For a small business, using social media is a simple yet effective way to promote your brand and platforms like Instagram are an important marketing channel to consider.
As a continuation of our marketing series, this blog post will discuss some marketing ideas that can be done on Instagram and the benefits of creating a community with other brands on the platform.
We’ll also provide tips for how to create content that will resonate with potential customers and followers.
Why use Instagram for Marketing?
The first and most important reason for using Instagram for your social media marketing is the fact that it has around 500 million + daily active users. According to SocialMedia.org.nz, as at Oct 2020, just under 2 million Kiwis use Instagram, about half of which are between the 18-35 age bracket.
This represents a huge potential audience for you to grow your business by increasing website traffic, selling products, or just using it to increase your brand awareness and customer engagement.
If used correctly, Instagram allows potential customers to see all of your information in one place which means it’s going to help improve brand recognition within your industry.
How to set up your business account on Instagram
The first step to setting up your business on Instagram is to create an Instagram for Business Account. Make sure you’re logged into the correct business email address, as this will be needed to verify your business authenticity.
If you have a Facebook page for your business, you can also include Instagram location tags that show the location of your business in your stories and posts.
How to promote your business on Instagram
As with a lot of popular social media platforms, Instagram is already crowded with businesses trying to attract the attention of its 500 million + daily active users.
However, there are a few steps you can take to stand out from the crowd.
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- Instagram Stories – These are a great way to promote your business, as they only last 24 hours. This gives you the chance to post something promotional yet creative in order for it to stand out when scrolling through stories on Instagram.
- Hashtags – Don’t forget about hashtags! They are an extremely important marketing tool that can be used for increased visibility of your posts and ultimately lead people back to your profile page where they will hopefully engage through a follow, share or like. Try using relevant but not overused hashtags in each picture caption, this is another effective marketing strategy that has become increasingly popular amongst businesses on all social media platforms.
- Post frequency – Be sure to post multiple times per day, at least once every few hours. Remember, frequency is marketing! You want people on Instagram following your feed and visiting more frequently so they remember who you are when making a purchase decision or even recommending it to their friends. This can lead to increased brand awareness and growth of your customer base.
- User engagement – Focus on engagement rather than just likes/followers because these numbers mean nothing without interaction between business and consumer; think quality over quantity! People should love what you’re putting out there, not just be bombarded with forgettable marketing slogans and memes.
To make this easier for you, remember that there are platforms and apps out there that can automate a lot of this work, meaning you get all the benefits of free social media marketing, without putting in a huge amount of time and effort. By following our guide, you can make sure your business is exploring a popular marketing channel and reaching your desired audience.
You might also like to check out these resources which provide online learning on how to use Instagram for your business:
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- Ranking Academy (YouTube) – Instagram for Business (Ultimate Beginner’s Guide)
- SocialMedia.org.nz – Online Training course