One of the smartest moves your business can make is establishing a presence on Instagram. With more than 800 million users, this social networking platform allows you to market your business to potential customers from all over the world.
Whether you are new to Instagram, or simply need some extra advice, here are six Instagram marketing tips to help grow your business.
Direct Users to Valuable Content
Convince users to follow your page with a compelling and informative bio. This should include your business name and a concise description of what your brand actually offers. Always include a link to your website or targeted landing page in your bio, in order to boost traffic. URLs can be lengthy, so it is wise to consider using a URL shortening service to produce a vanity URL.
Take Your Followers Behind-The-Scenes
It is normal for customers to be curious about where your products come from and how they are made. With Instagram, you can show the whole lifecycle of your product, from production to distribution. This is especially beneficial for businesses that sell eco-friendly or Fair-trade products. You can also use Instagram to humanize your brand by presenting the people who work for you. By showing followers that there are actual people behind your brand with vision and motivation, people will relate more to your brand.
Expand Your Reach With #Hashtags
Visibility is key to creating a successful Instagram brand. This is where hashtags come in. The purpose of hashtags is to help your Instagram post get indexed for a particular keyword, so that when users search for this keyword, your post appears in the results. By hash tagging your posts, you will increase the discoverability of your content, and will gain more followers as a result.
It is the best practice to use between three to five hashtags per post, so as not to clutter your caption and overwhelm the viewer. It’s a good idea to alternate between campaign specific hashtags and trending hashtags relevant to your brand.
Take Advantage of Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories is a feature that lets users post photos and videos that will vanish after 24 hours. These stories are gaining traction as a great way to keep your followers engaged, and attract new audiences. This feature can be used to promote a new product or announce a special offer. It can also be used to give users a behind the scenes look and get to know your employees better, enhancing your followers’ intimacy with the brand.
Invest in Sponsored Ads
Sponsored ads on Instagram are run through Facebook, and provide you with a range of targeting features, allowing you to filter your audience by demographics, location, and interests. Instagram offers a range of call-to-action buttons for sponsored ads, including “Learn more,” “Download,” “Install Now,” “Shop Now,” “Sign Up,” “Buy” and more. These CTAs can be extremely valuable in converting customers.
Analyse the Results
Your Business Instagram account provides you with built-in analytics tools, supplying you with stats on your followers, the performance of your posts and ads, and more. By regularly analysing your results, you can refine and improve your strategy.
Are you interested in using Instagram to market your brand, but don’t know where to start? Yodle has you covered.
