Instagram in the current year is a totally different animal from the app teenagers and college students downloaded in 2010. While “the Gram” has always been about self-promotion in one way or another, it took a long time for many businesses to catch on.
The first ads (as we would recognize them today) wouldn’t even appear on anyone’s feed until 2015. During those innocent years, organic growth was everything. The brands and what we now know as “influencers” relied on word-of-mouth to get their content out into the world. Much like early YouTube and Facebook, the name of the game was getting that one viral post to put eyes on your account.
There were no special tools for brands, either. If you were one of those early adapters during this “time before time,” logging onto a business account was no different from a personal account.
The times, they say, are a-changin’. Modern Instagram is dominated by paid promotions, sponsored posts, and shoppable content — images or videos that can convert consumers on the spot. Automation tools have also drastically changed how brands strategize their social media content plans.
And if you want your business to grow, these tools aren’t suggestions. They’re essential for brand awareness and growth.
One of the easiest ways to get laughed right out of a conference room is to suggest a marketing strategy that doesn’t involve Instagram in any meaningful way. And there’s nothing to suggest that’s going to change any time soon.
Analysts expect Instagram to account for a staggering 31.2% of global internet users in 2025. This represents a 28% growth from 2021. Love it or hate it, Instagram is here to stay for the time being. If you want your own brand to do the same, that means keeping up with the latest marketing trends and strategies — and staying ahead of the competition.
But as you’re probably well aware of, these best practices can change with a snap. Your strategy in 2023 might not have worked in 2024, and that can be just as true this upcoming year.
As of right now, here’s what you need to grow your brand on Instagram in 2025. Whether you’ve been at it for years or just getting started, think of this as a checklist for your marketing plan on one of the world’s most popular social media platforms.
#1 — Know Your Target Audience
It doesn’t matter if you’re throwing twenty hashtags on every post or publishing Reels every single day — your brand won’t get far on Instagram if you don’t know your target audience.
Simply put, your target audience is the group of people who are most likely to purchase your products or services. Generally speaking, they tend to share some key characteristics. These could be something as broad as age, gender, or location. But they could also be super specific like a shared niche hobby or lifestyle.
Your target audience can be broken down into a few categories.
First and foremost — demographics. How old are your potential buyers? Where do they live? The wants and needs of a 20-year-old “zoomer” living in southern California can differ greatly from a 45-year-old professional living in New York City.
But instead of cyberstalking every single one of your followers (don’t do that), Instagram offers very convenient tools that reveal exactly who they are — and what they want.
Open your Instagram app and click on Audience. Right off the bat, you’ll get a quick snapshot of who is following your profile — including breakdowns on age, gender, and location.
To learn more niche information — such as hobbies and other interests, you can use Instagram to simply ask your audience directly. On your Instagram app, you can insert a poll on Stories. Ask about what type of content they like, what brands they follow, and really anything you can think of.
From there, you can work to create a buyer persona. This is the personification of all your followers — the “person” to keep in mind every time you make a post.
#2 — Grow Your Audience
Bigger doesn’t always mean better when it comes to your Instagram following. But it certainly helps…
Having more followers means your posts will have better reach, and better opportunities for engagement. And at the end of the day, that means more conversions for your business.
There’s also the social proof factor. Having a large following shows newcomers that your brand is trusted and legitimate.
So how do you get there?
To get the obvious out of the way, disregard any and all temptation to “buy” followers — no matter how desperate you think you are. Artificial collection is against Instagram’s Community Guidelines and can get your account banned. Even if you manage to slip under the radar, “fake” followers” don’t result in any real engagement, so it won’t do anything real for your growth. For obvious reasons, you won’t be able to monetize that following anyway.
Here’s what to do instead…
First, optimize your Instagram profile. Make sure your display name includes your brand name. We also recommend adding a short tagline in your bio that clearly explains what your brand offers, and how your followers can benefit. The description should be short and sweet. If you have anything that adds any credibility — whether it’s notable companies you work with, an industry award you’ve won, or a particularly enthusiastic testimonial — consider adding that information in there as well.
Then, there’s hashtags.
Hashtags are an invaluable tool for improving visibility. Both your bio and your posts should include branded hashtags that invite your followers to make their own user-generated content.
