5 Things You Must Do To Keep Your Instagram Followers Happy
Published on 24th of January 2019If you want to have a successful brand or business, you have to keep your Instagram followers happy. Your followers are the most important. While you may believe it’s you and what you’re posting, in reality, it’s the people following you and what you’re posting.
You want to keep your followers happy because the last thing you want is to receive DM’s asking why you’re not posting enough, or lose followers. There are two reasons you don’t want to be careless about them.
One, you’re losing potential and/or existing customers. Two, you want to keep your followers happy is because you have a reputation. Your followers determine whether that reputation is good or bad.
You don’t want to have a bad reputation because you’re not doing the simple things it takes to keep your followers happy. You’re probably wondering, what are those simple things?
5 things you must do to keep your instagram followers happy
1. Post often and consistently
You’re supposed to be posting often and consistently on social media. Your followers expect you to post often when they follow you—that’s why they follow you. If they see that the last time you uploaded on Instagram was two weeks ago, depending on the person, they’ll either unfollow you or not follow you at all.
How often you should post on Instagram is a topic that’s widely debated and has not yet been agreed upon. Some people will tell you once a day while others will say three times a day (not including Instagram stories). You can read articles about that, but you’ll be wasting your time.
The best thing to do is experiment with how often you’re posting (and what times you’re posting, for that matter). Then, through your Instagram analytics, which you can access with a business profile, check which method gives you the most engagement.
2. Responding/liking comments
Gary Vaynerchuk has said on Instagram, in his YouTube videos, and even in his keynotes, that you must reply and like your Instagram comments. You may have hundreds of comments on one post, making it impossible to go through them all, but even then, you can reply to at least a dozen.
You have to interact with your followers on Instagram. If they love and adore your brand or business, receiving a like or leaving a comment could push their love for you to grow. You want to build excitement and a hype around your brand.
Go to your last post, read the comments, answer and/or like then, and it will make your followers exceedingly happy to know you’re taking time out of your day to engage with them. If you don’t have the time, then find a way to make time. Just ten minutes could make all the difference.
3. Posting on your story
There are people who haven’t utilized their Instagram story option at all. You don’t want to be one of those people. Your Instagram followers love to see what you’re posting, and they admire that you’re engaging, but still, they want more. They want to see you moving and talking, and that’s what Instagram Stories are all about.
You can post plain text on Instagram stories or pictures, but you can also record short 15-second (the amount of time a story can be) moments. I’ve never read anything that tells you how often you’re supposed to be posting on Instagram stories, and I’ve never seen a pattern amongst those who upload on it every day.
What I have noticed is that Instagram stories are a lot more random than Instagram posts. You can click on story and find five stories, and then click on somebody else’s and find fifteen. Those five stories could be drawn out throughout the day, where you’re sharing behind-the-scenes, or those fifteen stories could be one consistent rant about the patriarchy.
Instagram stories is really up to you, how often you post, and when you do. My one tip: if you feel like uploading a story and you think, “Maybe I should share this on my story,” do it.
4. Interacting people you follow
If you go to Instagram and click the ‘heart’ at the bottom, you’ll see your notifications (who likes your pictures, who comments, etc.). If you go into that section, you’ll notice that at the top are two folder-type section ‘you’ and ‘following’. In that following section, you can see what the people you’re following are liking and commenting on.
When your followers are on that section, you want them to see that you’ve liked and commented on posts so they know you’re engaging with the people you’re following. It lets them know you’re a present figure on Instagram.
This step is the easiest of them all. All you have to do is, in your spare time (or scheduled time, if you prefer), go on the Instagram app and start interacting with the people you follow. Like pictures, but don’t just like them. Take a second to leave a comment. It doesn’t have to be long or heartfelt. A simple ‘Great job!’, ‘Congratulations!’, or ‘Can’t wait to see you next week’ works just fine.
If you can provide value to the people you’re following, that’s even better.
Bonus tip: Don’t just comment emojis!
5. Replying to DM’s
DM’s are important because this is when you get more personal. They’re one-to-ones with your followers, and while some brands and business may interact all the time on Instagram posts, they might not take time to do this step.
Open your DM’s, and see if there aren’t any you can reply to. Whether someone’s thanking you or giving you a kind comment, take a second to tell them thank you. Them them for supporting you and for taking time out of their day to send you a DM. This tells them that you’re the type of person who genuinely cares about their followers.
This is how you keep your Instagram followers happy.