Instagram is an app that is a powerful marketing tool if you’re running a business or you want to be an influencer. However, many people do not know how to use it and give up before they can grow their platform. It’s an app where you can make plenty of mistakes, with one of them being posting inconsistently. Even if you use Instagram autolikes to grow your visibility, you can still be in trouble if you’re inconsistent, because they will penalize you just for not using the site a lot. So this article will look at consistency in Instagram and explain how that can make for better marketing.
What Do We Mean By Consistency?
Consistency, in this context, refers to several actions you take on Instagram. Let’s break them all down.
Consistently Posting
This refers to how often you upload content. On Instagram, you should post content an average of three to five times weekly in order to achieve best results.
Why? Because it’s the best sweet spot for the algorithm. If you rarely upload, it may reduce your reach, meaning fewer people will see your content. On the other hand, it is possible to upload too much. This can annoy your user base, leading them to unfollow or mute you. In turn, this can destroy your reach. There is also the chance that if you’re constantly posting, some people might see that as spam.
In addition, posting too much can stretch your creativity thin, affecting the quality of your content.
Posting at Consistent Times
It’s also not about how often you post but when you post. Instagram’s algorithm pushes the most recent content, so if you’re posting when your audience is asleep or at work, you will have poor reach.
You can go to your insights and visit the Audience tab to learn when your audience is most active. Then, you can schedule content according to when your audience is the most active so that they can see your posts and interact with them, thereby boosting the reach on your account.
Of course, your audience can be active at a time that’s inconvenient for you. Just as it’s challenging to link up your schedules with friends, it’s also challenging to link up your time with the audience’s time. Luckily, there is a scheduler you can use to make things easier. This allows you to publish content beforehand, giving you the upper hand.
Consistent Content
If you’re using Instagram for fun, you may be more relaxed with how you post. You may post content from your life, which can be wildly different. However, if you’re a business, you should have content that fits your brand.
This isn’t to say you should post repetitive content all the time; this can make your audience leave. What it does mean is that it should have similar fonts, branding, messaging, and vibes. It’s possible to do this and provide various content to keep your audience going.
Consistent Response
You want to be consistent with how you interact with your audience. This can come in the form of answering messages, responding to comments, liking comments, and more. Audience interaction is vital in keeping your brand going and showing your audience that you care. This isn’t to say that you need to respond to every comment, but have some sort of consistency that makes the audience feel like their comments matter.
Consistent Improvement
Finally, you want to be consistent with how you improve as an Instagram user. While you should be consistent with your marketing strategy, this marketing strategy will change over time. What works a year from now may be different from what works now. Your business may have to evolve as customer needs do. You may need to check your analytics monthly to ensure you’re on the right track.
How to Be Consistent
Now that we’ve laid the groundwork for being consistent, we will tell you how to be as consistent as possible on Instagram.
Come Up With a Content Strategy and Plan Ahead
Before using Instagram, you want to know what content you will publish. Instagram is a platform that rewards you if you use all its features, so you should post photos, videos, Stories, and Reels.
Your content strategy should be a mix of several different ideas. If you sell a product, a video demonstrating it is a good idea. So is an image of facts relating to the industry associated with the product. You may post fun Stories that also give a peek behind the company curtain.
When developing a content strategy, look to your competition for inspiration. No matter how niche your company is, there will be competition in some form or the other. Ask yourself what your competition does well, what they could do better, and how you can gain an edge.
Your content strategy should also include the best hashtags and keywords to use and have plans for regular engagement farming posts. For instance, you may post asking the audience about their favorite food. You should not do this often, but you should do it occasionally to boost your stats.
Besides coming up with a content strategy, you should come up with a content calendar that gives you an idea of what you’re going to post and when. This will save you from needing to post content and having no opinion.
Again, post three to five times weekly to give ideas and prevent burnout. Don’t stress yourself thinking of an idea every single day of the week.
With that said, don’t be afraid to go overboard with ideas. Create a list of ideas for content, and produce content beforehand. This way, you’ll never be without a dry spell.
Think of How You Want to Present Your Content
While experimenting with your style is fine, you should post as consistently as possible. For instance, you should pick between one or two fonts that can signal to people that it’s your branding. Having a color palette and using that on your graphics as much as possible is also excellent.
Everything on Instagram, from the filter to how your captions are written out, is carefully planned and a part of your branding. If you’re a sophisticated company, you may not want to post content that uses the latest slang. On the other hand, it may benefit you to remove your suit and tie and let your hair down.
Once you’ve found consistent content branding, stick to it unless you must rebrand.
Scheduling is Your Friend
We cannot stress the importance of scheduling. Many people do not even know scheduling exists, putting you in the upper hand if you decide to use it. Scheduling can help you post content ahead of time, meaning that you don’t have a week where you’re scrambling.
In addition, scheduling works well if you’re struggling to post when your audience is active. If you want to schedule content, you can open Instagram, tap Post/Reel, create your post, go to Advanced Settings > Schedule, then choose a date. Then, you click the Schedule button once you’re ready to post.
Also, you can reschedule content or delete content once scheduled. To do this, go to your profile, click the top right, click on Scheduled Content, and then click the post you want rescheduled or deleted. You should have the option to do so.
Take Some Time Out of Your Day to Respond to Messages and Comments
Ignoring your comments and messages is a bad look for your brand. On the other hand, spending all day responding to comments can destroy your productivity. So, what’s the solution? Have some time out of your day to review comments. You can like some comments you feel are the best, respond to any messages, etc.
One way to make messaging easier is to set up an automated reply. An automated reply will inform the person that their message will be responded to or give information on a better way to contact your business. You can go to Facebook Business Suite and “Inbox>Automatic replies,” which can help you construct the best automatic reply.
This setting has several to choose from. For instance, you can have an away message when your customer service department is not open for immediate response.
Check Your Insights
Instagram has insights that tell your post reach, audience demographics, and more. Checking your insights regularly ensures that you are on the right track. If your insights are lower than usual, figure out why, and try doing better. For example, if your post has poor reach, it may be because of poor keyword or hashtag use, or it doesn’t resonate with your target audience.
How often should you check your Insights? It all depends. Some people check it weekly or biweekly. Others, monthly. It can depend on your business size and how new your account is. A new account takes a while to gain a following, so you may want to check it monthly.
When your insights need to improve, you may adjust your marketing strategy. Be consistent with the new strategy, then figure out if that content adjustment has worked in your favor.
Final Thoughts
Instagram is a website that rewards consistency, which can come in many forms. It can take a long time to grow an audience, but when you’re consistent, you will gain a following as long as your content is good and resonates with your target audience.
We hope this article was helpful to you. Now that you know about Instagram and consistency, create content you feel your audience will love.