Top 15 Instagram Features Marketers Need To Use in 2022

Instagram started as a photo-sharing app, but now, it’s way more than that! Aside from being one of the most popular social media apps, Instagram is also one of the most effective marketing channels. Want to get the most from your Instagram as a marketer? You’ve come to the right place! In this article, we […]

Instagram started as a photo-sharing app, but now, it’s way more than that! Aside from being one of the most popular social media apps, Instagram is also one of the most effective marketing channels. Want to get the most from your Instagram as a marketer? You’ve come to the right place!

In this article, we will share Instagram marketing features and trends to boost your brand in 2022. 

Why Instagram? 

Instagram is like a whole universe on its own. Since its launch in 2010, this social app hasn’t stopped releasing cool features to improve its functionality. Whether you’re a content creator, a business owner, or a marketer, Instagram has excellent features to boost your user experience. Here are some reasons business owners and marketers need Instagram: 

1. Reach a Wider Audience

The popularity of Instagram can not be over-emphasized. It is the second most downloaded app and millions of audiences use it daily. With the right Instagram marketing strategy for small businesses, you can reach a wider audience and boost your sales. 

2. Impressive Marketing Features and Tools 

Aside from the large rate of users, another reason Instagram is great for business owners is its features. This social app has many marketing and e-commerce tools that improve the experience of sellers and buyers. Instagram is a great place to build brand awareness, reach more customers and sell e-commerce products. 

3. Higher Engagement 

A lot of Instagram marketing statistics show that business owners get higher engagement rates on Instagram compared to other platforms. Also, studies show that 72% of Instagram users make purchasing decisions after coming across a post on the platform. That is a huge percentage, and this is primarily due to the interesting marketing features the platform keeps churning out. Now, Instagram isn’t just a photo-sharing app but a great e-commerce channel to showcase your products and make massive profits. 

Instagram Features Marketers Need to Use in 2022

As explained, Instagram offers several functional features and tools to boost your experience. Let’s take a look at some great Instagram features and ideas to up your marketing strategy:

1. Showcase Your Profile with a business profile

You can create two types of profiles on Instagram; a personal page and a business page. With a business profile, you can add your business information, including address, phone number, and email. This makes it easy for customers to reach you and easy for you to access other Instagram features. To create a business page, go to your profile and click on ‘Switch to a business profile.” Follow the prompted questions, and your business profile will be live. 

2. Build an Eye-Catching  Instagram bio

Instagram bio is one of the most underrated features on Instagram. With a bio, you can come up with a description of your business and encourage people to follow you. Also, bio makes it easy for new customers to find you on Instagram. 

How? 

Say your bio has the keyword; ‘Handmade Bags in Abuja.’ In this case, someone who types in ‘handmade bags Abuja’ on their Instagram search bar is likely to find you. Another great Instagram trend is showcasing social proof on your bio. E.g., NAFDAC Approved, Over 1000 positive reviews, etc

3. Reach More People Through Explore Page

Instagram has an explore tab that pushes interesting and relevant content to a user. Getting featured in the explore tab is a great way to help people discover your brand. However, there is no set way to get your post to the explore page. But, here are some Instagram marketing  tips to push your posts to the explore page:

  1. Use  relevant hashtags 
  2. Post at the right time
  3. Add location

4. Use Hashtags to Reach Wider Audience

Hashtags are not a new concept on social media, as they are virtually everywhere. For a regular Instagram user, hashtags are just words you slap on your posts. However, hashtags can be a great Instagram marketing strategy for small businesses when done correctly.  Hashtags help users find relevant posts, so adding hashtags related to your industry is best. Another good Instagram strategy is to create branded hashtags unique to your brand. 

Not sure what hashtags to post? 

You can use tools like Kicksta and All Hashtag to generate keywords relevant to your industry or post. 

5. Grab Attention With Instagram Story

Instagram story is a more fun and exciting way for users and business owners to share posts online. Although stories can only be 15 seconds long and last 24 hours before they disappear, they grab people’s attention easily. Here are some Instagram story trends  to get the most out of this feature:

  • Use story links to direct users to your website or ecommerce platform
  • Participate in the ‘Add yours’ trend
  • Post branded hashtags in your stories
  • Take advantage of Instagram music for more 
  • Poll your audience on popular or industry-related topics
  • Promote your Instagram posts by sharing on stories 

6. Long-Form Instagram Videos

Video marketing is a great way to engage your audience and boost your page performance. Thanks to the extensive Instagram features 2022; you can easily share videos in all forms on your business page. There is the story, the reels, live, and IGTV. Meanwhile, in  2021, Instagram decided to collapse IGTV videos with feed videos. So now, you can post long-form videos of up to 60 minutes long on your feed. This feature also comes with video editing tools to create more polished content. 

7. Go Live

It’s impossible to speak of creative Instagram marketing ideas without mentioning Instagram Live. The Live feature is still in trend and lets you engage with followers through a live broadcast.  How can you benefit from Instagram Live as a marketer? 

