Whether you’re just getting started with social media or looking for some actionable ways to enhance brand awareness, Instagram is one of the most popular and effective tools to boost your sales and skyrocket your business.
With 71% of active monthly users under the age of 35 (https://themarketinghelpline.com/instagram-stats-facts/) Instagram is the ideal platform to showcase your products and services the growing Gen Y and Gen X online audience.
So here are the best, effective and profitable tips to begin incorporating into your Instagram marketing into a new small business enterprise.
Optimize Your Bio
Your Instagram bio is the first impression you make on your visitors. So it goes without saying that it needs to be more than good.
It needs to be straightforward, simple and engaging at the same time and with only 150 characters you surely must get creative.
Add clickable links with specific hashtags, feature a call to action and build trust by adding some kind of social proof.
There are also quite a few cool bio link tools out there to help you take your bio to the next level, such as Shorby and Linktree so find what suits you best and get down to business!
Host Giveaways
Instagram giveaways are fairly new to the social media game but have become extremely popular amongst both followers and brands thanks to their power to drive engagement in the blink of an eye.
So grab the chance and host an Instagram giveaway that will bring you tons of followers and skyrocket your sales.
The biggest factor in your giveaway’s success? The prize! Make sure you choose something your audience really values such as discounts or gifts, either from your brand or a sponsor.
Before presenting a giveaway make sure you follow the rules since Instagram is very serious about them and you don’t want to end up with a shutdown account.
Set a closing date, define the terms and conditions and when everything is done don’t forget to spread the word by announcing the winner with a new post.
Also, if you are serious about your brand’s marketing chances are you are already using email marketing as your ally with the help of an email marketing platform such as Moosend. So you should be aware that giveaways are another super effective way to grow your email list and engage with new audiences.
Add Video Marketing
If a photo is worth 1.000 words, then imagine what a video can do! In fact, video marketing is an invaluable resource for increasing your audience and boosting your sales and your long term site traffic.
According to Hootsuite, the number of videos created increases 80% year by year.
In order to create a captivating video, you must always have your brand image in mind, your products, your followers’ aspirations and of course the story you want to tell your followers.
Since Instagram users scroll down quickly, you must make the first few seconds count in order to draw their attention. Also, remember to keep your hashtags focused and don’t forget to set a cover image.
Master The Art Of Hashtags
Choosing the right hashtags for your post and stories can help you get discovered by new audiences, leading to more followers and potential customers.
Instagram lets you use up to 30 hashtags per post. But if you don’t want your post to look spammy, a good method is to use from 6 to 11 hashtags.
A great way to pick your hashtags is to choose a few really strong ones used by influencers in your industry and then add some more specific, niche ones.
Keep up with the competition by also checking their strategies and always have your target audience in mind while brainstorming.
Create Sponsored Posts
Sponsored posts on Instagram are a great tool if you want to target more audiences, while they also let you add an actionable button and URL.
And when used the right way they can prove a huge asset for your brand.
Most Instagram posts don’t have text on the images. So avoid adding text, otherwise, it will make your followers understand it’s an add and probably scroll past it.
While creating a sponsored Instagram post it also advisable to measure the amount of engagement your previous posts have received so you can have a better idea of what works best for your audience.
Post Product Teasers
Creating curiosity before launching a new product can make your Instagram marketing campaign super effective. Instagram mockups can help you form compelling product or service teasers for your audience before going live and enable you to see the overall image impact before distribution to your audience.
Teaser photos, videos, and stories can build hype around your brand and make your followers stay tuned to see what’s next.
You can also create a new hashtag especially for your upcoming product, offer promotional codes to your followers or have a giveaway to grow your following.
Post User-generated Photos
Leveraging user-generated content (UGC) on your Instagram is a very powerful marketing strategy. Be it images or videos, it can help you build community and boost your sales and make the most of your account with minimum effort.
To do it right, you can start by creating a branded hashtag for your UCG and include it on all your Instagram posts.
A contest or giveaway is a great way to spread the word and entice followers to use your hashtags, always having in mind that your audience has specific wants and likes. A great user photo is not enough if it’s not relevant, so go the extra mile to do your research in order to create relevant content that converts.
Once you have enough UCG, plan your feed to start posting the ones you picked. And don’t forget to give credit for every photo you upload.
Team Up With Influencers
Along with being one of the major buzzwords of the past few years, influencers are also key to your Instagram marketing strategy.
Allying with an influencer can definitely increase brand awareness, build consumer trust, bring you tons of followers and enable you to further incorporate social media into your business.
But finding the right influencer for your business can be quite tricky.
Start by finding influencers who are already fans of your brand by doing research with the help of hashtags. Fortunately, there’s a bunch of useful tools to help you simplify your searches, such as Influence.co and Respona.
When you finally start an Instagram campaign don’t forget to track its progress to see how your collaboration with an influencer actually works and make changes if needed.
Over To You
Instagram today counts more than 500 million daily active users around the world.
A great platform to enhance your marketing strategies, this social media is your best friend if you want to build connections that will help your business thrive.
Build a solid brand image in a specific niche, define your goals, share quality content and be consistent to get the best out of your Instagram and stay at the top of your game.
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