These days, no brand can afford to underestimate the power of Instagram marketing. As one of the most popular social media platforms around, Instagram has captured the attention of more than 1 billion monthly active users across virtually every demographic.
Whether you’re trying to reach out to tech fanatics, or you want to generate awareness for your new health and beauty company, Instagram is the place to be. After all, research shows Instagram users aren’t just active – they’re also heavily engaged.
Around 59% of the users on Instagram visit the platform every day, and many spend around 7 hours per week browsing through content and interacting with friends.
The challenge for business leaders is in figuring out how to make their Instagram marketing strategies stand out from the crowd.
7 Strategies To Improve Your Instagram Marketing Campaign
The good news for today’s business owners is that Instagram is constantly inventing new ways to help you connect with, engage, and convert your audience. To help you get the most out of the platform, we’ve put together this list of 7 top tips for Instagram marketing.
1. Set S.M.A.R.T Goals
In any social media campaign, the best way to ensure you’re getting the right results is to set clear goals from day one. Having clear goals in mind will help you to determine what kind of Instagram marketing campaigns you want to implement. Your goals can also help you with defining KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and metrics you want to keep track of.
Setting S.M.A.R.T goals means defining targets that are:
· Specific
· Measurable
· Attainable
· Realistic
· Time-Bound
In other words, you might decide to increase audience engagement, you’re going to start a new Instagram Stories campaign. You can measure engagement by watching the number of likes, comments, and followers coming to your posts over a set period of time, such as one week.
2. Use An Instagram Growth Service
Getting the initial momentum, you need to thrive on Instagram is one of the most challenging parts of standing out on the platform. Most followers prefer to connect with brands and influencers on Instagram who already have plenty of fans.
So, how do you get those initial followers to pay attention? The easiest option is to seek the assistance of an organic Instagram growth service. These agencies work with your business to define what kind of followers you want to attract to your page. They then go and “like” the posts of the people who might be interested in your brand, encouraging them to come back and “like” your page in return.
An Instagram growth service can significantly increase the speed with which you attract new followers on social media. However, it’s important to make sure you’re using a reputable agency. Don’t make the mistake of simply trying to “buy followers” as this can damage your reputation, and won’t deliver any long-term benefits via engagement.
3. Optimize Your Bio
If you really want to dazzle people with your Instagram marketing campaigns, you first need to ensure your bio is up-to-scratch. Your Instagram Bio is essentially the front page of your profile on Instagram, providing other users with information about who you are and what you do.
You can enhance your Instagram bio in a few different ways, such as:
· Using a link tool: Use a link-in-bio tool to convert the single link you can add to your Instagram profile to a database of relevant links.
· Write a strong description: Use the 150 characters of space you have on your profile to provide your customers with insights into what your business does.
· Use a great profile picture: Make sure your Instagram profile picture looks professional. An image of your logo can be a good idea for businesses.
· Use Instagram bio features: Take advantage of Story highlights to spruce up your page, and call-to-action buttons to help customers reach out to your team.
· Get the name right: Make sure your @handle and name are optimized and easy for followers to find when searching on Instagram.
4. Post Instagram Reels
Part of standing out on Instagram is making sure you’re taking advantage of all the latest features and tools available from the platform. Regular Instagram posts, videos, and Stories are all great, but it’s also worth getting involved with Instagram Reels, too.
Reels are among the most popular content options on Instagram, giving companies a convenient way to share short videos with their audience. With Reels, you can show your more authentic and human side to your audience, and strengthen your chances of deeper brand relationships. Reels can also improve your discoverability, by helping you to stand out on the Instagram Explore page.
The Reels you publish should be packed with value and entertainment. For instance, Hootsuite uses Reels to give their audience online marketing tips:
5. Find Your Best Time To Post
Much of the work involved with optimizing your Instagram marketing campaigns revolves around getting to know the social media channel’s algorithm. Instagram showcases content to followers based on a number of factors, including what kind of pieces they’ve looked at before.
However, Instagram also prioritizes new and fresh content, which means getting your timing right is absolutely essential. There are plenty of studies out there into the best time to post on Instagram for different brands and industries. However, it’s worth combining this market data with the insights you already have into your target audience.
Pay attention to your Instagram Insights to find out when your audience are most likely to be online, which days and times they interact with your content, and what time zone they belong to. Using this information, you’ll be able to build an effective posting schedule.
6. Champion User-Generated Content
While posting plenty of your own fresh content on Instagram is a great way to capture audience attention, it’s also worth taking advantage of the content your followers and fans create on your behalf. Around 60% of consumers say they think user-generated content is the most authentic form of marketing they see online.
Collecting and publishing “UGC” is a great way to build your credibility as a brand, by showing off real people who have already bought and fallen in love with your products. When people see you posting UGC, they’re also more likely to get involved and create their own pieces for you to share.
To boost your chances of collecting as much user-generated content as possible, consider creating your own branded hashtag like #LushCommunity:
It’s also worth running competitions and contests where followers are asked to share photos or videos of them using your products or services for a chance to win.
7. Strengthen Your Hashtag Game
Speaking of hashtags, they’re a crucial part of boosting your Instagram marketing results, too. Hashtags are the tools Instagram uses to organize and categorize content on the platform. Connecting your posts to the correct hashtags can boost the visibility of your posts, and make it easier for customers to track you down on social media.
The best companies on Instagram use a range of hashtags to generate audience engagement, including:
· Trending hashtags such as #TBT or #Instagood
· Niche tags such as #NaturalFood or #NaturalBeauty
· Geo or Location tags like #NewYorkCity
As mentioned above, you can also use branded hashtags to convince your customers to start sharing their thoughts and feelings about your brand online. Not only will branded hashtags help you to encourage more user-generated content, but they can help you to learn more about your target audience and boost your presence on social media too.
Why Use Instagram For Marketing?
At this point, you might be wondering why you should use Instagram for marketing, particularly when it takes so much work to stand out on the platform. The simple answer is Instagram advertising campaigns pay significant dividends. Countless pieces of research and case studies have demonstrated that Instagram marketing can boost growth, engagement, and conversions.
For instance, let’s look at some of the stats:
· Around 130 million people interact with Instagram shopping posts each month
· 11% of US social media users shop on Instagram regularly
· Approximately 81% of people use Instagram to research products and services
· 62% of people say they’re more interested in a product or service after they see it displayed in an Instagram Story.
· 72% of customers say they’ve purchased something they saw on Instagram.
Plus, it’s worth noting that customers actually like to follow brands on Instagram. Around 80% of users follow at least one business on the platform.
Instagram even invests heavily in helping stores, business leaders, and influencers in turning engagement on the platform into sales opportunities. The platform has a range of advertising options for business leaders, as well as tools like Instagram Shopping, so you can sell your products to customers directly, without having to ask them to visit your website.
Make Sure You Dazzle On Instagram
Instagram marketing is something countless businesses are beginning to invest in more heavily these days. As social media continues to evolve as one of the most valuable tools for reaching and connecting with audiences, Instagram is a channel no organization should overlook.
Just remember, getting the most out of your Instagram efforts means having the right strategy in place from day one. Follow the tips above, and you’ll be generating massive results on Instagram in no time.
Author:
Rebekah Carter is a dedicated marketing specialist and freelance writer, specializing in business development, marketing, and technology topics. She’s worked with various leading brands like Sprout Social, UC Today, and Fabrik Brands.
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