Millions of people all over the world use Instagram every day. This social media powerhouse gives you the opportunity to reach a substantial number of people in different areas of the world.
Using Instagram for business marketing can help you build your brand, get more traffic, and generate sales.
1. Keep It Social
When you use Instagram for business marketing, think social, not ads. Create content your target audience will interact with, not ignore because it looks too spammy.
2. Provide Value
Instagram users are active shoppers who are doing their research, so the more information you can offer them in terms of images, carousels and stories, the better.
3. Use Stories
Instagram Stories provide instant information and instant gratification that. They only last 24 hours so creates a sense of excitement and urgency.
4. Use Hashtags
Many people actively search out specific hashtags, and your images will be there waiting for them. One Instagram study showed that adding at least one hashtag to all of your posts will create more than 12% engagement on average.
5. Call To Action
Every post you produce should have a clear call to action that matches your business goal in creating it. Instagram provides a range of buttons, such as ‘Buy Now’.
6. Link Back To Your Site
Instagram is a great way to drive traffic to your site. More than 50% of the users on the social media site follow at least one business and say they have learned about a product or service through Instagram.
7. Consistent Brand Image
Stay consistent with your page theme. Only include photos, hashtags, captions, and videos relevant to your page topic.
8. Create A Good Profile
Ensure your Instagram profile informs your target audience about who you are and what you do. Instagram’s search engine is text-based, and you have a better chance of someone finding you if your username has a keyword or two that is relevant to your business.
9. Switch From Personal To Business
Convert to a business account in order to gain access to all of the tools and analytics available.
10. Use Your Analytics
Analyzing your marketing efforts on Instagram is really easy. Instagram Insights gives you all the relevant data about your page. It lets you know how your marketing efforts are paying off.
5 Tips for Effective Social Media Marketing
1. Link your accounts.
Social media accounts can all be linked together, so if you’re posting on one account, you can easily post across all your other ones. Social media platforms like Tumblr, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter allow an easy, one button sharing system so you can make sure all your accounts are being utilized with every post.
2. Don’t over posting.
It’s good to post on a steady and regular basis, but don’t overdo it. Posting constantly will make your newsfeed look more like spam and followers may end up deserting you. Anything over three or four posts a day is bordering on over posting, and you need to make sure that all your posts have something useful in them for the followers, not just a product advertisement.
3. Provide value.
Instead of trying to get followers to buy something, show them why they should. Rather than selling to them in every post, give them some content with value in it, and explain to them what your product can do to help them or how it can make their lives easier. Showing them is better than telling them, and informing them is a step in the right direction.
4. Interact with your clients.
Successful social media means actually being social with your followers and customers. Answer questions in a timely manner, and with more than just a one-word response. Be polite and helpful, and don’t forget that even comments can be responded to.
Never before have businesses had the ability to have such an open line of communication with their customers, and the customer is the one checking in. Being able to give your customers personal attention and high-quality responses is an amazing opportunity that’s not to be wasted.
5. Be consistent.
Your competitors aren’t going anywhere, so if you take time off, they will get ahead of the game. Effective social media marketing is consistent. If you go away and come back a month later, your followers may have left you to follow more active businesses.