Instagram has over 700 million monthly active users, less competition and a more engaged audience than other social media giants like Facebook or Twitter. This presents businesses with an opportunity to market their products or services to a more targeted and interested audience without spending an enormous amount of money on paid advertising. In addition, as of January 2018, Instagram’s API has changed to allow users to publish photos or videos to an Instagram Business Profile using a third-party platform. This makes it even easier for brands to take advantage of all Instagram has to offer.
Seven tips for mastering Instagram for business:
1. Show what you do in a creative way
Focus on the solution you provide, not the products you sell. On Instagram, it’s essential to add value to your customers and look pretty while you do it. Never underestimate that your most valuable asset (and downfall) on this social media network is visual content.
If your business is service-oriented, focus on showcasing the process behind providing the service. For example, show your company culture, share your mission with the world, or share tips and how-tos. It’s possible to upload photos, short videos (similar to GIFs, called Boomerangs) and videos up to one minute in length.
2. Create a winning profile
As a company, you probably do a whole lot of things and offer even more solutions. So don’t get too caught up in fitting all of that in 150 characters. Instead, focus on your most important USP or your next big thing – be it an event, promotion or product launch.
Since the only clickable link is in your Bio section (right under your name), make a habit of updating it frequently. It’s a shame that most brands use it only to link to their website, but it could do so much more. Think, driving event registrations, app downloads or even purchases.
Instagram has also launched its Instagram Business profiles and paid advertising. Having a Business profile adds a phone number to your bio and gives access to extensive analytics data. This wouldn’t be otherwise available unless you’re using a social media tool.
3. Take them behind-the-scenes
Customers have a natural curiosity about where their products come from, and you can use Instagram to show them their whole lifecycle. This is especially relevant for companies that sell environmentally friendly or FairTrade products. Source images to demonstrate how products are made – from the base material, production and distribution.
If nothing comes to mind, you can share something that everyone has – sketches, notes and filled whiteboards or blackboards. Every business has brainstormed ideas; it’s up to you to take a pretty picture and upload it to Instagram. You may find it’s best to try out different post types until you strike gold with the one that will engage the audience. Thanks to yet another new feature, Instagram now lets you archive posts instead of deleting them.
4. Expand your reach with #hashtags
Use hashtags to expand your reach. These can be campaign specific or general – all that’s important is that they are relevant. So make sure to set up your leading company, hashtag (#yourbrandname), and use it sparingly across Instagram (Twitter is useful too). This makes it easier for people to find content related to you as well as your main account.
It’s best practice to use between three to five hashtags, although the maximum you can add is 30 per Instagram post. Use your own campaign-specific hashtags and the more popular hashtags to increase the discoverability of your content. For example, try adding hashtags like #instagood (used is 300 million posts) or #tbt (Throwback Thursday), and don’t forget about industry-specific ones. For example, if you are in IT, the hashtag #IT or #tech will do just fine. Also, consider how you add hashtags. These can be added at the end of the post, in a comment or worked into the actual post.
5. Collaborate and @mention others
Instagram is one of the most active social media channels for highlighting collaborators and sharing customer success stories. Even if you don’t officially partner with a non-profit organisation, you can give to charity or do a fundraiser a couple of times a year. It’s all good as long as the cause aligns with your brand values and mission. Unfortunately, not everyone monitors hashtags on social media, so tagging an account is usually a better choice if you want to get noticed.
6. Build anticipation and offer exclusivity
Keeping your customers interested is an essential part of any effective marketing campaign. Reward your loyal followers with exclusive content. Let them be the first to know about new products, services or events. Create teaser photos that build anticipation or satisfy curiosity for your new releases, office openings or stores. This kind of preview makes your Instagram followers feel special and keeps them coming back for more insider information.
7. Analyse your success and build on it
Without taking a step back and analysing what worked and didn’t, marketing becomes a guessing game. The truth is, you can read all the articles in the world about the best practices and publishing times. But you will only find out what works for your clients through testing and measuring results.
Social media management tools can help, though. You can use them to schedule your Instagram campaigns in advance and use social media analytics to measure your success. Make sure to regularly measure your follower count, engagement, and clicks to refine and improve your strategy. Our new social media reports can help you track your performance for Instagram and all other vital social media networks.
