Crushing Instagram in 2021

instagram social media tip Dec 24, 2020

So do you want to crush it on Instagram in 2021? The platform has changed a lot. The growth only continues, but the opportunity is so significant. And so wherever you are in your Instagram game today in 2021, I think you can crush it by doing these things that I'm going to share.

Alright. So Instagram continues to develop. It's a platform that I've been engaged on for many years as a platform actually prioritized three years ago. Every time I go all-in on one specific platform I see a lot of trends. But what has been consistent on Instagram is that it continues to grow month over month, year over year. And I don't anticipate them slowing down in 2021 or even 2022, because Instagram, owned by Facebook, continues to develop and innovate. How? Honestly, primarily by copying other platforms.

But what they've done in integrating DMs into messenger and copying stories from Snapchat and start copying reels from Tiktok is really, really smart and it continues to make this platform that people engage in very significant. And so whatever your goals are on social media, Instagram probably should be either your primary priority or right there at the top.

Understand The People On Instagram

So the first thing you need to do if you want to crush it on Instagram in 2021 is to understand why people are on the platform.

Personal connection

Think about the “whats” and “whys” of somebody on Instagram probably not to buy your product or service. Probably not for your goals, but just looking for you. They're probably on there looking to just kill time and see what's going on with family and friends and be entertained and laugh a little bit, probably getting away from reality, probably getting away from work a little bit in their mind.

And so if you're selling a product that's a B2B product, it's a little more challenging on Instagram. But even in the midst of you're selling a T-shirt, they're not looking to buy a T-shirt, but you want to engage them in a way that does lead them to be interested in your T-shirt or your product or your service.

Direct sales on Instagram is probably not the best

To understand the people on Instagram is to understand why they're there. Understand that they're there to laugh, to see family and friends. And so a direct sale is probably not the best tactic on Instagram. I think building a connection that's personal is the best way to first engage with somebody on Instagram.

Build Relationships On Instagram

The second thing you want to do if you want to crush it on Instagram in 2021 is to build relationships. This seems like common sense and social media. We've been doing social media for a while, but the problem is so many people are just on there just shouting, just buy my product, buy my service, hire me.

Build trust

It’s a challenge that the people aren't looking to buy your product. People buy from the people they trust. This is why social media influencers have become more and more popular, is because they built trust with their audience. And so if you want to crush them on Instagram, you've got to build trust with the people that follow you. You do that by building relationships.

Engage

You build a trust-relationship by commenting on their post, by engaging with them in direct messages, by posting things that are meaningful and valuable to them and personal about you so that they can build a relationship with you. And as they build a relationship with you, they trust you. And then when you want to sell them a product or service, there's a relationship that’s already established. You don't just jump right to the question. You don't just ask somebody to marry you immediately. You begin steadily into the relationship. And so that's what you've got to do on Instagram.

Provide Value

The third thing that you need to do on Instagram in 2021 if you want to crush it is provide value. So with the content that you're creating, is it valuable?

Is it fun?

And value could be that you make people laugh. That's high value. It could be that you're entertaining. People engage with fun stuff. If you’re giving them something that could entertain them or make them laugh, then that’s already something valuable enough.

Is it helpful?

It could be that you give people tips. In some ways that are adding value to them. Selling doesn't necessarily add value. Now, you might think that your product is valuable or your service is valuable but think about the value.

Is it personal?

And sometimes the value is just even personally connecting, celebrating something that's going on in their culture. I think that's important to you or to your organization that's adding value to their feed. And so is there as they're going through their feed, whereas they're going through their stories. What is it that you're adding to their story that they're going to stop and pay attention to what you're posting or they're going to like it or they're going to engage with it in some way? What value can you add to somebody's feed?

Maximize All Instagram’s Functions And Features

And the last suggestion may be the most important is to use all the functions and features of Instagram.

Post

Now, Instagram used to just be photos and basically put filters over photos, but Instagram has become much more than that. And actually, the posts are getting less engagement now than the stories. When it comes to Instagram, if you have a post and you need to post videos and photos, post pictures and little tips here in a longer form of text. That is working better than just doing a post-now kind.

Stories and Reels

As you get into stories, you need to be engaging daily on stories. You need to be going live occasionally on Instagram. Maybe do MicroVlogging With Instagram Stories when sharing your daily story with your followers. You need to be Using Instagram Reels. They brought it into the platform for a reason. It's being prioritized within their feed or within their kind of the way. The platform got only so much space on that mobile screen and they're prioritizing it. And so you need to use all the functions and the features of the platform.

Direct messages

And don't forget DMs. Real person-to-person engagement is happening in the DMs. If you're really looking to build relationships, you're looking to connect with people in a meaningful way. You've got to use all the functions. You've got to go from posting and stories and DMS. And if you don't like it all, then maybe you need to find another platform. But this is how people are engaging in 2021 on Instagram. And if you want to crush on this platform, you need to figure out how you're going to use all of these functions and features to engage people holistically. And not just because you like posting pictures, just do post-now.

Maybe you primarily do post and you lean into your sweet spot there, but make sure you're engaging the other functions and features of what as well in some way to fully maximize the platform and to maximize your engagement on the platform.

So those are my thoughts when it comes to Instagram and crushing it on Instagram in 2021. I want you to crush it. In the comments leave your Instagram handle. Let's connect on Instagram, connect with others on Instagram. I would love to know your thoughts. Do you have any other tips that you found in 2021 that are helping you crush it that could help others crush it?

The Future of Social Media: Instagram

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