Instagram is no doubt one of the best platforms for social media marketing. In 2021, the number of monthly users on the social platform reached 2 billion. Also, according to a study, 90% of Instagram users follow a business account, and this gives business owners a chance to market their products effectively. In this article, we explain the tips and steps on how to build your brand with Instagram.
Let’s dive in:
Benefits of Instagram for Business
Instagram marketing involves using Instagram to grow your brand, connect with your audience, boost brand awareness and increase sales. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons you should add Instagram to the channels you use for marketing.
1: High Engagement Rates
Instagram has one of the highest engagement rates of all social media platforms. Therefore, it’s easy to reach a wider audience when you have a good Instagram marketing strategy. Also, Instagram users are more engaged than the average social media user, so you can be sure your content will get engagement.
2. Increased Brand Awareness
Instagram is a great platform to build brand awareness, get more people interested in your brand and make more sales. With a great IG marketing strategy, you will be able to get your brand in front of more people.
3. Sell Your Products Directly
Since the introduction of the Instagram Shop feature, business owners can now sell their products directly through the app. According to a report, more than 75% of Instagram users have bought something at least once from Instagram.
15 Instagram Strategies for Business Growth
Now that we’ve covered the benefits of using Instagram for your brand, let’s look at some proven tips and tricks to build your brand with Instagram:
1: Build an Instagram Strategy
Every form of marketing needs a solid strategy to help you meet your goals. Without a strategy, you may end up with a scattered and low-quality feed. Some four major elements to building a great Instagram marketing strategy include:
- Setting your goals (What are you hoping to achieve with Instagram?)
- Identifying your target audience (Who are you trying to reach? Who will buy from you?)
- Researching your competitors (Who else on Instagram is currently offering what you do? What are they doing with their Instagram that you like?)
- Develop an Instagram content plan (What kind of content is best for your audience.
2: Create an Impressive Profile
One of the best ways to catch people’s attention is through your Instagram profile. Your IG profile is what people see first and can determine whether someone will follow you or leave your page. Your business profile is a great way to tell customers about your brand, what you offer and where they can purchase your products. You have just a few characters to do this.
To create an impressive profile, start by switching your account to a Business Profile. Instagram Business Profile offers features that let you add your contact details and a clickable website link to your profile.
Other tips for creating an impressive Instagram profile include:
- Using a clear picture that showcases your brand as the display picture. This could be your logo, your products, or your physical store.
- Adding relevant hashtags and emojis to your bio.
- Mentioning or tagging your personal page.
- Providing clear information about your brand in a few characters.
- Using third-party tools like LinkTree to create clickable links that customers can easily navigate.
3: Improve Your Business Profile SEO
SEO is not only for Google but also for social media platforms like Instagram. Very often, people search for products they want on Instagram, so it’s a great idea to optimise your page so that you can show up in search results.
A great Instagram content strategy is adding the right keyword or hashtag to your profile. For example, say you sell shoes, and your location is Abuja. In this case, you can add the keywords Sneakers, Boots, and Heels in Abuja. This will make it easy for people to find your account when searching for something similar to what you offer.
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Collaborate With Influencers in Your Niche
Influencers are great assets on all social media platforms, especially on Instagram. There are a lot of influencers out there, so identify the ones in your niche that can promote your brand effectively. Influencers have different followers, from 1000 to 10,000 and over a million.
Instagram influencer pricing often varies on the popularity level, number of followers, niche, and requirements for your brand. Ensure you conduct thorough research and comb around to find an influencer in your niche that fits your budget and needs.
5: Jump on Trends
There are a number of viral moments on social media, and the best part is that anyone can jump on the trend. All it takes is for a phrase, picture, or video to go viral, and everyone else can create their version in a way that aligns with their brand.
Jumping on trends is a great way to connect with your audience and boost engagement. You can also make reference to pop culture, use memes, and talk about trending topics related to your brand.
A great example of jumping on trends was when Drake released his ‘Certified Lover Boy’ album, and its cover portrayed 12 pregnant women emojis. Many brands, including Shopify, Adobe, and KFC, jumped on the trend.
CertiFRIED Chicken Lover
– ♥️🤍♥️🤍♥️ pic.twitter.com/uhxAt40m5P— KFC (@kfc) September 2, 2021
Certified Pepsi lover 💙💙💙 pic.twitter.com/hK6oOBD7sa
— Pepsi (@pepsi) September 2, 2021
6: Create Great Content
One great Instagram content strategy for best results is posting great content consistently. Ensure what you push out on your business page is engaging and relevant to your target audience. You should also consider creating a content schedule and calendar to make it easy to post consistently and at the right time. Also, a posting schedule ensures you have high-quality content for your Instagram at all times.
