You’ve mastered promoting sponsored content on social platforms like Facebook and Twitter, but how successful are your efforts to drive traffic to your site through Instagram? In the age of smartphones and selfies, this mobile social app is growing in popularity every day. In fact, more than 400 million people worldwide use Instagram every single day, and your audience is likely among them. Harness the power of Instagram to grow revenue and boost participation in your sponsored sweepstakes with these 3 easy tips.
1. Post your sponsored contest link in your profile bio.
While businesses ordinarily include a link to their homepage in the link section of the bio, it’s also a great opportunity to drive traffic to your current big promotion. This field is the only space in your Instagram account that can feature a clickable hyperlink. Direct followers to your sponsored contest by featuring a link to that page in this space.
If your contest URL is long or bulky, consider using a link shortener, such as Bit.ly, which also allows you to customize the link. For example, http://www.atlantasrock109fm.com/taxreliefsweepstakes can be shortened to http://bit.ly/taxreliefsweepstakes. Doing this also allows you to track the click-through rate to determine how many audience members were directed to your contest through your Instagram profile.
2. Use a clear call to action (CTA) in your Instagram posts.
Once you have your clickable contest link located in your bio, make sure that your followers know to look for it. Include clear, enticing CTAs in your Instagram posts that promote the sponsored content. Consider including a CTA in your image as this will catch your audience’s eye as they scroll down their feed. Now that you have their attention, place another CTA in the image caption, instructing followers to click the link in your profile bio. Just be careful not to bury the message in too many hashtags.
3. Be strategic with your use of hashtags.
Hashtags are an excellent way to increase the visibility of your social media content. Just as with Twitter, Instagram users assign these keywords to their images to boost their appearance in the site’s search results. While generic contest tags like #contest #cash or #win will undoubtedly direct traffic to your post, consider using more specific keywords to attract your target audience. For example, if you want to promote your sweepstakes to your listening area, use hashtags for your city, such as #Atlanta or #ATL. If you’re also promoting on-air, you could instruct listeners to search for the contest’s name as a hashtag on Instagram and Twitter. This will help your followers on social media find your profile and posts related to the contest.
These are just a few simple ways you can optimize your Instagram posts to increase traffic to your sponsored contests. For more quick pointers on promoting your content, check out our weekly Monday Marketing Tip blog series.
