Instagram is one of the fastest-growing social media platforms out there. With over a billion users and incredible engagement levels, Instagram should be part of any social media marketing strategy – especially when you consider that 80% of accounts on the platform are following at least one business. Marketers have never been more interested in the Instagram app and how to use it.
Keep Reading for Tips on how to Grow Your Business on Instagram!
Post Consistently
Being a regular poster is one of the most important ways how businesses use social media for marketing. To keep things simple – the more you post, the more followers and likes you stand to get.
One key to knowing how to market on social media is knowing how often to post. A study, conducted by Tailwind, showed accounts that posted at least once per day receive more likes and followers than those that post less.
The Instagram timeline runs on a series of complex algorithms that make consistency the critical element to having your post appear in front of followers. If your posts are getting shared and engaged with regularly, then chances are Instagram will put your posts to the top of feeds.
Bring Variety to Your Posts
You should always include some variety with your posts on Instagram. Not everything you post can be – or should be – about your business. Making it all about the company is only going to turn away people.
An excellent place to start is the 80-20 rule. The idea is that 80% of your content should be entertaining, informative, or educational. Make most of the content you post more general, such as industry tips, relatable pictures and memes, funny content, and other things people will enjoy. It could also be information about your business, as long as it isn’t too “sell-y”.
The other 20% is promotional content. If one in every five posts that you make is some kind of promotional material, people will be more receptive to it. While you can’t be too promotional all of the time, you also need to make some promotional posts, or there’s no point in even being on the Instagram app.
Consider A Weekly Series
It feels like something new comes along every day on Instagram. The best Instagram post to make could depend on the day. Instagram has lots of little daily challenges, such as Motivation Monday and Throwback Thursday. There are plenty of industry-specific ideas you can get involved with as well.
It’s always worth taking part in these weekly series. Not only are they always popular and engaging, but they give you an idea of what to post. Not sure what to post on Thursday? Throw up an old picture like everyone else is and just call it #ThrowbackThursday. You can also make these posts relative to your business and make them more promotional. If you sell fitness products, for example, you can use them as part of #MotivationMonday by advertising them as ways for people to reach their goals.
Create Visuals That Stop People From Scrolling
Think about how people browse social media. Most people will scroll through their feed, which contains posts from all of the accounts they follow. It’s going to be challenging to stand out from the crowd, but not impossible.
Aim to create exciting visuals that catch the eye. Create a post that people can’t help but look at. Make everything you post interesting and engaging. Create something that makes them pay attention to you and your message. Captivating pictures and large, exciting text work well. However, these exciting visuals must also be replicated on your website. It is always worth making sure that your Instagram brand image is aligned with your website design and overall branding.
Put Extra Care Into Your Captions
It can be challenging to put your Instagram post into words. That’s no excuse not to put thought into Instagram captions and choose a great one for your post. The actual photo or video of the post is the main focus, of course, but great Instagram captions entice people to view the post in the first place. Captions are particularly useful for videos. It’s one thing to dedicate a second or two to look at a picture, but videos require more commitment, and people could use a little extra convincing.
Take a minute to consider the length of your captions. You should use more in-depth captions for informative and educational posts. The caption should have information about the subject in question or a link to where people can learn more if they want to. On the other hand, funny and entertaining posts should have short and sweet captions.
Include a Call to Action for Every Post
Just about every Instagram post by businesses includes a “Call-To-Action,” where users are urged to take a specific action. It could be something as simple as “Click the link to find out more” or “Follow us for more!”. Even basic call-to-actions are very useful.
These calls-to-actions are designed to tell people what action they should take. The CTA can encourage people to buy products, visit a website, or simply connect with your business. CTAs are an essential part of social media marketing and can’t be ignored.
With that said, social media marketing services providers will tell you that not every call-to-action is the same. You have to be creative about the CTA. Think about what you want the viewer to do – tag their friends? Visit your website? Answer a question? From there, think about how to tell them best to do it in a way that makes them want to.
Use Applicable Hashtags
Hashtags are an essential part of any social media marketing strategy, but they are particularly crucial for Instagram. Using the right hashtags can put your post in front of a huge audience. Instagram users also never seem to get the same kind of hashtag fatigue that they would from other social media platforms. Hashtags are so popular on Instagram that people can follow a particular hashtag!
Simply Measured studied the effects of including a hashtag and location tag on Instagram posts. They found that posts with these tags received more engagement than those without. Hashtags will be your best friend on your journey to Instagram success.
The good news is that there are plenty of great free tools out there to help you find the right hashtags for your posts. Tools such as Display Purposes are a real help. All you have to do is type in a few words about the post, and these tools suggest the best hashtags to apply to it for success.
Utilize Trends
Trends are another essential part of social media. The trending topics refer to the subjects people are talking about the most. These trends are often related to current events, but sometimes a fun trend comes along like a new challenge people are taking part in. Of course, the biggest issue right now is the pandemic, so it’s relevant to touch on the subject. You can have a look at some worthwhile marketing strategies to utilize during the COVID-19 virus.
Keep an eye on the current trends and the overall big picture on Instagram. If you notice that people are talking about a particular topic or using a specific meme format, then you should get involved. Make something of the topic that is fun, engaging, and relates to your business in particular.
Engage with People
It’s called “social media” for a reason – you need to engage with other users and get involved. You need to be social. The “Explore” tab is a great way to get started with finding new people to interact with.
It’s a good Instagram practice to get in the habit of engaging followers and talking to them. Be sure to reply to the comments that they leave for you when you can. These people took time out of their day to look at your post and comment on it. It’s fair that you should take some time out of your day to return the favor. It’s a small thing that can go a long way with social media marketing. It is important to have a unified strategy across platforms. To get a better understanding of Facebook-specific marketing strategies, check out our previous article.
As well as replying to comments on your posts, you should look for posts and accounts that align with yours. Find similar content and engage with it to encourage people to engage with you.
Try It Social Media Marketing
There are many reasons to use Instagram for business. You can expand your branding voice, reach new audiences, engage with current customers, drive more business, and even increase your SEO. Equipped with these tips, you’re sure to see results!
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