Community building on Instagram

• #How To
• #Social Media

How businesses can build loyalty with their target audience on Instagram.

A loyal customer base that follows recommendations and buys the company’s own services or products – that’s what every company wants. With a loyal community, this can be achieved with the help of the social media platform Instagram. How does that work? We’ll explain in this blog post.

Why is a community so important?

The primary goal of any company is to sell its own products or services. To do this, of course, it needs customers on the consumer side. But these are met not only via the traditional route of existing customers, but also via social media platforms such as Instagram. Here, the company’s own community, i.e. the followers of the profile, plays a significant role. They are an important component of effective branding. The management of this community can then be seen as a link between the company and its customers. This community management creates customer proximity and the needs of (potential) customers can be identified more quickly, so that they can be responded to more quickly. This creates a basis of trust with the company’s own customer base. Since the company’s own target group can be reached and addressed specifically on Instagram, this platform is so important for companies.

How do you define your target group?

However, in order to address one’s own target group, it must first be defined. As a rule, every company knows from the start who it wants to address with its services or products. If you already have an Instagram account, you can use Instagram Insights to gain an insight into your own community. In addition, it has proven useful so far to keep an eye on socio-demographic, geographic, behavioral and psycho-oriented criteria and to evaluate them.

In order to get to know the community on Instagram and at the same time to create loyalty, it also makes sense to conduct small polls in the Instagram Story every now and then. This creates a personal interaction.

How do you build a community?

Building your own target audience as a community on Instagram is, of course, the goal of using the platform. There are a few ways to achieve this goal.

The most important thing to successfully build a community on Instagram is to publish content regularly. However, you shouldn’t just post anything, but always keep your unique selling proposition in mind and have a strategy. When posting, you should also rely on the various formats of the platform. In addition to the classic feed postings, the Instagram Story and other creative formats such as reels are recommended.

Another important point is the posting times. In the best case, companies should post their content exactly when their target group is active on Instagram. In addition, they should also offer added value. This works by mixing information, entertainment and exchange. The content should then be geared to the target group and reflect the company’s values. If this is combined with emotions, the community can identify better with the company.

Another way to build a close bond with the community is through interaction. The relevance of community management is often underestimated. As a company, however, you should always be active, exchange information with the existing community, respond to messages as quickly as possible, react to comments, and interact with other accounts in the form of likes and comments. Networking within one’s own industry should also not be neglected.

Storytelling also makes a company appear more accessible. This can be achieved by packaging various topics well and creating a recognizable common thread. It can be useful to provide insights into the company’s everyday life. In the context of storytelling, you should also keep an eye out for trends that you can incorporate into your own strategy.

More tips for community engagement

When building a community, it is important to set realistic and smart goals that are measurable. An example of this could be “In June 2021, we would like to have 5,000 followers on our account”. Monthly reports, in which, for example, the follower growth is recorded as a percentage, can help to keep track of the goal achievement.

Conclusion

In order to build up a loyal customer base on social media and win new customers, it is essential to establish close ties with your own community. To achieve this, (potential) customers must identify with the company. This can be achieved with content that offers added value and fits the company. If you have built up a loyal customer base via Instagram, it is more likely that they will follow purchase recommendations and remain loyal to the company – community built up, goal achieved!