Let’s start this blog with an idea of just how successful Instagram is. Since its creation, Instagram has become the most widely used platform for sharing photos and videos. The app currently houses 1.318 billion users globally. There are plenty of influencers using Instagram to grow their brands and businesses. This means that with the right marketing strategy, you can build your programming career too. The key to staying successful on Instagram is posting relevant and compelling content that keeps current followers hooked while bringing in new ones. However, finding out the best posts for your audience takes a lot of work. This blog is here to help you with four main strategies to keep in mind to grow your programming career.
How to Increase Your Reach as a Programmer
Millions of people use Instagram actively daily, making it a major platform for businesses to market their services. With so many competitors in the field, here are some top strategies to get you more customers through Instagram.
1.Harness The Power of Free Instagram Marketing Tools
Upgrading your account to a business profile on Instagram is completely free and very helpful. You get access to Insights, which gives you statistics such as impressions, engagement, data, and so on. You can get an idea of the demographic of your followers such as age, gender, location, and their times of peak activity on the app. Not to mention, Insights are not generalized, they give you specific insights for posts you made during the week. This can give you an idea of what your top most successful posts are and the impressions you earned in a specific period.
These free tools are priceless in terms of how they can help your programming career because they give you real insight into how you can please your followers. The more knowledge you gain about how users interact with posts, the more you can adjust your content for more engagement.
2. Gently Urge People to Use Your Services
You can easily increase your sales for new services by using Instagram to post service teasers. If done correctly, Instagram marketing can help you gently bring in more customers instead of making them turn away. The key to selling services on Instagram is not being pushy because if you are too pushy, your followers will drop like flies. Service teaser posts are simple enough and increase excitement among followers without appearing like you’re forcing services down their throats.
For example, you can provide a link to your followers of the Instagram shop feature where they can view a catalog of your services and your inventory. Clicking on an item your followers like will direct them to your website, where they can complete the purchase. These ads work perfectly because they are not too pushy, but they are laid back. These service teasers simply use discounts and service images to entice followers into purchasing them.
3.Create Sponsored Ads
Instagram ads are becoming more common and helpful day by day. The key point to sponsored ads on the app is affordability. You can set an ad budget, and get your posts sponsored and boosted accordingly. You can use the carousel feature on Instagram to showcase multiple ads at once or opt for showcasing only one ad. This can help you reach your targeted audience on Instagram in a completely new way. Before using sponsored posts, users could only follow your account to see new updates and services. But now, you can promote your new posts so that your targeted audience can see them without following you.
The key to making good sponsored posts is using engaging and compelling content that appeals to your targeted audience. You can even boost your most successful posts by turning them into ads, to get potential customers.
Here are some types of content you can use for sponsored ads:
- Reels
- Stories
- Photos
- Videos
- Dynamic/Carousel Ads
- Stories Canvas
4.Use Instagram Stories
Generating leads and customers has never been easier with Instagram stories. Instead of appearing in the feed, Instagram stories appear directly above, giving a more exclusive feel. Instagram reels come in a slideshow format, making them different from regular posts, but also making it easier to pitch your services through them. Instagram reels can only be viewed for 24 hours unless they are sponsored.
The main reason why Instagram stories are so popular is because they have endless benefits. The first benefit is that they are displayed on the top of home pages, which makes users gravitate towards them. A popular suggestion is using behind-the-scenes content that comes from the making of more high-quality posts. Stories are much more relaxed than regular posts, so you can truly have fun with them.
Instagram also has many options for you to experiment with different kinds of content mixes in the Stories section, like live videos, Boomerangs, reels, short videos, photos, rewind videos, live videos, etc. You can also use graphic designer rookie tools like InVideo and Canva to create personalized content for reels that your followers will appreciate.
On the other hand, Instagram reels are a more permanent form of Stories as they are short videos of up to a minute long that do not disappear after 24 hours. A lot like TikTok, Instagram provides many built-in editing tools for reels.
You can easily tag other accounts in Stories, perfect for collaborations with other brands or Insta-influencers. You can use face filters, fun text fonts, and stickers to create fun and eye-catching Stories.
5. Conduct a Competitive Analysis
We suggest you look at the type and formats of the content created by your competitors. This will give you an idea of what is popular in the programming industry. For example, showing viewers the effect of certain codes, or showcasing your web designing skills might be a popular idea for a Reel. You can also learn from the mistakes of your competitors.
A competitive analysis means digging deep into what your competitors are posting such as formats, edits, audios, and what captions and hashtags they are using. You’ll get an idea of what works for the Instagram account of a programmer, and will be able to market your services to your clients.
6. Build an Editorial Calendar
An editorial calendar can help you manage your time better on Instagram. We suggest creating a calendar to and putting down types of posts and when to make them. You can also plan them out further by adding more details about which trends to follow. Trends are important on Instagram, so make sure you follow them and create trendy content when it’s popular. No one wants to be late to an Instagram trend, that does more harm than good.
7. Build a Brand Image on Instagram
It’s important for potential clients to know that your programming skills are the best thing about you. But you need to set yourself apart from other programmers, and here’s when your personality comes into play. Whether you’re bold and adventurous, or smart and eclectic, make sure you display it on your profile.
Conclusion: Instagram Marketing to Grow Your Programming Career
Social media marketing may seem overwhelming, but you can use these four strategies to make the most of Instagram marketing without spending too many resources. You can focus on growing your programming career and interacting with your targeted audience who are sure to engage with your posts. You can take advantage of tools like Insights and Google Analytics to truly keep a watchful eye on metrics and use them to your advantage. We hope this blog helped you understand the top 4 Instagram practices to get your name out there.
