Instagram should be a top priority for your brand. Developing a big fanbase here will net you a ton of attention both in the short and the long-term. Once you earn yourself a real platform on Instagram, it’s amazing what you can do with it.

The crucial tactics for marketing on this social network can be counterintuitive. You should be careful to get started on the right foot. Once you start to build momentum on Instagram, it gets better and better from there.

Here are the five most important tactics for marketing your brand on Instagram.

(1) Focus On Core Brand Attributes

Make your content as focused as you can. Identify the few key things about your brand that are unique and then make those the core of your Instagram content strategy.

Use consistent color themes and visual styles. Even the text beneath the photo should be optimized and aesthetically related to the rest of the post. Make everything about your Instagram page invoke your core values to create the strongest brand awareness.

(2) Post Frequently

The more often you post, the better. You could do as many as 5 posts per day without losing any followers. Most people on Instagram are looking for more content, not less, so take every chance you can to share something.

If you are able to post 2+ times per day every single day for years, this alone will be a huge part of your success. Brands that are consistent and prolific will go far.

(3) Focus on Comments and Follows

If a post gets a lot of comments or you find yourself picking up many new followers, that is success. Likes are less important on this platform because they are too easy to give. Even though it is better than nothing, a lot of likes with no comments does not make for a successful post.

For the single all-important metric to start with, use the comments. The more genuine comments you receive, the better your page feels. Over time if your posts can routinely generate 10+ comments then you will already be doing far better than most on this platform.

(4) Don’t Be Afraid to Experiment

Successful content creation on Instagram can be a moving target. What works today may not work tomorrow and so on. The best way to keep up with the change is to make a regular practice of trying new content ideas. Try to do one or two new post ideas every week, while the rest of your content stays consistent.

Over time you can repeat the most successful experiments and forget the failures. Your fans won’t even notice. This is a great way to make sure that your page does not stagnate.

(5) Use Lots of Hashtags

You should routinely use 3-5 hashtags per post that you make. Each hashtag that you include in the text of a post pushes out that content to more people via the search system on Instagram. If a viewer is looking for new content on that hashtag, your post might show up there.

It’s hard to predict exactly which hashtags are best on any given day. Explore and experiment until you figure out what works best for your brand.

Instagram Is Powerful

Don’t stop growing your Instagram page until you have a chance to see its true power. Once your page develops some momentum, you will be able to have a genuine impact on your fans every day. This will change your relationship to social media forever. You can share your thoughts and inspire people to act.

Use the five tactics from this guide as a way to get there. With enough hard work and a little bit of good luck, you can achieve amazing things on Instagram.