Instagram Marketing: Smart Ways to Enhance Your Strategy

Instagram is widely used for both personal and business purposes, boasting over a billion active users and at least 25 million business profiles.

About 90% of Instagrammers follow at least one brand, and ~40% of B2B decision makers research products and services using the platform.

The Gram is right for any marketing as it features a lot of elements that enable brands and businesses to achieve greater visibility and sales.

You only need a smart way to utilize these features to your advantage, and here’s how:

1. Switch to a Business account

Sounds quite straightforward but it’ll surprise you how many newcomers skip this vital step. No Instagram marketing plan starts without a Business account.

You can easily switch your account by exploring the in-app settings. For one, this account type lets customers click your contact button and get in touch with you faster.

It also allows you to run Instagram Ads without using Facebook Ads tools. With a business profile, you can track your statistics (on impressions and reach of your posts) and understand your audience better.

You can also set up an Instagram Shop using this account type, allowing you to engage in direct sales with your followers. Just so you know: about 130 million users tap the shop icon every month.

2. Get more followers

An easy way to reach more potential customers is by focusing all your strengths on growing your follower base.

For one, if you don't have a lot of followers, your post views and engagement rates will be minuscule. This can lead to a detrimental snowball effect.

To get followers;

• Inform your existing customers to follow your Instagram account for updates.
• Send messages to your email subscribers and encourage them to visit your Instagram handle.
• Put your Instagram handle on your website and other social media channels.
• You can also follow people that fit the description of your target audience, and interested users may follow back.

3. Work on your profile impression

Your profile is what anyone will see when they click to view your page. If it’s not impressive enough, they won't be interested in what you have to offer and certainly won’t follow you.

When someone clicks on a profile, the first things they see are the profile picture, bio, highlights, and recent posts.

• Your profile picture should be a good representation of your brand and should be far from boring.
• Your bio should give anyone brief information about who you are, what you do, and how you can help them.
• Your posts and highlights should be captivating so anytime your target audience clicks your profile, what they see interests them to stay longer.
• Your front page should be clear; if it raises questions or confusion, some people may be uninterested in your brand.

4. Post content regularly but don't over-post

Regular content allows your brand to stay afresh in the minds of your followers. Posting once in two weeks or a month is a lazy attempt by any brand. The recommended duration is a minimum of once in three days.

While posting frequently is good, over-posting is equally terrible. Posting more than twice a day can be tiring for your followers, and they might lose interest.

In short, try to find a balance. Posting very frequently is only an effective strategy when the posts are diverse, visually compelling, and of high quality.

5. Write interesting captions and use great hashtags

Your brand voice is an effective way to captivate your audience.

Sometimes, your visual posts might not be enough to pique people’s interest, but adding a fascinating caption might do the trick. Instagram allows for 2,200-characters long captions; utilize it.

You can write stories, catchy phrases, fun facts, interesting updates, or anything that will make people glued to your post.

Alas, captions are nothing without hashtags. These identifiers will get your post viewed by more people outside of your follower base.

When using #tags, they should be relevant to your posts; else, visitors will get furious and uninterested. Also, don’t overdo it: the recommended figure is 5 to 9, to avoid a clumsy look.

6. Employ Instagram Stories

One way to avoid over-posting is to use Instagram stories. This feature encourages you to post more content related to your brand without getting boring.

Fascinating ways to use Instagram stories for effective marketing include:

• Telling relatable brand stories
• Adding clear call-to-actions
• Using a consistent brand voice
• Using short video scenes
• Providing valuable infotainment.

These approaches will make your audience interested in your stories and even repost the content, garnering more views. You can also share content your brand got tagged in.

Stories don't last for any more than 24 hours; if you’re looking for longevity, use Highlights.

7. Utilize Instagram Live

This feature enables you to do a live broadcast where your target audience can interact with you.

Employ it for a live product description, interactive session (Q&A, AMA), brand collaboration, and tour of your facility or staff.

Keep in mind: Instagram Live is more effective for marketing when you respond to comments.

8. Run targeted adverts

This is a way to reach target audiences who’re not following you. With Instagram Ads, you can select your desired audience’s qualities like age, gender, location, and user interests.

This is also known as a sponsored post, and it blends with your targets’ Instagram feeds.

9. Curate trending content

Here, you simply share trending content to increase your brand presence without generating original content.

This involves looking for brand-related content from other creators that your audience will benefit from and then posting them.

You’re also required to give credit to the owner by tagging them. When you do this, their followers also get to see your post.

This fosters good credibility, and you may get recognized by other businesses and creators. They might share the post, therefore creating more awareness for your brand among their viewers.

10. Organize contests and giveaways

These are strategies that promote your brand, engage your audience, and help you register more followers. Knowing how to run profitable giveaways will enable your brand to even drive more sales.

Instagram contests are an effective way to make your audience create posts and tag your brand. This exposes your brand to a wide range of audiences.

Once you've made your target audience interested in your product through contests and giveaways, create a strategy that will drive them to acquire your product.

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Instagram can influence people to constantly patronize your brand. Using the ways mentioned, you’re on your way to effectively promoting your brand and getting more sales.

If your business is new, you can start with free or cost-effective strategies and then progress to the ones that require payments.