Instagram is one of the largest and most popular social media platforms, making it a powerful marketing tool for your small business. Follow these six Instagram business tips to improve your Instagram marketing.
Do you have an Instagram marketing strategy for your business? If not, you should.
With two billion active users, Instagram is one of the most popular social networks out there and an important marketing tool for business.
According to Omnicore, 61% of Instagram users are 24 years old or older. Khoros reports that 60% of Instagram users have household incomes of $100,000 or more. Furthermore, 90% of Instagram users follow a business, often discovering or buying products as a result. Instagram is such a social media powerhouse, that it’s estimated that more than 78% of businesses will use Instagram for marketing this year.
6 Tips for Marketing Your Business on Instagram
Statistics like these make Instagram a social media marketing platform that small businesses need to focus on. Use the tips below to improve (or start) marketing your business on Instagram.
1. Create a Business Profile
If you’re currently using a personal account to promote your business on Instagram, it’s time to make a change. Business accounts allow you to reach current and prospective customers more effectively. Not only does a business profile let you list contact information that links directly to your profile, but it also enables users to email or call you there with the tap of a button. Additionally, you can include your store hours and physical address, so shoppers can find this information without having to navigate to your website or search for you on Google.
How can you switch from a personal to business account on Instagram? Fortunately, it’s easy. Start by going into the settings page on your profile. Click on account and then change the listing from personal to business. After setting up your business account, you can choose the category that best fits your products and services, so customers will be able to find you when they search.
2. Build Your Brand Image
Because Instagram is a picture-based medium, businesses have a unique opportunity to appeal to customers’ aesthetic sensibilities. The design choices you make can go a long way toward turning prospective customers into long-term fans of your business. Start by choosing a theme and color scheme that fits your company and products. For example, if your company sells clean, modern jewelry, you should probably avoid design options that are overly busy. Similarly, if your boxes and logos feature a lot of blue and white, it might be worth choosing a color scheme with similar shades. The goal is to create a cohesive brand image that is consistent across your website and other social profiles.
3. Vary the Content You Post
If you want to build a robust Instagram following, it’s crucial to keep people engaged. To avoid boring your prospective client base, strive to post a wide range of content. For example, you can use a mixture of close-up product images, shots of people using your product, and images that feature your product against a flat backdrop.
Additionally, companies should post non-marketing content on their Instagram pages. For example, custom graphics with motivational quotes are great for inspiring your followers. Seek out content that melds with your brand’s personality in terms of aesthetics, mission statement, or both.
4. Utilize Instagram Stories
It’s not enough to post to Instagram on a regular basis. If you want to maximize your business’ social media presence in 2020, start using the Instagram Stories function. Visible for just 24 hours before disappearing forever, Instagram Stories show up at the top of a follower’s feed and last for just a few seconds at a time. As a result, small businesses have a chance to make an impression while appealing to a modern audience’s shrinking attention span.
Additionally, Instagram Stories help small businesses connect with and learn from their customer base. Typically, Stories highlight a brand’s personality and voice in a fun, light-hearted way. According to a report by TechCrunch, 20 percent of Instagram Stories shared by a brand get a direct reply from followers.
5. Interact with Your Customer Base
Speaking of interacting with customers, businesses need to do more than post their own original content if they hope to make an impression. If you want to boost your marketing efforts in 2020, make an effort to engage with your followers. Answer their questions and show a genuine interest in their lives by liking and commenting on posts. The goal is to become a regular presence on Instagram, so current and potential customers will think of you more often.
Additionally, businesses should use hashtags when posting. Doing this helps people find your photos and images when searching for those keywords and phrases.
6. Track the Right Metrics
It’s hard to determine whether your marketing efforts are effective if you don’t have a way of measuring your successes and failures. One of the best ways of tracking growth on this social platform is by using Instagram Insights. To use this tool, go to your profile, tap the hamburger icon, and then tap Insights. Once you’re inside the tool, you can view metrics on specific posts and stories and collect information about your audience.
Along with providing businesses with demographic data, like gender, age, and location, Instagram Insights shows you what posts result in the most engagement. Similar to Google Analytics, this tool helps you assess current performance and determine what changes you should make to achieve your goals. For example, companies looking to connect with their audience can study metrics that assess content engagement. Find out which photos and videos are generating interest and evaluate how people like to communicate with your business.
On the other hand, some businesses use Instagram Insights to boost awareness of their brand. Study profile visits, impressions, and follows to find out how many people are seeing your messaging on a regular basis.
