blank

5 Instagram Hacks Big Brands Are Using To Grab User’s Attention

Blog » Instagram » 5 Instagram Hacks Big Brands Are Using To Grab User’s Attention

big brand instagram hacks

Looking for Instagram hacks? Look no further than the big boys on the block.

It’s always smart to keep an eye on your competitors and even smarter to watch big brands innovate … and then emulate.

We’re covering 5 plus not-often-known Instagram hacks for you to try.

big-brand-instagram-hacks

Hashtag Your Story Link

Instagram rolled out more than 20 new features within Instagram Stories over the past year.

Hack: Add your custom hashtag to your Instagram story link to have it searchable for users.

When users watch your story, they’ll be able to click your custom hashtag (or the hashtag you use) to see other posts using the same hashtag.

Pro-tip: Use your own custom hashtag, like Balmain did in the example below, to get users to see — and possibly engage with — your other branded content.

instagram-hacks-hashtag-your-story

[Image Source]

Since this is a good way to entice new users to follow your brand on Instagram, be sure you pick stunning visuals for this hack to ensure you’re really putting your best foot forward.

Use this Instagram hack to show users your other branded content.Click To Tweet

Slideshow Stunners

Of course, you can use the slideshow in Instagram to post multiple pics, but there are also multiple ways you can get creative!

Hack: Use the slideshow feature for more than just posting multiple photos!

Here are a few Instagram hacks to test with the slideshow feature:

  • Create Before & After photos showcasing the experience of using your products or services (you can add text to label photos as “before”, “during”, and “after”)
  • Get click-throughs with a surprise reveal (see how Cosmopolitan Magazine did that on this Instagram post)
  • Showcase customer testimonials by sharing their UGC (user-generated content), such as a picture of themselves with your product, a product shot, and their testimonial as a text-only image with your branding
  • Use slideshows for storytelling — just look at the unique way the.book.report does this in the example below


There are more creative ways you can use the slideshow feature — the hardest part is choosing which one to go with!

Check out these four creative ways to use Instagram's slideshow feature.Click To Tweet

Using IG UGC In Email Marketing

Hack: Extend the life of user-generated content (UGC) from Instagram in your email marketing efforts.

An article by AdWeek this year shared a successful UGC story from Lululemon.

“In yoga clothier Lululemon’s #TheSweatLife campaign, the brand asked people to share images of them “getting their sweat on.” This resulted in 250,000 uses of the hashtag, more than 7,000 photo submissions through Twitter and Instagram, over 40,000 unique visitors to the microsite created for the campaign and a massive boost in conversions.”

Furthermore, one way to get non-Instagram users to perhaps engage with, and follow, Lululemon on Instagram would be to highlight this campaign in their newsletter.

By embedding these Instagram posts in the newsletter, users could click through to see content from peers and connect with the brand on another channel.

Figure out ways you can promote your Instagram and UGC content through cross-channel promotion.Click To Tweet

Adding ‘New Post’ To Your Instagram Story

Okay, so this one is a bit spammy, but it’s something to consider for more click-throughs on your content.

Hack: Alert users of a new blog post by using your Instagram Story to promote it.

instagram-stories-new-post

In the example above, you can see how Alexa B. used her Instagram Story to promote her post highlighting a new blog post.

Again, it could be seen as a bit too much by some of your users but this seems to be a growing trend with brands on Instagram.

Push new blog posts with this Instagram Story idea.Click To Tweet

Shopping In Stories

*This is only available to business accounts on Instagram with 10,000 or more followers.

Hack: Use Instagram Stories to provide clickable links where users can purchase from you.

foundr-instagram-story-link

The Foundr example above shows how their brand is using Instagram Stories so users can swipe up to see more. Once swiped, users are taken to a clickable link on Instagram (yes, you read that right!).

Too bad it’s only available to accounts with 10,000 or more followers (or verified accounts as directed by Instagram).

Our friend Jenn Herman wrote more about this new feature on Social Media Examiner’s blog.

It's true! Clickable links exist on Instagram.Click To Tweet

My Personal Instagram Hacks

Here are a few of my personal Instagram hacks … for every person or brand, big or small!

#1 – Peruse in Peace.

If you like to secretly stalk Instagram profiles but are totally paranoid about accidentally liking a pic, this one is for you.

  • Go to the desired Instagram account and let their feed load
  • Once loaded, go to your phone’s settings and switch to airplane mode
  • When you get to the end of the loaded feed/pics, repeat the process

A little clunky but it works!

#2 – Hide Annoying Ads.

I’m all for ads … when they’re relevant!

When they’re not, do yourself (and the Instagram algorithm) a favor and hide them; you should also report feedback to make for a better advertising experience on Instagram.

When you see an ad, simply click the three little dots next to the photo ( … ) and then click “Hide Ad”.

The visuals below show you the entire process.

hiding-instagram-ads

What Instagram hacks are you ready to share? Let us know in the comments section below!

 

The following two tabs change content below.
Avatar
Brooke B. Sellas is the in-the-trenches Founder & CEO of @HelloBSquared, an award-winning social media, advertising, and social media customer care agency. She's also the author of Conversations That Connect -- a book all about social listening and social media customer care. Brooke's marketing mantra is “Think Conversation, Not Campaign” so be sure to give her a shout on the socials!
Get Subscriber-Only Gifts!
Enter your info below & get our blog posts delivered to your inbox along with free, subscriber-only gifts — like personal hacks, templates, tools, and PDFs.
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Category: Instagram
Tags: Instagram, Instagram hacks, Instagram Stories
Get Subscriber-Only Gifts!
Enter your info below & get our blog posts delivered to your inbox along with free, subscriber-only gifts — like personal hacks, templates, tools, and PDFs.
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

You might also like
Sidebar Founding Member Badge
sidebar banner badge

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Fill out this field
Fill out this field
Please enter a valid email address.
You need to agree with the terms to proceed

CommentLuv badge