Did you know that Instagram has a powerful research tool built right into the app? Instagram’s “suggested” feature lets you quickly and easily find influencers to partner with, research your target market, and it tells you which competitors you should keep an eye on! Here’s how your business can leverage this small but powerful feature:
How the Instagram Suggested Feature Works
You’ve probably noticed the Instagram “Suggested” feature before, but have you thought about how you could use it to help your business? Now, when you’re visiting someone’s Instagram profile and click to follow them, Instagram will then show you other “suggested” users to follow.
This feature is designed to show you other Instagram accounts that are similar to the user you just followed. The suggested Instagram accounts are determined by an algorithm, and are surprisingly super effective. Instagram’s Suggested feature has actually been around for almost 2 years, but it’s definitely an under-utilized feature that has a lot of potential to help you with your Instagram marketing strategy!
To be clear: this new “suggested” feature is different than the “Instagram suggested users” from back in the day, when Instagram would “suggest” users to follow to people who were just signing up for the app.
3 Ways to Use the Instagram Suggested Feature for Business:
1. Discover your competitors and partners
One of the best ways to use the Instagram suggested feature for your business is to discover who Instagram thinks your competitors are. When you’re logged in from another account, just visit your business’ Instagram profile and click on the arrow in the right hand corner to see what accounts Instagram says you’re similar to.
This is an easy way to do a quick competitive analysis, and you may discover businesses that you didn’t even know about! Now, you can keep an eye on your competitors’ Instagram accounts to see how they’re using Instagram for their business. For example, on Coca Cola’s page, Instagram suggested Pepsi and McDonald’s first – one is a competitor, and one is a partner.
You can use this feature to find other businesses to partner with, since Instagram is able to tell you that you share similar audiences . Whether that’s hosting an Instagram contest together to build each other’s audiences, trading blog posts, or collaborating on a product together, the Instagram suggested feature is super easy way to find businesses to partner with on co-marketing initiatives.
Looking at Apple Music, Instagram clearly suggests Spotify as a competitor, but it also suggests the @music Instagram account and other recording artists, both of which would make a great collaboration for an Instagram campaign.
Tip: Instagram will only show you accounts that your account isn’t following already, so keep that in mind if you’re already following your competitors! You can also use a test account or borrow a friend’s phone to see what accounts show up for them!
2. Find the right influencers
Finding Instagram influencers to partner with your business is a great way to build brand awareness and get exposure on Instagram. But finding the right influencers to partner with can be a huge challenge! Instead of wading through hundreds of Instagram profiles, Instagram’s suggested feature can help you find the right influencers for your business in under 1 minute!
Similar to looking for competitors and businesses to partner with, Instagram will also show you influencers that have similar audiences to yours. Or, if you have an influencer in mind, you can click the “suggested” tab on their profile to find more influencers like them to partner with! This is especially helpful if you’re trying to find influencers with the same styles but who have audiences in different cities.
To make it even easier, you can also click “see all” in the right hand corner to view a page that shows the suggested account with their most recent Instagram posts, so you instantly get a sense of their brand and aesthetic.
Learn more: How to Track Influencer Marketing on Instagram
3. Research your target market
Understanding your target market is key to having success on Instagram, and Instagram makes it so easy for you to research your ideal customer! Not only can you follow your target market to see what they post, you can also browse the “following” tab on Instagram to see what kind of posts they engage with on Instagram. But following one person in your target market isn’t enough, and it can be hard to find the right Instagram users to follow.
Instagram’s suggested feature doesn’t just work with influencers and businesses – you can use it on any user! Research your customers and followers, and when you find a customer that embodies your target market, click on their suggested tab to find other users like them. This is an awesome and effective way to learn more about your customers so you can tailor your Instagram marketing strategy to the right audience!
The “suggested” feature on Instagram may seem inconsequential, but it’s actually a super powerful research tool for your business. Give it a try, and let us know how it works out for you in the comments.
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