Instagram for business

The Complete Guide to Instagram for Business

The number of companies that are using Instagram is increasing day by day to the point there are now over 25 million companies that are using Instagram as part of their digital marketing strategy.

Instagram is the third most popular social network worldwide, with nearly 1 billion active users. So, it is imperative that you incorporate it into your marketing strategy as a tool for capturing new audiences and engaging existing ones.

With Instagram, businesses can place their brand in front of a larger and more targeted audience and it’s a cost effective way to market their products or services.

In this blog, we’re going to learn how to use Instagram to help you achieve all your business goals.

Instagram for Business

The following five strategies will help you leverage the power of Instagram and ultimately achieve a strong online presence.

1. Create Valuable Content

As a visual platform Instagram requires high-quality content in order to attract the attention of your audience.

Instagram has surpassed Facebook and Twitter in terms of engagement rate. It is therefore critical to post valuable content that is both attractive and engaging in order for your marketing practices to be considered effective and successful. The trick here is to discover what your audience finds appealing while keeping your identity and brand true.

Instagram might be a visual platform but this doesn’t necessarily mean that you are not allowed to post anything else. Think out of the box and find new and innovative ways to spread brand awareness and increase sales. Try to integrate humor into your strategy by posting funny memes or quotes, or you might go a step further and offer simple beauty hacks if your company is in the cosmetics industry.  

No one can tell you what works best and what doesn’t for your business. You need to try several different methods and see what content works best for the demographic group you are trying to reach.

The main takeaway here is that you need to add value to the users of the platform, rather than using Instagram for promotional purposes only as this will determine your long-term success.

2. Choose a Theme and Be Consistent

As already stated in the previous strategy, each Instagram post should be effective at engaging your target audience and be appealing to the eye. However, your Instagram account should maintain a cohesive theme to maintain your audience’s interest and loyalty.

By “theme” we mean everything from hashtags and captions to Stories and photos. You need to maintain a consistent voice and aesthetic to your posts as in this way you are more likely to attract your ideal customer.

Choose similar filters, color palettes and effects to all your posts. Write captions with similar connotations e.g. “To keep your body in good health is your duty…otherwise we should not be able to keep our mind strong and clear” and “It’s never too late to work towards being the healthiest you”. Also, choose the most meaningful hashtags for your brand and use them in every post you make.

3. Engage With Your Audience

Maybe the most important part of your Instagram strategy. It’s your duty to make your followers feel valued and respected by connecting with them in meaningful ways and as a result turning them into your brand’s ambassadors.

There are no limits on how you could connect with your audience. From as simple as replying to post comments and using Stories polls feature to running Instagram contests or giveaways and reposting your followers Stories when they post something relevant to your brand.

A simple tactic you could incorporate is the “tag a friend“, as this is an effective way to increase the number of your followers since the people who already follow you will tag their friends who might not be familiar with your brand yet.

Also, make sure that at the end of each of your contests you will tag the winners and thus encourage future engagement from other followers. Regular giveaways will also demonstrate your commitment to connecting with your followers on a genuine level.

4. Influencer Marketing

As consumers we tend to trust people we know or people we admire. Influencer marketing works and it’s something you should consider including into your strategy. Influencers are seen as a trusted source of information and have a large and loyal audience. Therefore, you could use influencers to build brand awareness and ultimately drive sales.

If your company has budget limitations and want to give influencer marketing a go then you could use a micro-influencer (a person with 1K-100K followers). Studies have shown that micro-influencing can indeed increase sales and that consumers are more likely to follow a recommendation made by a micro-influencer rather than by a family member or a friend.

Influencers have already an established and engaged audience, thus it will be easier to find followers who will enjoy your products or services. However, before you start using influencers as a means to achieving your business’s objectives make sure that you identify the right ones for your brand and that the audience they appeal to is your ideal customer.

5. Use Instagram Ads as Part of your Marketing Campaigns

One of the fundamentals for implementing effective ads is to choose one objective per campaign e.g. brand awareness versus sales. An Instagram ad that has as an objective to sell a product or a service will look very different from one that aims at increasing your number of followers.

Once you’ve decided on the goal of your Instagram ad you’ll need to focus on the ad creative. As discussed in strategy one you’ll need to create valuable high-quality content for better results. If you stuck on ideas on how to promote your business take a look at other ads on your Instagram feed and think of creative ways to create your own ad.

Another effective way to figure out what works best for your business is A/B testing. Try changing the copy, image or audience of your ad to determine the one that will bring the most desirable results.

When you have concluded on the creative of your ad, you’ll need to use Facebook Ads Manager in order to set up an Instagram ad campaign. Ads Manager enables you to narrow your audience in terms of location, age and interests of the demographic group you want to reach.

To sum up, Instagram is an essential and powerful tool for enhancing your online presence as it can help you connect with your most valuable customers and increase your sales. Start investing in Instagram ads and in creating captivating content to stay ahead of the competition and for accomplishing all your business objectives.

 

by Christina Kotziapashi

Social Media Specialist at Clickhouse Media
Email: c.kotziapashi@clickhouse.media