While Instagram is generally known for boosting brand visibility and nurturing a community, it isn’t always the first platform people think of for driving significant traffic to a company’s website. However, increased engagement on Instagram can lead to a side effect of more visitors to your site. Here are six easy methods to utilize Instagram not just for brand recognition, but also to generate more site traffic:
- Prioritize Your Website Link in Your Bio: When users discover your content, they often click through to your bio to learn more. This makes your Instagram bio the most important place to feature your website or blog URL. Despite the 150-character limit, inserting your URL should be a top priority. Furthermore, be sure to briefly introduce your brand, what services you offer, and how you can assist your audience.
- Drop a Shortened Link in Your Comments: Links shared within the Instagram comment section are not live or hyperlinked. However, leaving your URL in comments you create can still encourage additional engagement and traffic. Just remember to keep your comments engaging, relevant, and focused to avoid triggering spam flags.
- Protect Your Images with a Branded Watermark: You never know when one of your visuals might suddenly go viral. To capitalize on this, make sure all your pictures are watermarked with your business name and URL. Tools like iWatermark can quickly stamp your URL onto your images if you need assistance.
- Feature Your Top-Performing Content: Direct sharing of a blog post to drive traffic is simple on platforms like Twitter and Facebook, but it presents a greater challenge on Instagram. You need to find inventive strategies to promote the images you share. Consider creating a weekly recap of your favorite products or blog posts from your site to entice followers to click through.
- Always Include Pricing on Product Photos: It’s smart to pre-qualify your audience. On Pinterest, product images displaying a price generally see greater click-through rates than those without, and this pattern is likely to be similar on Instagram. If a potential customer is interested in your product, do not make them search for the price.
- Focus on Authenticity: Remember that you are leveraging Instagram to build brand awareness and to give your audience a more genuine and relatable experience of your business. Applying these methods will allow users who want to engage with your brand to easily connect with you via your website.