Why is Instagram important for businesses?
Social media, and Instagram in particular, have become essential tools for businesses looking to grow. Here are a few reasons why:
Brand Awareness
Instagram has over 1 billion active users, making it a powerful platform for increasing brand visibility. Businesses can reach new audiences by using strategic hashtags, collaborating with influencers, and running targeted ads.
Engagement
Instagram's format encourages interaction, which can help businesses build a community around their brand. Users can like, comment on, and share posts, allowing businesses to engage directly with their customers and potential customers.
Visual Storytelling
Instagram is a visually driven platform, making it perfect for businesses to showcase their products or services in a visually appealing way. This can create a more emotional connection with customers and help them visualize how they might use the products or services.
Insights & Analytics
Instagram provides insights and analytics that can help businesses understand their audience better, track engagement, and measure the effectiveness of their marketing efforts.
Sales Opportunities
With features like shoppable posts and Instagram Shop, businesses can directly sell their products on the platform, making it easier for customers to make purchases.
Customer Service
Instagram also serves as a platform for customer service where businesses can respond to queries, complaints, and suggestions in real time.
In an era where consumers are increasingly turning to social media for shopping inspiration and brand discovery, leveraging platforms like Instagram can be key for business growth.
The Top 5 things you can do to increase your growth on Instagram RIGHT NOW
Step 1: Clean up Your Profile
The first step to improve your Instagram profile involves some important "housekeeping" tasks.
Username
Your username should be optimized for search. Think about the main keyword that someone would use when looking for what you do, and include that in your username.
Bio
Your bio should clearly communicate the value you offer - why should someone follow you? Consider your brand promise and personality, and the action you want visitors to take after viewing your profile.
Location, Links, Hashtags
If you're a local business, including your location is crucial. Links should align with your call-to-action, guiding visitors towards the desired action. Hashtags can help express your brand values and increase visibility amongst relevant audiences. Remember to list down potential keywords, locations, links, and hashtags for your business, and decide on the ones that best fit your brand and audience.
Step 2: Collaborate on a Giveaway to Attract New Followers
The second step involves collaborating on a giveaway to attract a wider audience. By partnering with other businesses and/or influencers, your reach extends beyond your existing followers to theirs as well. It's recommended to start your search for collaborators among your current followers.
Ensure you tell a compelling story with your giveaway. This not only enhances engagement but also makes the promotion more memorable. List down potential businesses and influencers you might collaborate with for the giveaway.
Step 3: Engage with Your Followers
The third step is about engaging with your followers and getting to know them. Set aside a daily schedule of 20 minutes to comment on your followers' posts.
Tips for effective engagement include:
Creating a daily routine around this task.
Ensuring comments are meaningful, genuine, and aim to start a conversation. Ask questions where possible.
Not commenting on every post you scroll past. It's okay to like them all, but only comment where you can add meaningful input.
Keeping a note at the end of each day to track what your followers care about. This will help you better understand your audience and tailor your content accordingly.
Step 4: Tell Good Stories
The fourth step is about storytelling. Share stories about what you do, structuring them to build up:
Story highlights
These are collections of Stories that appear on your profile and can be viewed beyond the usual 24-hour limit. Use them to showcase important aspects of your brand.
Brand values and selling points
Use your Stories to communicate your brand's values and unique selling points. This helps to establish a strong brand identity and differentiate you from competitors.
Content from followers
Sharing user-generated content (UGC) in your Stories adds credibility and trust to your brand. It also encourages more interaction from your followers.
Information on 'How to Purchase'
Guide your followers on how they can purchase your products or services. Clear and easy-to-follow instructions can increase conversions.
Remember, good storytelling is key to engaging your audience and building a strong brand presence on Instagram.
Tell Good Stories - Other Engaging Story Types
Behind-the-Scenes Content
Sharing a glimpse of the inner workings of your business can build trust with your followers.
Quizzes
Use quizzes to understand customer preferences in your niche. This can provide valuable insights for future product development or marketing strategies.
"This or That" Polls
These types of polls can help you learn customer preferences regarding your products or services.
Lookbooks on New Products
Share lookbooks showcasing your new products and include polls and questions to engage your followers and gather feedback.
Progress Updates
Regularly update your followers about your projects, products, goals, and mission statement. This can keep them interested and invested in your brand's journey.
Step 5: Track Your Results
The fifth step involves monitoring your content's performance to identify what works best:
Content Analysis
Identify which content performs the best. This could be determined by factors such as views, likes, shares, comments, or conversions.
Identify Why
Once you know which content is successful, try to understand why. It could be due to the topic, the visual elements, the timing of the post, or other factors.
Topic Engagement
Pay attention to whether certain topics garner more engagement than others. If they do, it may be worth focusing more on those areas.
Visual Engagement
Evaluate if posts with certain visual elements (such as images, videos, infographics) are more engaging than others. If so, consider incorporating these elements more frequently in your content.
Timing of Posts
Monitor if posts published at certain times or days receive more engagement. This can help you optimize your posting schedule for maximum impact.
Recreate Successful Content
Use the insights gained from your analysis to recreate successful content with slight variations. This allows you to maintain what works while also testing new strategies to further enhance engagement.
Download the digital workbook to follow along the 5 steps outlined here!
Interested to learn more? Get in touch with our social media management experts today! Email hello@treattorbay.co.uk to get started.