THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO INSTAGRAM MARKETING.
The invention of Instagram in 2010 wasn’t particularly a big deal. It was like any other social media platform. The idea was to create a platform where people Share selfies, pictures of foods and pets.
Almost a decade later, Instagram transformed its algorithm to be a leading digital marketing channel. Its new features allow new and established companies to drive traffic to their businesses, through Instagram stories, a standalone video platform, advanced analytics, and shoppable posts.
Apart from all the above-mentioned features, Instagram has over a billion users and 500 million of those users scroll through the Instagram feed at least 2 hours daily. With an algorithm that gets your page in front of your target audience by age or race, Instagram is playing a vital role in the marketing world, today.
The big question is: How can your business stand out from the over 20 million others available on the Instagram platform?
In this article, we shall take you through the ultimate guide to Instagram marketing.
Hopefully, we are able to help you skyrocket your sales through the various strategies and approaches proposed in this article.
WHY INSTAGRAM MARKETING?
If you intend to give your brand a human face while building brand awareness and showcasing your products and services, then Instagram marketing is ideal for you.
The video and picture features of Instagram are perfect for showcasing products and services. A business is allowed the opportunity to build a strong visual presence on the Instagram platform.
If you are a visual lover and someone who wants to use live videos, short videos and amazing images to sell your brand, then you definitely need Instagram on your list of marketing platforms.
According to Statistics available,
- Instagram users follow their favourite brands.
- Over 90 million posts are created daily on Instagram
- Instagram has over 25 million business accounts and just 2 million monthly advertisers. See the opportunity?
- Over 40 % of Instagrammers use the platform to discover new brands.
- More than 1 Million Ghanaians are on Instagram. Big market, huh?
Instagram Profile Setup
Once you finally decide that Instagram is the ideal platform for you to put your brand out there, then you need to set up an Instagram business account.
When doing this, make sure to make the profile public so everyone can access it – including even new people who discover your account. Keeping the account in the private mode will only prevent you from getting new leads.
To make your account more active and accessible, kindly make sure to complete the following requirements:
- A brand name that accurately translates your real brand.
- Write an interesting bio that tells prospects of the brand’s goals. Add a neat and trackable link to your website so traffic can be driven there to boost sales. If you don’t have a website, you can either leave it empty or add a link to your other social media platforms (Facebook or LinkedIn).
- Creatively produce a hashtag that summarizes your brand in your bio. For instance, if your business is College grads, you can use the hashtag #Collegegrads or #Cgrads.
- Come up with amazing colour palettes to use daily which would be a characteristic of your brand.
- A professional high-quality picture for the profile is required. A picture that depicts the brand accurately. You may want to use your logo or the products you sell.
READ ALSO: Social Media Strategies For Small Businesses
What Type of Content Should You Post On Instagram?
Content refers to anything that you put up on your Instagram account. So, you know how important this part is.
If you don’t have any plans of putting up contents on your Instagram account, then there’s no need to create the account at all, right?
Here is list of contents you can post on your Instagram Business Account:
- Create quizzes. Come up with games that are hard for Instagram users to pass by. It could be a silly question with optional answers.
- Pose questions. Engaging the audience by asking opinions on relevant topics is a must. Trendy topics that relate to your brand can also be discussed.
- Introduce giveaways and contests. This is a fine way to build a website. The contest can entail going on a website, following your page, commenting to earn some products.
- Post Screenshots. Conversation between your brand and happy customers is relevant content. It is a working marketing strategy. With permission from these customers, you can tag them to convince prospects of the authenticity of the brand.
- Pictures and videos of products should be of high quality.
- Add a call-in option so it’s easier for prospects to transition to customers.
- Be sure to add prices and discounts in the post so prospects wouldn’t have to text you.
Make Use Of Instagram TV
This feature makes it possible to post longer videos. The usual Instagram post allows just a one-minute video. IGTV on the other hand takes videos of up to one hour for verified accounts. If your account is not verified, then you may have to post videos of up to 10 minutes only.
IGTV provides a format for users to watch videos continuously which is a great marketing opportunity for businesses. A well educative content can easily be uploaded to your Instagram TV, where Instagram users can watch.
So if you are looking for Instagram marketing tips regarding videos, then you know this should be on your list.
Video ideas for IGTV
Looking for ideas to build contents for your Instagram TV? Well, check this out:
- A Q&A answering frequently asked questions.
- Showcasing customer satisfaction by providing testimonies.
- To build a loyal customer base, start seeing IGTV like a regular television show. Show up the same time and same day every week to build consistent following and engagement
- Quick peek into product production and tutorials on how to best use them.
Use Instagram live.
Adopt the same ideas from Instagram Television but once in a while, feature a loyal customer to attest to the quality of products and services. You can also bring a friend or a prospect to ask questions regarding something that other people may want to know too.
This works a lot. People generally are inquisitive. So once you’re answering the questions they have, they’ll fall in love with you.
Use Hashtags
Create brand-related hashtags. A crop top brand could hashtag #YourSexyCropTop.
Most importantly, a hashtag should
- Be simple to remember
- Be used in every post
- Be used by loyal customers in their posts.
Find Instagram influencers
One way brands keep making money is through Influencer Marketing. Honestly, Influencer marketing is quite a big thing that anyone interested in Instagram Marketing must take huge advantage of.
You can do thorough research on the Instagram platform to find influencer accounts that resonate with yours. This research can be done manually or perhaps you can use influencer-search tools.
Create solid content
Content is the most important thing on Social media. Content is the reason why people are on social media. So, always try to post important and interesting contents.
Don’t just pick up anything from anywhere and post. Try as much as possible to post original contents which reflect your brand ideals. It is very important.
Lastly, strategize the right time to post for best results. You can do this by testing several times of the day to identify the best one.
If you use social media analytics sites, you can also get this data from them.
Conclusion
Apply this detailed ultimate guide to Instagram marketing and see great business success.
However, note that measuring and improvising on performances is best. Evaluate and know which options are great for the brand.
The feature of Instagram insights showcases the page’s overall performance. It also shows the target demographics.
We hope this ultimate guide to Instagram marketing will help boost your business account and triple sales.
If you have any more questions regarding this, you can click here to contact us now.