Instagram is one of the best and fastest growing social media channels out there. Since its establishment, Instagram has seen an exponential increase in its customer base. Currently, the user base is at over 1 billion, and business startups form a significant part.
With businesses of all sizes realizing how Instagram can benefit them, the online market is already flooding with businesses. If you’re looking to get started and climb the ranks to build a big business, this article will provide you with essential insights.
The following insights will help you get started.
Create a Strategy
Instagram is one of the best platforms for eCommerce, lifestyle brands, and B2C companies to advertise what they do. But then, advertising on Instagram, like other platforms, has never been straightforward. It would be best if you created a content strategy that will get you the best results.
For instance, marketers are now shifting away from traditional advertising that involved selling, selling, and selling. Strictly selling your goods to your Instagram audience no longer attracts or keeps Instagram followers – a new strategy does.
The best way to advertise to an Instagram audience is to provide them with solutions. It would help if you told them why you do what you do rather than what you’re selling. In general, you should focus on promoting your mission, and more people will buy from you.
Use Hashtags
You probably already know how beneficial hashtags have been on Twitter. They’re the best tools to help you reach out to your target audience. It is worth mentioning that hashtags are more influential on Instagram than any other social media channel.
Finding relevant hashtags to rank for is similar to finding keywords for SEO. It would be best if you took time to research and find out what hashtags your competitors are using on their posts. Record the relevant keywords and start using them to gain followers and advertise to them.
The best thing about using hashtags is that you get to expand your reach. Thus, it would help if you focused on integrating popular and unpopular hashtags to take full advantage of searches. If you use hashtags correctly, you can increase interactions with your brand and popularize your products.
Post top-notch Content
Content is king in every industry, and it is the best tool that will market your business. You should ensure that the kind of content you create touches your audience’s pain points and answers the questions they’re asking.
You can measure engagement using two main metrics – frequency and reach. When creating engaging content, ensure that you post it regularly, and your brand will always stick in your audience’s minds. Reach is also very critical, and it means how far your content reaches, especially regarding new audiences.
Content creation shouldn’t be the end, go further and interact with followers. Follow up with the people that are interacting with your posts. Reply to their comments as that not only provides them with information but also enriches your post.
Encourage Your Audience to Take Photos
Instagram content traditionally has a shorter half-life than content posted on most channels. That means you have to be on your toes, producing and regularly posting for your audience. But then, finding time to take photos and post them on your channel daily can be challenging.
Thus, it would help if you tried finding and sharing user-generated content. For instance, you can contact your past clients and ask them to send you photos of them using your products. You can then share the photos on your platform regularly to keep your audience engaged.
The best thing about using this technique is that you can save a lot of time. Besides, it helps you deliver better sales results as you will reach new clients using photos taken by clients.
Partnering with bloggers, a startup marketing agency, or influencers can also be an excellent decision to make here.
Create Online Contests
Another way to become a pro marketer on Instagram is to create contests to engage your audience. Instagram is all about photography. A photo contest can help you reach a wider audience. The best way to do it is by inviting your audience to take photos using your products or services.
You should go ahead and start a hashtag that they can include in their posts. The best thing about this technique is that it helps you create and enhance your Instagram community relationships. Besides, it is one of the easiest ways to ensure that your brand and products go viral.
Creating a contest isn’t enough; you should measure the results it brings. Define the metrics you’d like to use when evaluating its performance and assess how far you’re from your goals. Before starting a contest, learn more about how you can do it by researching how your competitors have done it before.
Cross-promote Your Channel
This is another way that you can become an Instagram pro and boost your business. You can easily make your Instagram channel popular by posting a link to it on various platforms. One of the free platforms that should cross your mind is your website.
If you have a massive number of monthly visitors on your site, you can imagine how many followers you can add from them—post links to your social pages, including Instagram, on your website’s contact page. You can also promote your page on Facebook, Twitter, and other pages.
You should also take screenshots of high-performing posts on Instagram and share them on other platforms. Followers on other social channels may have an interest in following you on Instagram. Consequently, you will popularize and grow your brand quickly.
Conclusion
These insights will help you start as a beginner on Instagram and become a pro quickly. You can choose to use your existing followers and past clients to promote your brand or using other social channels. Besides, you can consider changing your strategy and finding better marketing techniques to keep and grow your audience.
