With one billion people on Instagram every month, the opportunities for marketing and brand growth are endless. More than 75% of businesses in the US use Instagram and a large portion of them have used an Instagram Shoutout before.
There are so many ways for brands to market through social media, and it can quickly become overwhelming to choose the best method for sharing your products or services. It can also become very expensive to advertise on Instagram.
Brands are constantly looking for ways to make the most of their social media marketing budgets.
An Instagram shoutout provides a unique way for brands to raise awareness for their products and grow their audience.
From paid influencer shoutouts to free user-generated content, brands can benefit by increasing engagement and reaching new audiences by using shoutouts on Instagram.
Keep reading for an overview of Instagram shoutouts, including how to grow using shoutouts.
Table of Contents
What is an Instagram Shoutout?
We all know what a shoutout is: voluntarily or occupationally directing the attention to a particular individual or organization. The same is true with Shoutouts on Instagram, they are either paid sponsors or adoring fans.
Instagram Shoutouts involves one user promoting another through their Instagram account via Account Feed, Story, or IGTV. Shoutouts on Instagram may also be called Insta shoutouts or IG shoutouts, but the meaning is the same.
Shoutouts are perfect for growing your audience or brand. The reason being is that the owner of the community (the person they trust most) is promoting you to them. Therefore you enter this community with already pre-established trust.
Types of Instagram Shoutouts
There are a few different types of Instagram shoutouts. While most Instagram shoutouts can be bought, the most effective ones are given at no cost. Each type of shoutout has it’s own pros/cons offering different value to your brand/business.
Paid Shoutouts
Paid shoutouts fall under the category of influencer marketing. Brands pay between $100 and $2,085 on average for influencer posts on Instagram, and marketers in the US use 69% of their influencer budgets on Instagram. Clearly, this social media platform is a hot spot for influencer posts. With paid shoutouts, influencers are given money or free products and services to promote your brand on their own account, including mentions or links back to your account or website.
Shoutout for Shoutout
Shoutout for shoutout, or S4S, involves a trade. Similar to like for like or follow for follow across other social media platforms, these shoutouts include an agreement for users to mention each other on their accounts. This method can be a cost-effective way to grow your audience if you partner with users that are similar to your brand or align with your current audience.
Fan/Voluntary Shoutouts
Voluntary shoutouts are the best kind of Instagram shoutouts because they are completely free and usually come from satisfied customers or fans of your brand. Whether a user mentions your incredible customer service or shares a photo using your product, they are drawing attention to your brand in a positive way. This type of user-generated content is viewed as authentic and is more consistently effective than paid strategies.
How to Grow Using Shoutouts on Instagram
Utilizing the power and reach of Instagram shoutouts can help you grow your own following and improve your brand awareness on social media. Of course, the process is not easy, and it may take some time to see results. In the long run, shoutouts can be very effective for reaching new audiences and growing your follower count.
In addition, Shoutouts are a perfect way to get more active followers in your target niche. Instagram Story Views & Profile Visits lacking? With Shoutouts on Instagram, you’ll be able to gain new active & engaged followers that are interested in your content or Instagram profile!
Choose the Right Influencers
Simply paying someone to mention your account is not going to be effective. Marketers should be very picky when choosing an influencer to partner with on Instagram. Micro-influencers, or users with smaller audiences, tend to have loyal followers invested in their content.
For brands that are new to influencer marketing, these influencers are a great starting point. You can spend less money and reach a more targeted audience than you would from paying an influencer with millions of followers.
Establish Relationships
Whether you choose to pay an influencer or you want to encourage free, user-generated content, you have to build relationships with other users. Engaging with their posts, starting a conversation, and getting to know other users’ profiles can help you make the right decision when choosing an influencer.
These practices can also help your current customers feel more connected to your brand and make them more willing to share their positive experiences.
Be Smart with Your Budget
It can be tempting to spend your entire budget on a single influencer marketing campaign with a well-connected influencer.
However, you can make your money go further by partnering with the right influencers and testing your campaigns and posts. See which types of content get the best results and which influencers receive the most engagement to make smarter decisions about influencer marketing in the future.
Where to Buy Shoutouts
For a lot of marketers, the first question about Instagram shoutouts is “Where to get started?”. While there are plenty of services out there that promise thousands of Instagram followers in no time at all, these are ultimately a waste of time and money. Doing your homework and investing time in Instagram shoutouts will pay off the best for your brand in the end. Keep reading for a few tips on where to buy Instagram shoutouts.
Search for Shoutout Pages on Instagram
Unfortunately, there is no Instagram branded marketplace for shoutouts, but you can find tons of Influencers ready to promote your brand here. Searching for Instagram shoutout pages can help you find industry-specific pages that appeal to your audience and provide a great foundation for your Instagram shoutout strategy.
Start by searching for relevant hashtags, and then dig through Instagram until you find viable candidates for an influencer paid campaign or shoutout for shoutout campaign.
Use an Instagram shoutout app
There are some reputable Instagram shoutout apps available if you are willing to spend the money. While these may increase your budget, they can also save you the time of digging through Instagram on your own. Shoutcart, NeoReach, YR Influence, and similar apps provide databases of influencers who have already been vetted. You can sort through these options based on your industry or keyword.
Avoid sketchy practices
When it comes to Instagram shoutouts, the best advice is to avoid anything shady or untrustworthy. The promise of quick results often comes with disappointment instead of success. It is also possible to violate Instagram rules and harm the reputation of your brand. Putting in the time and effort to find the right influencers and grow your audience is the best way to use Instagram shoutouts.
Wrap Up
If you’re looking to grow organically on Instagram with real active & engaged followers, then you should strongly consider Instagram Shoutouts.
Instagram shoutouts can be a perfect way for you to reach your desired target audience through the trustworthy lense of an influencer. After all, when it comes to introducing your brand or business to a new crowd it always helps to have a trusted member of the community vouch for you.
When it comes to choosing the right influencer to promote your brand or business you need to make sure they offer value equal to their cost. The worst thing to do is purchase shoutouts from a 1m+ Instagram account of fake followers. Make sure to do your research!
If you have any questions, concerns or comments. Make sure to drop them in the comment section down below!
