How to get more likes on instagram?

[flywrite]

I'm a small business and I try to follow other small businesses in the same category as mine in my area. I use a ton of hashtags that are popular with it. And.. nothing. it's kind of embarrassing. What do yall do? I have 619 followers and eveeytime I post j literally get no likes and it only reaches like 6 people

 

[marktrovit]

@flywrite Some people will use a service like Zup Social. Just saying.

 

[alice03]

@flywrite Something that really turned the tide for me was getting super interactive. Instead of just following similar businesses, I started actively commenting on their posts, and not just generic comments, but meaningful ones that sparked conversations.

Also, mixing up my hashtags helped a lot—using a combination of popular and niche hashtags specific to my local area and industry, I get my tags from Boost App Social. It has also been a lifesaver in generating creative content ideas and catchy captions that resonate with my audience, making them more likely to engage.

Another strat is to experiment with different content formats, like reels or carousels. Diversifying your content can attract a wider audience.

 

[mpt]

@flywrite Make reels every day.

 

[flywrite]

@mpt Good idea!!! thing is I have no idea what to make a video of lol

 

[lost_1]

@flywrite Maybe try using chatGPT to come up with 10 ideas related to your niche. Then spend 30 minutes just with a phone in front of you recording yourself talking about each of those things. Just 30 seconds each. You now have 10 videos to post. Without knowing exactly what your business does, here are a few extra tips:

1) Transparency is a great technique. People tend to like and prefer seeing real people, not preachy content from so-called ‘gurus’. For example, if your business is home made candles - show the process behind it. Show yourself making a bunch of different candles.

2) Think about what would make a person watch your video a few times over. This tends to be best dealt with by having a video that actually provides value to someone. It could be a small nugget of information, a tip, or advice based on your own experience. Remember, you don’t have to claim to be an expert. Just share your own experience - pitch it as what you would do in a given scenario, not what the right thing is to do (as if you’re a know it all). Everyone has some sort of value they can provide, even if they don’t realise it. The people most likely to benefit from your advice are those that are just a few steps behind you. Think of where you were 1 year ago and what advice you would have given to yourself back then.

3) Think of what would make people engage with the video. Engagement could be likes, comments, or shares. People like sharing things with friends if they find it funny, controversial or informative. Controversy is a good way (although not always appropriate) to get people debating in the comments, leaving you with lots of interaction. Ask a question or instruction in your video that people can answer in the comments, such as ‘let me know your thoughts in the comments section.

These are just a few of my suggestions. I don’t claim to be an expert, but based on my research I think these may help! Hopefully at least worth a try.

I hope you get all the success you’re looking for

 

[spartanapostle]

@flywrite For Instagram, it’s more so engagement (saves, shares) and watch time and not so much about likes. You can also change a setting on IG where it will say “liked by User123 and others” instead of showing the amount of likes you have. A lot of popular meme pages do the same so it’s not just for small business pages. This way, it relieves the pressure from likes. Because “likes” doesn’t necessarily equate potential client. It just means someone liked your post.

I can go into more detail, but I feel like there are many YouTube videos on this very subject— how to grow more social media following and engagement. There are plenty of strategies, techniques, tips and tricks BUT I strongly advise after you take in all the info… try to narrow down what works for you and your business. But to quickly note, I would recommend you to also follow different pages that’s not just related in your business. Follow some pages that are adjacent. For example, Im a florist. I follow pages like: flower farms, wedding photographers, wedding venues, hotels, local farmers markets, bridal studios, gemstone jewelers, etc. This way, I can be closer to my desired audience instead of just peers. Hope that helps!

 

[noodle7]

@flywrite What type of biz are you in? On social media the best strategy for getting more engagement may be a bit different depending on if you are selling something high ticket or low ticket.

 

[flywrite]

@noodle7 vintage clothing

 

[noodle7]

@flywrite Oh that's cool. You may want to talk to ur customers about where they like to rock the vintage look, time of year, favorite elements about certain brands in your store, etc.

The more specific the message is about the positive things your brand has the better. General rule of thumb is to talk about things you do better, faster, and more custom than your market's other options (tons of brands cannot talk about this due to ego... which is silly because once you know the market truth it's relatively easy to adapt, but whatever). Your audience's mindset is going to be "what's in it for me?" if images or words are not specific to their values they are not going to be certain about your brand's value and a confused mind does not buy or engage.

Ultimate goal would be to know what ppl say to get their friends to buy from your store and mirror their language/values. Location might be huge if you are in a good area. And you may want to consider showing specific ways you are making the buyer's journey easier for ppl.

 

[markz]

@flywrite Do you think instagram is making your business money? Or would your time be better spent in other forms of marketing

 

[risien]

@flywrite You can run ads on Instagram for as little as $2 per day. There’s a hotdog place in my city called Dirt Dog. They make bacon wrapped hot dogs. I found them by scrolling Instagram one day and saw their ad. I’ve been there maybe 20x over the past few years.

Without their ad on Instagram, would’ve never tried the place. They are on the other side of town and wouldn’t have driven by there.

So whatever your product or service is, showcase it with photos or videos. Talk about how it’s different/better than your competitors. What makes your business unique?

With meta (Facebook and Instagram) ads, you can target age, gender, location (city, state, zip). Every local business should be running IG/FB ads as a part of their marketing budget.

Reels will get you a chance at larger exposure, but if you service a local area, “boosting” a post or running ads through Facebook business manager is the better route. The ad targeting is powerful.

Now to make the right kind of ad, with the right kind of copy that connects with your customer isn’t easy. But if you get that part right, and target it to the right people, you will get more customers.

 

[aditemonroe15]

@flywrite I saw your business is vintage clothing. I know there's a big audience out there for thrifting and/or finding rare pieces at a steal. Not sure if this type of content would fit your wheelhouse.

If you wanted to disclose, you could always make some reels and content about how you go about procuring your inventory as I think others would find that fascinating.

As a creator myself, I like to put myself in the shoes of the audience and think "what would I find interesting, fascinating, entertaining, or educating" around the niche I'm in, and brainstorm ideas.

You can use tools like ChatGPT to give a good rough idea for a content outline, but I still find that ChatGPT has yet to give me a single good unique creative idea that I haven't seen before. Try to look at other creators you like in your genre and think of how can you take their concept but add your own twist to it.

Instagram has transformed far beyond a picture posting/sharing platform, now you have to be posting reels, stories, static images to constantly be engaging your audience and to give instagram the incentive to push your content to a larger audience.