7: Use Relevant Hashtags
The next tip for building your brand on Instagram is very easy: identify industry-related hashtags and use them in your posts.
Hashtags help you reach a larger audience of people who are interested in your brand. For instance, only people interested in #digitalmarketing will follow or search for the hashtag. So if you use the hashtag, you will get exposed to a larger audience.
There are millions of hashtags on Instagram, so a great tip is to identify the best hashtags suitable for your brand. A great Instagram hashtag strategy is to go for less popular hashtags instead of generic ones for better engagement. For instance, #food is a generic hashtag, and your post can get lost among the thousand other accounts using the hashtag. In this case, you can try to use variations or less popular hashtags like #Foodstagram or #Foodoftheday.
Asides from general hashtags, you can also create branded hashtags specific for your business. Your branded hashtag can include your name, tagline or a phrase associated with your brand. A great example of a branded hashtag is #SpotifyWrapped by Spotify. You can take advantage of Instagram hashtag generator tools to find hashtags related to your brand.
8: Try Out Instagram Features
Instagram is always rolling out fun new features explaining why people can’t get enough of the social media platform. A good Instagram marketing tip is to leverage the different Instagram features to create more engaging content. Some of the popular features you can try out include:
- Story
- Reels
- Guide
- Collaborator
- Location
- Live Video
- Music, GIFs, Ask Me Anything, Reminders.
You can also check out this post on the 15 top Instagram Features to Leverage for Your Brand.
9: Sell Through Instagram Shop
Instagram recently launched an ecommerce feature for business owners to display their products and have customers shop directly from their Instagram page. This feature is called Instagram Shop, and you can post your product, write product descriptions, receive orders and collect payment.
10: Try Instagram Ads
Investing in paid ads can improve your Instagram growth strategy and increase your sales by a large percentage. There are two major options for paid ads on Instagram:
- Boost a Post
This form of ad allows you to boost existing content on your page to reach a larger audience. Also, you can customise your ad option to target only certain people, like Women in their 30s.
- Launch an Instagram Campaign
Another ad option is launching an Instagram campaign for your whole page instead of boosting just one post. There are different targeting options with different budgets and duration, so find something suitable for you.
11: Host Giveaways and Contest
Hosting contests is another popular Instagram advertising strategy as it introduces you to a large audience. Everyone loves a chance to win something for free, so create the opportunity for your followers and audience to enter a contest. Some concepts to run a contest on your Instagram include asking participants to:
- Follow you
- Tag a friend in the comment section
- Leave a comment
- Submit content like a picture or video on their page and then tag you
- Use a hashtag on their page.
To pick a winner, you can use content software to track participants and randomly select a winner.
12: Use User Generated Content
One of the best Instagram advertising strategies is to post a lot of user-generated content to attract more customers.
User-generated content, or UGC, involves sharing brand-related content that your customers post about you. In other words, your followers and audience create content related to your brand, and you reshare it on your Instagram profile. You can also make it more creative by asking followers to create content as a challenge or for a giveaway.
A great example of this was when Coca-Cola asked people to post pictures of them drinking branded coke with the hashtag; “Share a Coke.”
13: Add Your Instagram Feed to Your Website and Other Channels
Another tip for digital marketing is adding your Instagram feed to your website. There is a way you can embed your Instagram profile on your website so that it shows your feed. This makes it easier for visitors on your website to find and engage with you on Instagram.
In addition, you can add your Instagram link to other social media platforms so that people can find you easily. You can also add links to your email marketing campaigns, packaging materials, and business cards.
14: Post Reviews and Testimonials
A good Instagram strategy for business growth is to post reviews and testimonials from your customers. Reviews go a long way to boost conversions, encourage your audience to buy from you and get more sales.
You can get reviews by asking your customers what they think about your product and also registering your brand on review sites like Google My Business or Yelp. Once you get reviews, you can post them on your page as social proof.
15: Cultivate a Community of Engaged Followers
Interacting and engaging your followers is one of the best ways for Instagram’s organic growth strategy. This tactic helps you foster a community and build a solid relationship with your customers.
Some tips for engaging your followers include:
- Posting at the right time (you can check your Instagram insights to check the most active days and times of your audience.)
- Respond to comments and enquiries early.
- Add a call to action to your caption to invite engagement to your page.
Last But Not Least,
Always measure and analyse what worked and didn’t work for your campaign. One of the most important tips on how to build a brand on Instagram is measuring and tracking your performance. Keep track of your follower count, engagement level, conversion rate, and other metrics to improve your marketing strategy.