Instagram recently surpassed the 700 million user mark and that deserves a huge “Wow!”

If you’re wondering about who, what, when, where, why and how, then you only need to look to Mark Zuckerberg. No one gets it better than Mark.

By investing heavily in Facebook products such as Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp and Instragram, he’s created an ecosystem where millions of people get to connect and share their stories online every day.

But enough about Mr Zuckerberg, let’s get back to the Wow.

Facts Speak For Themselves

With more than 700 active million users per month, Instagram offers a large gathering of followers that can benefit your business. These followers could very well become your customers, so they’re worth pursuing. Especially since Insta users have shown that they’re ready to engage with businesses within and outside of the app.

More than 80 percent of users follow at least one business, and over 120 million users visit a website, get directions, call, email or direct message a business every month from the app.

Instagram is all about being seen. Which business wouldn’t want to increase their visibility, right? More visibility means new users finding, following and engaging with you, and yes – eventually buying from you. The key to increased visibility is to expand your reach.

Three Keys For Stronger Instagram Game

There are three basic elements to bear in mind when looking to increase reach and promote growth: content, caption, time.

It’s all about creating a voice behind the brand, producing engaging content, and building a relationship with your followers.

Engagement on Instagram is not so easy as it’s a rather isolated space, compared to other platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter, where interaction happens publicly. If someone were to comment on an Instagram post, chances are you won’t see it unless you’re following that brand or if they tag you.

If you’re planning to use Instagram to grow your brand or business, it’s important to develop a good marketing strategy that will help keep you on track along the way. You will soon realize that follower engagement plays a vital role in growing your Instagram account as well as your brand.

While there’s no magic formula to getting more followers, here is a list of tactics that will be helpful along the way.

• If you want a massive Insta following, you need to be posting high quality content (photos and video) ALL of the time – not just post randomly or once every week or so.
• Write descriptive captions. Storytelling will help generate engagement and sharing.
• Interact with top influencers; aim to become one of their favourite people or brands.
• Promote your dedicated hashtag on your other social media profiles, on your website, and your email blast.
• Get creative with your hashtags. Be funny, be outrageous. Be different but not boring!
• Scan for relevant topics and trending hashtags. Join these conversations to get in front of more people.
• Emojis are becoming a universal mode of expression. Nearly 50 percent of all captions and comments on Instagram now have an emoji or two. Make sure you use the right emoji to convey your message.
• Cross-promote your Instagram account and content on other social channels.
• Use your weblink to drive traffic to your newest or most popular content.
• Use the call-to-action buttons such as Shop Now and Install Now, as people will be able to learn about a product or service and take action directly from an ad to sign up on a website, buy a product, or download an app.

Many businesses still struggle on Instagram or avoid it entirely, because they don’t find the site intuitive and they aren’t sure how to actually build a list of active, engaged followers.

Not utilizing the network could be a huge mistake for a business as an established Instagram profile with a lot of followers can open up opportunities to establish your brand as a trusted authority within your industry, promote your business and increase sales.

So give it a shot!