Instagram is a social network with 1 billion monthly users. This is a huge potential for companies. In this post, we will tell you how to find and attract your target audience without advertisements and intrusiveness. All you have to do is go to the Explore page.
What is Instagram Search and Explore?
This is a recommendation page. Offers content that is potentially interesting to the user. Recommendations are formed taking into account:
- Accounts to which the user is subscribed;
- Publications with which the person interacted;
- User subscriptions (including hashtags).
In 2019, the search page has been updated to make it even more user-friendly. The developers have added channels and themes. Now there is:
- Thematic channels – recommendations for areas. For example, travel, fashion, technology.
- Stories. Played automatically. After opening and viewing one of them, the algorithm offers more similar content.
- IGTV – 1-60 minute video.
- Shop – product recommendations. This section provides a tab with a wishlist and a list of business accounts.
And now the main question: why should companies strive to get into Interesting?
- Wide coverage. The publication will be visible to followers and hundreds of other users.
- New subscribers. Posts and stories recommend users who might be interested in your content.
- Greater coverage of the target audience. Instagram’s algorithms know that a given user is interested in the topic of your account. Therefore recommends it.
- Budgetary. Instagram Explore is free advertising. You can only get here if the content is bright and interesting.
How to get on the Instagram explore page?
Follows and likes
It is on them that the algorithms select publications. And you can get them through interesting content for your audience. Therefore, watch the reaction of subscribers. If a post generated a lot of engagement, try to understand what caused it. Design? Filling? Special offer?
High-quality content is always a factor in successful promotion. And in the case of the explore page, it becomes a necessity.
Stories
The main requirement is that the content must be attractive and be liked by users. Therefore, post quality images. Plus, Instagram’s algorithms are more supportive of animated content. Therefore, it is worth supplementing the images with time-lapse graphics, moving elements or storyboards. Even with minimal animation, algorithms perceive the picture as a video and are more willing to add it to Interesting.
Remember, a very important thing, if you work in public places and connect to the Internet there, you need to worry about security. For this we recommend using a very effective tool aimed at this. With them, you can hide your IP and personal data, ensuring a reliable connection.
See how Turkish Airlines is using this tool. The brand shares a helpful selection of articles. Thanks to the correct design, the story looks aesthetically pleasing and harmoniously fits into the corporate identity of the company. At the same time, users are offered valuable content. Turkish Airlines will tell you how to make Autumn 2020 more interesting.
Reposts
If a company seeks to get to the “interesting” page, then reposts should be abstained. Algorithms estimate them significantly lower. It is not necessary to remove reposts from the content strategy, but it is recommended to focus on unique authoring content.
Some brands post user-generated content in their stories. Perhaps they should be limited. Choose the most compelling and aesthetic stories that fit your brand’s content strategy. For example, how the Mosquito brand does it. At the same time, do not forget to fill your account with useful and interesting content for users.
Video content
Videos are great for engaging users. As dynamic, auto-playable content, they grab the attention of users. Perhaps, for this reason, the format is liked by the algorithms of the social network.
One of the best examples of quality video use is the GoPro brand. Its videos attract attention from the first second.
Analytics
Many companies, getting to the cherished page, simply do not notice it. So check if you are one of the following:
- Log into your business account.
- Select a publication.
- Click the “View Statistics”.
- Swipe up to see more information.
- Check if there is a line “Explore” in the “Discovery” section.
If so, congratulations. This is useful information that you can use when planning your content strategy. For example, if the videos are engaging, then create more of that content.
Timing
Algorithms determine interesting content based on the activity of subscribers. High audience engagement is perceived as a sign of quality. This means that the content may interest others.
However, it is impossible to achieve high engagement if subscribers do not see the post. It’s worth publishing when your users are online. Information about the time of activity can be found in the statistics of the business account.
To do this, in a business account:
- Open the home page.
- Click on the three-bar icon in the upper right corner of the screen.
- Select “Insights”.
- Go to the subsection “Total Followers”.
Here you will see statistics on days and times of audience activity. Adjust your content strategy to it. That is, publish posts when your followers are most active.
Conclusion
Instagram Explore is a powerful promotion tool. It is extremely personalized. And the best thing is that it allows you to attract the target audience without financial investment. All you need to do is create quality content. And the solutions described above will help with this.
Author Bio:
Stacey Wonder is a content marketer who enjoys sharing best practices for self-development and careers with others. In her free time, Stacey is fond of contemporary dance and classic French movies.
