Instagram is fast becoming the preferred social media with Facebook slowly losing their audience to other platforms and Twitter fast becoming the land of spam bots and retweets, Instagram’s wealth of fresh content is making it the preferred social media for many. Instagram is now the second most downloaded app, rivalled only by TikTok, which highlights how far this social media space really does reach.
Instagram is filled with millions of snap happy users who are ready to become your next promoter! 1 in 2 Instagram users utilise the platform to discover new brands and 44% of users use the app to shop weekly!
It's clear why Instagram has become an extremely powerful and valuable tool for marketers but how to get in on the action can still seem a little daunting. Here are 8 powerful tips to help you make the most of Instagram for your marketing and stand out from the 200 million other business accounts on the ‘gram.
#1 Be consistent
The best way to gain and retain a following on social media is to keep feeding your followers awesome content that keeps them coming back.
A hack to stay consistent without the stress is to schedule “content days” where you make a BUNCH of content and save it to use sporadically over a few weeks or months.
You can even prepare your posts and save them as drafts on Instagram so it’s super easy to pop them up later, even when you’re super busy.
If you want to go the extra mile and completely automate the process you can download apps like Hootsuite or Later and schedule your content to automatically post at specific times on specific days.
#2 Use hashtags
Hashtags are the bread and butter of Instagram. They have been there since the start and continue to be used to connect users on the platform and promote content to specific people. Hashtags are tricky because you need to find the perfect balance of target market or industry related tags and trending tags.
“There is no real consensus on the number of hashtags businesses should use per post but 11 seems to be a popular number amongst marketers” notes event entertainment expert Series of Events Sydney, “Most businesses will use 1-3 per post so it is really up to you”.
If you’re worried about the look of hashtags in your caption, try adding space between what you write in your caption and your hashtags by adding stacked full stops like this:
“This is your caption”
.
.
.
.
#here #are #your #hashtags
#3 Use apps to spice up your content
I’m sure it won’t come as a surprise to anyone that nothing on Instagram is really real. With filters, editing and influencers using toilet seats to replicate plane windows, nothing can be trusted.
While airbrushing and extenuating is mostly frowned upon, adding a little spice to your posts with some cool apps is most certainly not. Try using these apps to up your content game easily:
Facetune2
Facetune2 is the more high-tech successor to Facetune. It has so many awesome features like the ability to change an image’s background with a single tap. Facetune is also great for whitening whites and changing the lighting in images.
Picsart
Picsart gives you access to what I can only describe as the wild, wild west of photo editing. Picsart can do just about anything to your image, including turning it into art. Picsart allows you to add filters, overlays, backgrounds and much more to boring images and will help you to increase engagement with your audience by making your photos more interesting.
Lightroom
Lightroom is an oldie but a goodie from the Photoshop family. All the big influencers use lightroom to remove hues from their images that don’t fit their page's aesthetic. Audiences seem to love consistently coloured feeds so if that is something you want to achieve check out Lightroom.
#4 Go behind the scenes
TikTok has given us unadulterated access to places we never thought we’d be! Whether it be the Maccas kitchen or a rural milk factory, creators from all over the globe are providing us with VIP backstage passes to some of the world's most interesting places.
If you’re a business owner, I can guarantee that your customers would be interested in looking behind the curtain and seeing how you make or market products or complete services. Instagram’s reels are similar to TikTok and can be used to boost engagement and follows from organic audiences.
Simply film what normally no one sees but you and see how it goes, a lot of people want to support small businesses so if they can see the work and love that goes into what you’re selling they’ll be far more likely to purchase from you.
If you don’t want to put in the effort of editing videos try going live on Instagram instead.
#5 Share customer experiences
The internet has made it super easy for customers to be selective with their money. Oftentimes whatever you’re selling is being sold somewhere else for cheaper. With competitive pricing there is a huge issue with poor quality goods or scams that plague online shoppers' daily experiences.
The aim of the game is to show customers that you offer a quality product or service so they choose you, obviously, but this is easier said than done. The best way for prospects to authenticate a company is to see a ton of positive customer reviews or testimonials.
“Whether it be Google or Facebook reviews or reviews posted right to your site, customers love them!” explains e-commerce home gym retailer Xtreme Gym, “Reviews with images are even better because they give people a genuine idea of what they can expect without studio lighting”.
Try offering discount codes or promos in exchange for reviews from existing customers. Most people will happily snap a pic of their new shirt for 10% off another one.
#6 Drive sales with discounts and promos
Who doesn’t love saving money? Discounts and promos are powerful tools that entice people to take the step and hand over their hard earned dough. You can use posts, stories, captions or direct messages to notify your followers of the deals. The best part is Instagram’s ability to link directly to store fronts meaning if a customer is interested in the sale they can get to the purchase page with one tap.
#7 Share stories
Since the introduction of Instagram stories there has been a huge shift in user behaviour as many are watching stories instead of scrolling through their feed.
Stories are great because they appear at the top of user’s pages meaning they are often what they will look at first.
You can use your Instagram story to:
- Drive engagement on new posts:
Because posts can get buried in your follower’s feeds, it’s a good idea to promote them on your story when they go live. You can create a cool layout on your story with a preview of, or link to, the new post. This tip will help you to drive up your page’s likes and engagement and make sure more of your followers see your content. - Highlight promotions and generate sales with the swipe up function:
Use your instagram story to launch new products and share your company’s latest promotions. Instagram has a unique “swipe up” feature which will allow your audience to access your site with a simple swipe. Be sure to add a call-to-action on your story like a “swipe up” sticker so users know what to do.
#8 Hold competitions
Competitions are an awesome way to grow your following on the ‘gram. You can give away anything, from your own products, services or gift cards to designer handbags or cash.
You can create posts, stories or DMs to let your followers know how to enter. The way to get new followers is by requiring users to tag their friends or share your post to their story to enter. This will get your business in front of fresh eyes and will likely result in a few new friends.
“You can expect to have a fantastic return on investment from competitions you hold where you are giving away your own products or services” says the financial advisors from Capital Wealth Finance, “Remember every person who sees the post is a potential sale even if they don’t follow you, so a small investment can lead to huge profits”.