In this article, we will outline how you can take advantage of the marketing potential that Instagram has to offer for your business. We’ll share with you 5 key Instagram strategies that businesses can use to effectively promote their brands on Instagram and gain a following.
1. Do Visuals Complement Your Message?
Instagram is a platform where visuals carry a lot of weight – imagery plays a key role in engaging Millennials and Gen Z, which are two essential demographics for any successful business to tap into these days.
Thus, before committing to an Instagram campaign, ask yourself if your message matches with what images have to offer as well as the tone of voice.
In other words, understand that text posts (quote image posts) may not resonate as much with your audience as they are expecting more visual content.
2. Analyze Your Competition
Before you start optimizing your posts for better engagement, it’s important that you understand what kind of content is working best for the accounts that are in the same industry as yours. This means doing thorough research on their bio, links, hashtags, captions, and even stories!
How do they attract their following? What type of content do they post most frequently? What are their follower demographics like – age, location etc.? Are there any popular trends or campaigns among these accounts right now? Are they using the same hashtags? Are they using any apps to boost their engagement?
A better understanding of what your competition is doing will pave the way for you to stand out and build a strong organic following.
3. Create High-Quality Posts
How are you going to engage your audience if your posts are low quality or not original enough, right? So it’s important that you invest some time in creating interesting content pieces that suit the tone of voice on your brand’s Instagram page.
The key here is staying away from quantity over quality – just because you have an image quota to meet every day doesn’t mean that you should compromise on the quality. Make your posts stand out.
4. Leverage Hashtags
Hashtags are one of the most effective strategies for engaging more people on Instagram, especially if you are using them right! Here are some key tips for using hashtags effectively:
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Don’t just use hashtags because you have to – make sure that they are relevant and appropriate #usinghashtagsforwhat? . It’s also important that you don’t overdo it – go easy on them at first and see what works best for your account (best is to use up to 5-7 hashtags per post).
Don’t just stick to the popular ones – they are repetitive and trending hashtags may not necessarily be relevant to your brand’s target audience. Use some unique hashtags with a high number of posts too so that you can be part of a smaller community.
Try using both long-tailed and short-form hashtags – they allow you to extend or shorten your reach on Instagram respectively.
5. Make Use of All Available Tools
As an active social media manager, it’s easy for you to get overwhelmed with the sheer amount of options that are available. But the good news is that you don’t need to try them all to see what works best for your brand! Here are some easy-to-use tools that can help you find relevant hashtags and discover posts related to the ones you post:
Hashtagify – allows you to easily look up hashtags by category or trending tags. You also get different variations, their popularity, and even some options for local searches (depending on where your target audience is).
Later for Facebook – allows you to use various analytical features like Trending Hashtags , Latest Posts with Hashtags, InstaTags Explorer etc. This makes it easier for businesses to use Instagram as a marketing tool to discover trends in the industry.
6. Communicate With Your Followers And Likes!
A big part of any social media strategy is staying active on your channels and involving your following base in discussions too! The more you engage with your audience, the more they will care about what you have to say and share – great for building up a strong loyal community too.
Here are some quick tips: Reply to comments quickly and appropriately Don’t just tack on hashtags at the end of each post, it doesn’t make sense and people lose interest.
Include calls-to-action like “Tag 3 friends” – it may not lead to direct sales but definitely helps you expand your reach.
7. Build The Habit Of Posting Consistently!
The key here is consistency – if your posts are repetitive and too similar, there’s no reason for people to follow you just because they saw one of your posts that piqued their interest.
You can use scheduling tools like Later or Hootsuite or post real-time updates instead, whatever works best for you!
But make sure that what you are posting remains relevant even after some time has passed by. Here are some things that businesses using Instagram for marketing can do to create a steady stream of engaging content:
Don’t just post images – videos are better understood by your followers. Nothing’s more boring than seeing the same “oh this is so cute” format over and over again. Mix it up, try something new!
Try out different filters or editing apps too. Even if you start slow, try posting things like behind-the-scenes insights about your brand (works great for B2B brands). You can also add details like hashtags in captions instead of sticking them at the end.
Live video content is becoming popular too – take advantage of moments when you feel live streaming would help reach and engage.
IN CONCLUSION
Hope those tips help you boost sales and awareness on Instagram. Just remember, baby steps first. You don’t need to do it all at once. Just try one tip and start with that 🙂
By Bec and Chris
About The Authors:
Hi! We Are Chris and Bec. The two salty sea-lovers behind Salt and Charcoal. Exploring life through the lens, living in our 4wd bus – “Bunji”. With us you will find helpful travel tips, motivation to live your dreams and endless travel inspiration to help spark your next big adventure.
Check out our website here: https://saltandcharcoal.co/ or visit our Instagram: @salt.and.charcoal
