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Instagram is a social network with over 1 billion active monthly users and an advertising audience that exceeds 850 million. It is one network with huge marketing potentials. Many brands are just realizing this and are doing everything they can to tap into it. Over the last three years, there has been a steady rise in the number of businesses incorporating IG marketing into their overall marketing strategies.
In 2016, only about 50% of United States brands used Instagram for marketing, but the tale changed. This year, more than 75% of U.S. brands now use it, and the numbers are increasing.
No matter the kind of industry you are in, IG has a market for you. The more you use the platform, the more you discover inherent marketing opportunities. However, you need to make a good plan and follow it to make steady success in your marketing efforts. Without a good plan, you would be just another IG user that just post content every now and then. While we try to give you the best tips to improve your Instagram for business, click here to learn further on how you can rapidly improve your IG marketing.
Let’s go through some tips that can aid you in expanding your social media marketing with Instagram.
1. Define your target audience
In social media marketing, you should define your target audience. Who do you want to see your campaigns? What age bracket do they fall into? What’s their locality? This and many more questions will help you define your audience well.
The main aim of defining your target audience is to enable you to make contents that will appeal directly to them. Instagram has lots of users. Although it’s not wrong for just another to see your content, it would better to reach out to those who are more likely to use your products or services. This will make for faster and better conversion and also cut down on marketing expenses.
2. Create a captivating profile
Instagram allows you to write a brief 150-word description of yourself and what you do in your IG profile. You need to make this count. Although it might not be enough to describe your business, please don’t overkill it by writing everything you do. Make it clear, readable, and filled the most important product or service you render. You might even write about your next big thing or future project.
This profile also contains the only clickable link. Use it wisely. Aside from taking people to your website (which many brands do), you could use it to do many other things. You could take customers to your survey page, purchase page, or even app download page. You should also keep updating it regularly.
You can opt for the Instagram Business account. You can add a phone number to your profile and get access to lots of marketing tools on IG, such as ads, analytics, etc., which wouldn't have been possible for a regular social account.
3. Promote your post across many channels
Your posts shouldn’t just end on Instagram only. Promote them across all the social networks you use. Take your posts to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and the rest and encourage your followers to check them out on those networks too. If they love you enough to follow you on one channel, many of them will do on other channels too.
Since there is no restriction on pasting links on Facebook, Twitter, and some others, put your best IG posts there and let people who are yet to know your brand see what you can do. Community forums and group chats are great places to promote your posts. Don’t rule out the idea because you don’t know who might be watching.
This will give you a good start in Instagram marketing. It will also yield faster results on your social media marketing efforts in entirety. You can also learn more methods on how to improve your page here.
4. Make your posts interactive and engaging
When making posts, craft them in such a way that your target audience will enjoy them and engage in them by way of comments, likes, and reposts. In fact, you also have to encourage your followers to do so. You can do this by creating contests, asking them to tag their family and friends, giving and rewarding tasks, discussing some trending occurrences in the country, joining some existing discussions, etc.
People naturally love wherever they are cared for and appreciated. In doing this, you pass across a message that you are human, and you are not just about making sales. This will surely increase your followership and engagements.
5. Exploit the power of hashtags, #
Hashtags have become very important in this new dispensation of social media communication. Hashtags can be used to join an ongoing event on social media platforms, and on Instagram, it can be used to locate a post or a series of posts. Exploit its power to reach out to more people. Create your unique hashtag with your brand name and input it in your IG posts.
Although Instagram allows you to use up to 30 hashtags in one post, you have to be careful not to get your posts messy with them. Three to five hashtags (with yours inclusive) will do just fine.
Ensure you use popular hashtags on Instagram to boost your chances of been discovered. Hashtags like #TBT (Throwback Thursday), #TGIF (Thank God it’s Friday), #instagood, as well as industry-specific ones like #builditright and #luxuryhomes (if you are in the construction industry) will work wonders.
6. Give exclusive offers to loyal customers
One other thing that will make your followers continue to follow you is rewarding loyal followers on Instagram with good deals. Search out those who have been following you loyally on the network and give them some exclusive offers. This will boost their morale to do more, knowing that you appreciate them. It will also make others join the league, knowing what awaits them.
You could also post pictures of new products yet to be released and promise some kind of discount for the first set of people to make pre-orders. They will surely stay glued to you and keep anticipating your new releases.
7. Don’t forget to use Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories is a good tool for IG business marketing. Many businesses now use Stories to make posts on Instagram and are get good results out of it. Unlike Instagram Feed, Stories disappear after 24 hours, but it shows a great deal of content. They give followers lots of details that sometimes can’t be shown on feeds.
Use IG Stories and make sure every content posted is consistent with your brand goals and mission. They should be interactive too. Questions and polls will get more followers’ engagements. Don’t just ask your followers to swipe; make them want to by providing quality content. Stories can be the game changer in your Instagram marketing strategy. Here is a place you can learn more about how to create amazing IG stories.
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