prize given away during the stream can help boost your Live viewers. Hosting an ongoing series is posting photos or videos that are done with a common or singular theme. This could be educational, entertainment, or both. It’s done seasonally, over a short or long period of time. The key is to build steady engagement and help to promote your brand or product.

44. Get Your Content Reposted on Other Accounts

The key is to find an account that’s not only popular but within your niche. For example, Food Porn finds images from amazing restaurants and tags the brand. The restaurant being tagged gets exposure and new followers. You may have to reach out to these accounts or keep posting amazing content until you get noticed.

45. Write Compelling Captions

Incredibly engaging posts need a great caption. If you want to get more engagement, then it’s a great idea to open your captions up to your audience. Don’t just post a closed caption, like “I love pancakes.” Instead, post something like “Do you love pancakes as much as I do?”. This will get your audience involved. To increase your Instagram likes, think about writing captions that stand out and make an impact. Don’t just rewrite the same thing everyone else is saying. Find a new angle, add a joke, or say something different from what your followers may be expecting. Using lots of emojis in your captions is also a great idea. The more eye-catching your captions are, the more likes you will be able to attract.

Wrapping Up

There are 45 Instagram hacks, ideas, strategies & tips to help you get more likes on Instagram. I’d like to end this article by asking you to remember that, at the end of the day, Instagram likes are a vanity metric. Remember that no matter how many likes you get, if you don’t turn your followers into customers, that’s all they are – just likes.

Good luck, ‘grammers!

As long as you post high-quality content that your target audience loves, you’ll be able to attract more likes on Instagram. Post quality images or Reels, write engaging captions, engage with your followers, use the right hashtags, and post frequently. These are a few ways to get 1k likes on your next post. There are many reasons why this might be the case. Maybe you’re not posting the right type of content for your audience. You might not be writing engaging captions, responding to comments, or using the right hashtags. It could even be because you’re posting your content while your audience is asleep. Likes on Instagram shouldn’t have to cost you a thing. By p[osting quality content that your audience is interested in, posting it at the right time and using the right hashtags, you’ll instantly be able to get a lot more likes.

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