Instagram Marketing For Small Businesses: A Beginner's Guide
Instagram’s most redeeming factor is the high visual appeal it offers. There are millions of beautiful images uploaded every day –a majority of these images attract quality engagement with followers. While individuals count for a majority of Instagram accounts, businesses have also used the platform to leave a mark on their target audience.
National Geographic, Coca-Cola, Lorna Jane, Absolut, and Staples are some of the popular brands making their presence felt on Instagram. Have you used Instagram yet for your business? If yes, what have been the results so far? It is highly recommended that you use Instagram to get your small business noticed. On a side note, if your business is new, you can read up on mistakes to avoid while preparing for the future!
Featured here are a couple of tips that will give you perspective on Instagram marketing, allowing you to leverage it perfectly for your business.
Tip #1. Get familiar with it by using Instagram with a personal account
It doesn’t take rocket science to understand Instagram but you need to know how it works. Become familiar with it by creating a personal account for yourself. Start using it to connect with friends and family members. You will be surprised to know a lot of them have Instagram accounts!
Observe other brands, especially competitors who actively create posts. Scan through their popular posts and understand what your audience wishes to read. This will help you get a firm understanding on the nature of posts required for your account.
Learn how to use filters, hashtags and captions that ensure your posts are viewed and shared repeatedly.
Tip #2. Prepare a list of goals
You shouldn’t start an Instagram account for your company without being clear on what you seek to achieve through the platform. Here are some suggested goals for you to pursue:
- Spread awareness about your business: Instagram has an “Explore” tab that helps followers understand your brand better. Use it along with hashtags on your posts to reach out to your target audience. Spread the word about your brand so that more people take interest in your offerings.
- Drive traffic to your primary website: You can add a link to your company on the profile page. This will ensure people interested in services similar to what you offer approach your website.
- Make existing marketing campaigns more successful: Instagram offers a great opportunity to make your existing marketing efforts more successful. Add Instagram to the marketing mix to give your business a greater chance at achieving success.
Tip #3. Prepare a content strategy
After gaining a fair understanding of Instagram and the goals to pursue, it’s time to prepare a content strategy. Your posts should be at its creative best – you need a capable content writer and designer to represent your company’s legacy.
Determine the nature of posts and their frequency. Keep in mind your target audience while preparing a content strategy. It’s ideal to have content that appeals to their senses. Borrow ideas from competitors and tweak them to meet your company’s marketing requirements.
Tip #4. Engage in a big way with your audience
It’s important to interact with followers regularly to ensure they have fun associating with your account. Launch photo contests and reward winners with exciting gifts and offers. You could also feature your customers by using your account to share their experiences with your brand.
Tip #5. Use a monitoring tool to understand how well you are faring
It’s important to understand whether your efforts on Instagram are bearing fruit or not. Invest in a monitoring tool that provides you with valuable stats on new followers, popular posts and the number of visitors driven to your website, among other insights. Look online and you will come across free and paid tools to help you in this endeavor. Choose the right monitoring tool that suits your needs.
Did you find the tips useful? A close scrutiny of these tips will reveal that they appear simple. The secret to your success on Instagram rests with the way you implement them. Be flexible and willing to change if you feel that something isn’t working right with your Instagram strategy. The ones who succeed online are those who are willing to adapt to newer trends with every passing day.
I wish you success for your marketing efforts on Instagram. Share your feedback in the comment box below!
Continue reading here: 5 Key Strategies to Write Clickable Content for Every Social Network
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