Now, it should go without saying, but we’ll say it anyway — hashtags aren’t a magic spell that are going to immediately attract thousands of people to your page. But they’re still a necessity. For every post you make, add three-to-five hashtags — including a branded hashtag. This will provide much-needed context to your content.
You can also measure how effective your hashtags are by checking Post Insights on your Instagram app. Feel free to play around with different phrasing, and compare and contrast with other posts to find out what’s reaching the most people.
Maximizing your reach on Instagram is the name of the game. The more eyes you have on your account, the more people are likely to click the “follow” button.
Now, it’s time to interact…
#3 — Engage with Your Audience
Engagement on Instagram — or any social media — measures how your audience is interacting with your content. This includes likes, comments, shares… anything your audience does to mark that they’re viewing your content.
Higher engagement means a wider reach. It doesn’t matter how stellar you think your content is; it won’t matter much without a strong engagement rate.
You can check the pulse of your engagement rate by opening your Instagram app and clicking the Insights tab. From there, you’ll be able to see the total number of content interactions. You can get further details by adjusting the time frame, so you can see when your engagements have risen or dropped. From there, you can see which kind of content you’re posting seems to generate the most engagement.
Roughly speaking, your engagement rate is equal to the total interactions and impressions times 100. According to Instagram, the average post will get you an engagement rate of around 0.98%.
If you’re not seeing numbers like this, here are a few easy ways to boost your engagement.
The most important thing you can do is to engage with your audience directly. Respond to comments, even with something as simple as a “thank you for following.” Generally, you’ll want to be a little more creative than that, but anything is better than nothing.
This rule still applies if you’re getting roasted in the comments. Remember, negative comments are still driving engagement. And it’s completely worth your time to respond. Perhaps ask the commenter what they would have done differently, or what type of content they enjoy. It’s a good look for those who are “doomscrolling” the comment section, and it drives your engagement up even further.
Of course, you may get to the point where it’s impossible to respond to every single comment. This is a good problem to have! When in doubt, simply “like” a comment if you can’t think of a creative response. But try to respond to as many comments as possible to keep the conversation going.
Also, be sure to take advantage of Instagram’s Stories. As one of the features to make Instagram popular in the first place, Stories offer another opportunity to engage with your followers and broaden your reach. You can also use “stickers” — graphic elements you can add over images or videos — to ask questions, get feedback, and poll your audience. Feel free to be as creative with these as possible.
One method that’s becoming more popular is using stickers to quiz your audience about your brand or any topic related to your brand.
The timing of your posts can also make or break your engagement. Planning your posts for when Instagram followers are using the app the most will boost your visibility. Posting content during the weekend is usually a good idea because most people tend to be less busy.
#4 — Convert Your Audience
Of course, the end goal for any business account on Instagram is to convert followers into buying customers. But this is a subtle process that can take time. One of the biggest mistakes new accounts make is turning every post into a hard sell, complete with the most sales-y language possible and all the other jargon you see on LinkedIn.
Instagram is not LinkedIn.
The language in your posts should be based on the “buyer persona” we talked about earlier. While older demographics might appreciate more straightforward offers, keep in mind that almost no one on planet Earth is opening Instagram thinking, “let me see what I’m going to buy today.”
More often than not, they’re using the app to pass the time. Perhaps they’re standing in line before getting on a flight, waiting for an Uber, or trying to distract themselves from the horrors of a public restroom.
You get the idea.
Start off by educating your followers on what exactly your brand does. For example, if you’re an auto mechanic, you might post short videos explaining simple car maintenance tips or showing why getting regular oil changes is a good idea.
If you want to convert your audience into potential buyers, the best thing you can do with your content is to appear as authentic as possible. So, unless you have a substantial following already, don’t start your feed by beating your followers over the head with aggressive sales offers. That doesn’t mean hiding the fact that it’s a business account, because that’s not authentic either.
Instead, you need to do a lot more showing than telling. Use your images, videos, and stories to show the benefit your products and services can bring to others. And remember, everything on social media is a two-way conversation.
Always invite your followers to add their two cents — whether it’s their experience with your product, how they use it, or what they would like to see from your brand in the future.
This isn’t to suggest that you don’t try to sell at all — by all means, let your followers know what you’re offering. Perhaps prompt your followers to tag their friends for a chance to win a contest for some type of discount. Instagram is also a great platform for giveaways, which can net you some very loyal followers.
With a successful conversion, your followers may end up doing half of your brand’s marketing for you.