You can showcase behind the scenes, stream events, and have interactive sessions with your audience. Also, Instagram Live has a feature where you can invite a co-host to discuss in real-time. You can also save your live videos and post them directly on your feed for those who missed them. Also, when you start a live broadcast, Instagram will notify your followers, making it easy for them to join.

8. Get Paid Through Instagram Subscription 

One of the newest Instagram features 2022 is the subscription add-on. Selling ecommerce products isn’t the only way to earn from Instagram! With the subscription feature, content creators can charge a subscription fee for exclusive content on their page. 

How does this work?

You set a monthly subscription price, and you’ll have a subscribe button on your profile. Subscribers usually enjoy exclusive content on your stories, live, and page. This is an excellent way for creators to make money right through Instagram. 

9. Add Collaborators

A new Instagram feature for marketers in 2022 is the collaboration feature. This feature lets you coauthor content with another user. The collab feature is almost similar to tags, but in this case, your post will appear on your profile and the coauthor’s profile. Also, both accounts will share such posts’ likes, views, and comments. For marketers, this feature is an excellent way to partner with influencers and other brands. 

10. Direct Followers To Your Website Through Story Link

Years ago, story link was a feature exclusive to Instagram users with 10,000+ followers. That has changed! Every user on Instagram can now use the link sticker to enter a URL. As a marketer, you can add relevant links like your website, newsletter, or e-commerce site. 

11. Display Products on Instagram Shops

One of the new Instagram features for marketers in 2022 is the in-app shop. It’s exactly what it sounds like — Instagram launched an eCommerce storefront for business owners to display their goods.  These in-app shops show up on a business page with a shopping icon to browse products and add to a cart. About 130 million users tap on an Instagram shopping post every month. If you are interested in displaying your products, now is the time to take advantage of Instagram shoppable posts 

12. Save Your Stories With Highlights 

There is the ‘Instagram story trends,’ and there’s the highlight trend. The difference? An Instagram story lets you post short snippets and videos that display for 24 hours before it disappears. However, you can save your Instagram stories so that people who visit your page can see them as highlights.

A good Instagram strategy is to group your highlights into various categories to make it easy for people to navigate them. You can use categories like price lists, products, events, how-tos, etc. For instance, whenever you post your product on your story, you can save it to the product highlight. 

13. Track Your Performance With Insights

Instagram insight works as an analytics tool to understand your page performance and target audience. A creative Instagram marketing idea is to check out the performance of your page and posts through the insights. Here, you can see the number of people who liked your posts, comments, saves, and shares. You can also get valuable insights into your account by looking at key performance metrics on your account. 

Also, Insights let you understand the best time your audience engages and the audience demographic of your audience. This is a great way to plan your marketing campaign and posts. Say insight shows that your posts perform better on Wednesdays. In this case, it would be best to schedule your marketing campaign for Wednesday. 

14. Partnership Inbox

It can be overwhelming to receive lots of messages on your business page. Sometimes, you can miss some messages, especially in the request folder. Instagram is currently testing a new feature, the Partnership inbox! This inbox feature makes it easy for brands to connect with creators and manage partnership messages

15. Educate Your Audience Through Instagram Guides

One of the newest Instagram trends is the guide feature which lets you curate valuable content for your audience. With this new feature, you can share your brand story, tips, recommendations, and other forms of content with your audience. You can also curate products in your shop, your existing posts, and places. The Instagram guide is a great way to strengthen your content marketing strategy and keep users engaged. 

5 Instagram Strategies for Business Growth 

Now that you know Instagram features you should use as a marketer, let’s get into five strategies to boost your brand.  

1. Post High-Quality Content

Nothing beats posting high-quality content on Instagram. Whether it’s a product picture, an infographic, or a live video, it’s best to put effort into your content. Great content performs well, makes your page stand out, and boosts brand awareness. 

2. Experiment With Different Content Types

There are many content formats you can try out on Instagram as a marketer. A great Instagram strategy for business growth is to try out different content types. Try out images, guides, reels, stories and other content types to find what works best for your business. 

3. Engage Your Audience

One important Instagram tip for business growth is to engage with your audience. Building a brand isn’t just about selling products but also building a community. For this reason, it’s essential to engage your audience and create content that entices comments. This way, you can get organic growth and build a loyal community. 

4. Connect With Influencers 

An excellent Instagram marketing strategy for small businesses is to partner with influencers. Instagram influencers often have a large following and can effectively promote your products to their audience. All you need is to find an influencer in your niche, reach out to them, and then partner with them. When you partner with the right influencer, you can boost your brand awareness and get more leads. 

5. Measure Your Metrics

It’s not enough to push out great content if you don’t know how well the content is performing. So, gauge your post performance and analyse your page to see if it’s moving you closer to your marketing goals. Instagram has in-app analytics tools to help users track page performance and see how you can improve. To access this analytics tool, click on Insights’ on your profile.

There are a lot of possibilities from Instagram marketing. You can use it to educate your followers, display your products and run marketing campaigns. However, to get the best out of Instagram, you should take advantage of the platform’s marketing features. 

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