Instagram offers a great way to reach out to a huge audience. Some 500 million people browse Instagram every day, making it one of the largest and most active audiences in the world. Not only can you reach a lot of people, but you can also use targeting to hone in on the audience that will be most relevant to you and your brand.

Unfortunately, Instagram’s popularity and potential mean the website is stuffed with fake accounts and unscrupulous parties. However, you can safely grow a genuine audience by following the ten tips below.

Post at the Right Time

When it comes to posting on Instagram, time can have a big influence. The hours from 11am to 5pm are often considered the best. However, you should experiment and gather data. Then, you can post based on your own best results.

Be Consistent

One of the most important steps you can take is simply being consistent. It takes time to build momentum, so you have to post day-in and day-out. And if potential followers see that your profile is only sporadically active, they may be less inclined to follow you.

Use Hashtags Properly

Getting your hashtags right is vital. You can use a free online web tool to find relevant hashtags, or you can use the hashtags that are working for your competitors.

You’ll want to include several hashtags that are relevant specifically for your product, and also several more that are relevant for your brand and audience.

Use Geotags

Another smart hashtag idea is to use geotags. You can combine the above Instagram hashtag tips and geotags to create a sound hashtag strategy. Media Explode, for example, might use:

#NYCmedia #NewYorkAdvertisingfestival #bestWebdesign #mediabestpractices #awesomeads #NYCwebdesign #cuttingedgetech #NewYorkMedia #BrooklynAdCompany #BestAdPractices #SMMTips

Pay for Sponsored Product Reviews and Posts

Influencer marketing is huge on Instagram. You should consider paying for some sponsored posts and product reviews. While free is better, paid sponsorship can help supercharge your Insta efforts.

Steal The Competition’s Audience

I don’t always condone stealing but when it comes to social media, it’s a great strategy to “borrow” from the competition.  Since the audience is interested in your competition, there’s a good chance that they’d be interested in your products or services as well.

You can steal your competition’s audience by looking at their accounts and engaging with their audience. This means either following a user, liking a phone, or commenting on a photo. You should try to mix things up and see what types of engagement work best with a given audience.

Use Highlights to Engage Visitors

You should highlight your best stories using the “highlights” feature. This way, when someone lands on your page, they’ll be seeing the best of what you have to offer. You could explain your products, create teasers, or offer timely content.

Pay Attention to Trends

Trends are huge on Instagram. It can be hard to keep track of all of them but by following trends and aligning your content and hashtags with those trends, you may be able to grow your audience. Let’s say Fourth of July is approaching. You should craft content around the holiday and use relevant hashtags.

Pay Attention to Your Instagram Data Analytics

If you have an Instagram business account, you’ll gain access to Instagram Analytics. Otherwise, there are some free tools you can use to obtain data insights. Make sure you pay attention to your data.

If a certain topic or day is regularly performing better than others, you should prioritize it. Post more frequently on the topic or day. Over time, this should help you build momentum.

Use Instagram Management Tools

Finally, managing an Instagram account can be a bit of a pain. However, there are a variety of Instagram tools you can use to manage your social media accounts. A few good tools include:

Hootsuite: A social media dashboard that you can use to manage all of your social media profiles from one simple dashboard.

Follow Adder: Automatically like and follow posts. Also features various other automation tools.