In the beginning, Instagram may seem like the preferred app for sharing beautifully lit photography, selfies, and hilarious memes. But, since the photo and video-sharing platform came out in 2010, Instagram has grown into an excellent resource for businesses of all sizes.
While Instagram continues to expand as an essential marketer in the world of marketing, brands worldwide are paying attention.
From community-building to social selling and everything in between, there's no surprise that businesses and consumers alike have embraced Instagram to be one of their primary income-generating tools. As a marketer, it's now more vital than ever before to be innovative and understand how to market your company on Instagram.
Did You Know?
- Instagram has gained over 100 crores of active users worldwide since its beginning.
- 28.88% of the total number of internet users are active on Instagram.
- 70% of online shopping avids prefer Instagram to discover new products.
How to Start an Instagram Business?
Begin by Opening a Business Account
Instagram can't unlock its full potential without having a business account. Why? Because certain of the social network's most effective functions are only available to those who work for businesses, such as:
- Check out Instagram's analytics, dubbed Insights
- Create an on-platform store
- Create ads using Facebook's advertising tools
- Publicise your contact information
- Include a call-to-action link in the bio of your profile.
Also Read: Easy Steps to Make Money From Instagram
Set Your Sights on Instagram Business Page
Using Instagram to promote your business without having clear goals is useless. Don't start your Instagram marketing without having an end goal or objective, or expect a North Star to guide your strategy and activities. There's no one right or wrong way to go about it; however, it is essential to set a goal and reverse-engineer your success in marketing.
Understand Your Audience
Instagram might boast over 100 crores of active users. However, it's not suitable for all users. More than half of Instagram users are between the ages of 18 and 29, making more than 65% of the total users of the app.
This doesn't mean that you shouldn't be targeting people in their 30s and 40s. It's about knowing your target customers, their biggest issues, and how they interact with Instagram.
The demographics of your target audience determine your strategy for content and content strategy. It can play a major part in your advertising strategy.
Be Aware of Your Competition
In Instagram for business, keep your adversaries closer. You know your target audience. Now, you need to get to know your rivals. An in-depth analysis of your competition will help you understand the way other successful entrepreneurs in your industry use Instagram to benefit their business.
Competitor analysis is not to copy the same tactics that other marketers have used but to discover what resonates with your market and identify untapped opportunities.
Make Your Profile More Attractive
In the simplest terms, Instagram profiles are simple. Your profile should have a powerful impact in order to capture the attention of a user scrolling through their feed. Effective profiles encourage users to click the follow button by demonstrating the promise of a brand, distinctive selling points, and its character. It is also possible to include a call to action to encourage users to follow your company or employ the hashtag of your choice.
Choose a Captivating Profile Picture
One of the best Instagram advertising tips for small businesses is that your branding is important. Consistent branding is crucial in creating credibility and earning the trust and confidence of customers and prospects. In most companies, the profile picture should represent the company's logo.
Instagram converts profile photos into a circular shape and shows the images at 110 x 110 pixels. However, Insta stores these photos at 320x 320 pixels, so you can upload your logo to fit this size. If your logo is rectangular/square, you must zoom to display it fully.
Use an Aesthetic Theme
Instagram for small businesses must use an attractive theme. Your Instagram posts are viewable in various ways, one of which is via your profile. On your profile, users can view 12 of your latest posts in one glance.
Setting up and adhering to an aesthetic design theme helps create coherence and conveys a sense of professionalism. Furthermore, it assists users to quickly and quickly recognize the posts on your company's feeds.
Your theme's aesthetic doesn't have to be flamboyant. A simple visual thread connecting your posts can increase brand recognition and visibility in today's overflowing social media streams.
Put Visuals First
The most effective Instagram marketing strategies are easy to follow. The essence of Instagram is that Instagram is a visual-based social platform. That's why your posts need to look professional. The posts should use visual elements that draw people, engage, and inform your intended audience.
Images must be well-composed, sharp, and clear. Graphics should be sharp and simple to read. Videos should be well lit, and if audio is present, it should be very clear. You may want to include closed captions in your videos, too. Also, we suggest you learn how to write a business plan before you start investing in an Instagram business.
Create Engaging Captions
Instagram might be visual; however, your captions have a significant impact. Like the images you post, the captions you choose to use should reflect your brand's style and remain consistent across posts.
Captions can be lengthy, as long as 2,200 characters, giving you plenty of space for emotional storytelling or a humorous one-liner. The ideal length for captions is 125 characters for advertisements and 150 characters for organic posts.
But keep your eyes on the first two lines displayed on the feed. Keep in mind that users need to select "more" to see the remainder of the feed.
Make Use of the Appropriate Hashtags
Hashtags increase their visibility, and they are essential in unlocking Instagram's full potential. Instagram allows up to 30 hashtags in a post. A range of 5 to 9 appears to be the perfect amount because it allows easy discovery without making your content appear unprofessional.
Making your unique brand or campaign-specific hashtag could be effective in helping increase engagement, connect with new audiences and increase your followership.
Engage With Your Followers
You can get out the content you've put in. If you want your audience to be engaged in your posts, make sure they engage with them, too. This is social media at the end of the day. The way you interact with your fellow users is a part of your brand's voice. Be consistent and respectful. If the situation gets heated, discuss the issue privately via direct messages or email.
User-Generated Content That You Share
Publishing high-impact Instagram posts isn't a difficult job. However, there's a technique you can use that will give access to high-quality and authentic content in a short time.
Sharing content from users is an excellent method to engage your customers and create the sense of community you have on Instagram. The concept is straightforward: you let your customers post images of good quality that are relevant to your brand, and you use an app similar to repost and share their posts on your company's page.
It is essential to acknowledge the poster who posted the initial post by adding their username in the caption.
Highlight Stories
Stories are gone within 24 hours until you add them to your top stories. After that, they'll be there for a long time. Your highlights are displayed directly beneath your bio. Therefore the covers must be appealing and in line with the brand. You can use highlights to address commonly asked questions. You can also display the product line or highlight the most important changes to your service.
Also Read: How Much Money Do YouTubers Make?
Enjoy Yourself by Playing With Instagram Reels
Do you need Instagram video marketing advice? Enjoy yourself playing with reels.
Instagram reels are an extremely new feature offering users access to various tools to create short video clips with stickers, music, text, and other effects. Simply put, reels are Instagram's version of TikTok.
Brands are using reels features to differentiate themselves from their competition. After and before, sneak-peeks, how-tos, and day-in-the-life type content can help businesses create appealing brand identities.
Be Strategic by Using Insights
However, there's always an opportunity to improve. The best way to improve your performance is to study your previous experience. Instagram Insights offers the ability to view important performance indicators like engagement and post reach, impressions, the number of views your stories receive, follower demographics, etc.
Use this data to improve your strategy. The more you learn about your audience and what appeals to them, the better you can tailor your content to match their expectations and needs.
Let's say, for instance, you've tried out some of the new hashtags you've discovered over the last week. You can check your Insights for how recent posts impacted more people through your Explore feeds.
Conclusion
There you have it! There are a variety of strategies you can implement now to boost the visibility of the popularity of your Instagram account. Be aware that the primary purpose of Instagram is to educate, entertain and keep users content.
These days there's no shortage of ideas that you could develop to provide amazing experiences to your followers, which will greatly benefit your business. Follow Khatabook for the latest updates, news blogs, and articles related to micro, small and medium businesses (MSMEs), business tips, income tax, GST, salary, and accounting.
