A surefire way to connect with your target audience is to engage with them where they spend most of their time.

For many demographics, that’s Instagram.

Here’s the best news. Instagram is wildly popular—not only for the average person and creators, but for businesses with websites too. In fact, the average engagement rate for an Instagram post by a business account is 0.96%. If you round up, that’s one engagement for every 100 followers.

Not bad.

However, if you run a website, you probably have an ulterior motive for boosting Instagram engagements—driving traffic to your website.

Thankfully, there are several easy Instagram strategies that will lead your followers from Instagram to your site. Let’s talk about them.

1. Optimize your Instagram bio

Your business’s Instagram bio is kind of like an online dating profile.

Here’s what I mean.

The first thing someone will do when they come in contact with your brand on Instagram is click to your profile page.

You want to do everything in your power to put your brand’s best foot forward, so the person will want to learn more about you (see also: click through to your website). This means making your profile shine.

Here’s how:

• Cute profile pic, don’t delete later. Choose a picture that encompasses your brand. Maybe it’s your logo, or perhaps it’s a fancy photo of your star product.
• Flesh out your bio description. Use your bio description to tell visitors exactly who you are and what you do.
• Include a CTA in your bio. Do you want people to visit your site? Tell them.
• Add a link to your profile. Add a link to your business IG profile. Seriously, go add a link right now. Have you done it yet?

Your IG profile is your money maker. Give it the time and attention it deserves.

2. Go above and beyond with the link in your bio

Since links are the primary way people will get to your website from Instagram, it’s worth diving a little bit deeper.

Here are some additional things to consider when choosing a link:

• Go beyond the home page. Your link doesn’t have to go to your home page. In fact, maybe it shouldn’t direct users to your home page. Send them to a blog post, a product page, a landing page, or any other place on your site where people can take action.

• Link to a mobile-friendly page. Even your great-grandpa doesn’t use Instagram on a desktop. Everyone browses IG from their phone. This means you have to consider the mobile-friendliness of the page where you send people. Ensure the page loads quickly and is easy to navigate on the phone.

• Try a service like Linktr.ee, tap.bio, or Later. These services offer a link that people can click on, view all your IG posts, and click on the interesting one. The link then leads people right to the relevant page on your site. It’s like getting hundreds of links for the price of one. Let’s look at an example from Just Jared.

Just Jared uses Tap.Bio to give the people what they want.

One of my favorite ways to consume celebrity hot goss is via Instagram accounts like Just Jared.

Why? It’s so easy to get to the Just Jared story I want to read via Instagram.

Here’s the strategy:

1. Create an awesome IG post and use the caption to invite people to click on the pic in the link bio for more information.

2. Use tap.bio (or a similar service) to add more links to your IG account.

3. Once users click on the link (e.g., tap.bio/@justjared), the pictures show up again, but this time they are linked to your website.

4. Users can scroll through the pics. Once they find the story, they tap on it, and IG redirects them to your site.

With a few simple clicks, I can learn all the recent details of the Lady Gaga dog-napping situation.

Using one of these services is an excellent way to drive traffic to your blog or website via Instagram.

3. Be smart about your Instagram Stories

Instagram Stories launched in 2016, and it’s been one of the best ways for marketers to engage with audiences.

People love Instagram Stories. In fact, brand Stories have an 86% completion rate, and 58% of people say they have become more interested in a brand or product after seeing it in Stories.

If you’re looking to engage your audience, the first step is to post your first series of Instagram Stories, and make a plan to post regularly.

While posting is the first step, it’s not the only step. Here are some ideas of how to craft your IG Stories to drive people back to your site:

• Add links to your Instagram stories. If you have over 10K Instagram followers, you get access to the “Swipe Up” feature. When people swipe, you can send them straight to your website.

• Ask your audience to visit your bio link. If you don’t have 10K followers yet, include a CTA in your Stories where you ask your audience to visit your link bio.

• Create a Story about your latest blog post. I follow tons of brands and writers on Instagram, and every time they tell me they have a new blog post up, I visit their site.

If you haven’t created your first Instagram story yet, the time is now. If you have been using Stories, consider using the “Swipe Up” feature or simply a strong CTA to get users to click on your bio link.

Build a mobile-first website with HostGator

It’s not uncommon for influencers and creators to grow a vast Instagram following before building a website.

If you have a large Instagram following and are ready to launch a blog or start an eCommerce site, you’ll want to select a web hosting platform that supports your needs.

By Kevin Williams