Social media has more than proved it’s worth in the world of digital marketing, with brands from all over the world flocking to social platforms to grow their followings and grab the attention of their target audience. If you’re unsure how to boost your brand online, Instagram is the perfect place to start! Read on to discover how IG can support your business goals.
Optimise your profile
The first step to boosting your brand on Instagram is optimise your profile. Now, this isn’t as complicated as it sounds. A lot of profile optimisation naturally comes as part of the set up process, such as choosing a profile picture. Keep things simple with an easily identifiable logo, and don’t forget to set your name so people know who you are, or what you do, and can easily find your brand.
Now it’s time to fill out your bio. You’ve only got 150 characters here, so make every single one of them count. Tell followers what your business does but keep it short and snappy. Use key-word friendly content (and emojis!) and be sure to include a link to your website in the relevant field.
Hashtags can also be included in your description, making your page discoverable by people who are searching for what you can offer. As character count is limited, it’s best to stick with 1 or 2 brand-specific hashtags – don’t go too overboard!
Below your description, take advantage of story highlights to truly showcase your brand. This can include anything from your services, to interesting hints and tips to the faces working behind the scenes. You can include expired story posts in these, so be generous. Think of it as a pathway for customers to look at everything you have to offer.
There are also call to action buttons available that allow browsers direct access to your services. An email address and phone number can also be included for any enquiries.
Create your content plan
The next step is to create a content plan specific to your brand, and don’t be afraid to experiment with it! The best way to boost your brand awareness on Instagram is to utilise the tools at your disposal. Instagram has made no secret of their focus on video content, IGTV and reels for a reason – so make use of the tools, filters and sound effects available and start filming!
A key part of any content plan is using the correct hashtags. A maximum of 30 can be used on one post so make sure you’ve researched the right mix of relevant and popular hashtags. Some hashtags contain millions of posts, so when aiming to boost your brand, target the ones with around 100,000 posts or less. This is a helpful way of quickly gaining some engagement, without your posts becoming lost amongst the masses.
Finally, post regularly – at least once a day, or every other day. This keeps you relevant and consistent on your follower’s timelines and shows Instagram that you’re an active user, which helps with impressions!
Analyse your insights
Once you’ve experimented with your content, you’ll want to know how it’s performing. Instagram offers brands powerful insights to enable users to track the statistics behind their content, so take advantage of this to see what type of content is performing best. Then, use this information to create more of it!
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Be authentic and engage
One of the best ways to build brand awareness and form a loyal community of social media followers is to engage with them and be authentic. Set aside time each day to reply to comments, engage with similar profiles and share relevant content to your stories. Sharing 5 to 10 Instagram stories per day will massively increase your reach and engagement, working to keep your page relevant in the eyes of the Instagram algorithm.
Don’t forget to bring your humour and personality to the forefront to add a human touch to your profile. When brands treat social media purely from a business standpoint, it shows. Your Instagram profile is the perfect opportunity to have an authentic social interaction with customers.
Build your social media team
You can establish a positive customer service reputation for your brand by keeping on top of comments, feedback and queries, but of course this takes time. Working with a digital marketing agency or social media manager can give you the additional manpower needed to focus on growing your business offline, providing you peace of mind that you can still be engaging and reactive online.
By Rachel Birch
About the author:
Rachel Birch is the Director of House Digital, home to the best digital marketers around. House specialises in all things digital marketing and has years of experience in developing Instagram marketing strategies that work to complement an omni-channel approach that will drive sales and leads to your business.
