Many Chinese companies venturing overseas and investing in Instagram (IG) operations find it challenging, particularly when it comes to organic growth. However, choosing the right direction and methods is crucial. Building a brand presence and achieving profitability on Instagram requires a solid understanding of the platform’s fundamentals, combined with systematic strategies and consistent effort.
Today, we’ll focus on follower growth, a priority for most overseas companies, and explore key points to help you master the basics of thriving on Instagram.
1. How to Create a Captivating IG Profile to Attract and Engage Followers?
Your profile serves as the first impression for potential followers, making it a critical component of your Instagram strategy. What makes profiles stand out? Beyond brand recognition, two key elements drive higher engagement: the presentation of your profile and bio. Keep your bio concise, highlighting value propositions for your followers. For brand accounts, use your logo as profile picture; for personal accounts, select a profile picture that reflects your personality and aligns with your account’s persona. The content layout below the bio should focus on a specific niche. Avoid posting overly diverse content, as this can dilute your main message and make it harder for viewers to remember your brand. A clear and visually appealing layout with well-thought-out color schemes, collages, and staggered post arrangements can showcase carefully crafted, high-quality content. This helps establish a unique brand identity and tone, thereby increasing the likelihood of attracting and retaining followers.
2. Understanding Posts, Reels, and Stories: Which Is More Effective?
Posts: Single or multiple images (up to 10 per post), including GIFs, remain permanently on your profile. They’re ideal for showcasing detailed product features/highlights, brand stories, and deeper content.
Reels: Short video format that can reach beyond your current followers, potentially attracting new audiences. Reels also remain permanently on your profile and are particularly beneficial for new accounts looking to gain followers. When your content is compliant and of high quality, this format can draw additional viewers and traffic, effectively expanding your brand’s reach. Reels are excellent for demonstrating product 3D scenes, sharing brand culture, or recapping events.
Stories: Combining images or videos with stickers, stories offer a 24-hour window accessible by tapping on your profile picture. Brands often use stories for daily updates, time-limited offers, and gathering user feedback. With a rich set of sticker features, you can include links, Q&As, and polls.
In summary, rather than agonizing over which format to choose, it’s more important to maintain a frequent posting schedule—aiming for at least two posts per week—and to focus on enhancing the visual and textual appeal. Quality content remains the cornerstone of social media success.
3. Enhancing Your Call to Action (CTA)
Many companies overlook CTAs in their IG operations, yet they are a powerful tool for boosting engagement. Follows are a key interaction metric, and you can improve CTA effectiveness with these tips:
Direct: If you want more followers, include a call-to-action like “Follow us” at the end of your captions. If you prefer direct messages, simply state “Feel free to DM us”.
Simple: Use short, familiar words. Younger audiences and fast-paced browsing on Instagram mean that complex language can hinder comprehension and engagement.
4. Increasing Follow-Back Rates
To grow your follower base through engagement, employ these tactics:
Engagement targets: Identify similar brands and gather potential interaction targets from their follower lists. Exclude inactive accounts (those with no profile picture, no posts, or no followers) and accounts with disproportionately high numbers of followers compared to followings (as they are unlikely to follow you back). Finally, tailor your list further to match your target audience, enhancing the probability of getting relevant follow-backs.
Engagement actions: Once you’ve identified your targets for engagement, simply following isn’t enough. To increase the likelihood of follow-backs, visit the profiles of your targets, like their posts, and leave thoughtful comments. More active engagement signals genuine interest and sincerity, making it more likely that they will notice you and follow you back.