Instagram is the most popular photo-sharing platform on the internet. Instagram receives monthly visits from over 1.16 billion people around the world.
The presence of celebrities and influencers is the icing on the cake for brands. Instagram makes for an excellent platform for marketing. That is why you see so many people marketing one product or another for a brand.
Users of Instagram are always engaged with their favorite brands. Over 130 million users engage with shopping content on Instagram every month.
Instagram has long been helping brands market and sells their products. It has also helped them spread awareness about their products.
If you have a product to sell and are wondering how to use Instagram for marketing, you have come to the right place. Marketing on Instagram will prove to be a game-changer for your business. Follow the steps given here and create your marketing strategies for Instagram.
Top 7 Tips To Use Instagram For Marketing
Below are some of the most powerful marketing strategies for Instagram.
1. Create A Business Account
Before you start marketing, you have to first create a business account on Instagram. Or, if you already have an Instagram account, you can switch to a business account from the settings.
The business account comes with features like Instagram insights, ads, shopping, analytics, etc.
A business account also makes it easy for your followers to contact you from your page. You may also add a call to action button on your page with the business account.
- Creating A Marketing Strategy
You will need to create an efficient marketing strategy for your Instagram. A good marketing strategy is to set up goals and perform keyword research. It is also a good idea to understand your audience and your competitor when creating a strategy.
- Setting up goals:-
It is important to set up specific goals. These goals will help you increase engagement, and brand awareness, and generate new leads. Having a goal will help you avoid any distractions and serve the specific needs of your strategy.
- Keyword research:-
Instagram is a photo-sharing platform. But the words that follow the posts on Instagram are important as well. Certain keywords and hashtags can impact your post’s visibility and increase your audience.
- Knowing your audience:-
When marketing, it is imperative that you know your audience and its demographics. This helps in targeting the audience with your marketing campaigns in a better way.
- Know your competitor:-
Knowing your competition will help you get a better understanding of your market. Comparing your competitor’s data with your own will help you improve your performance.
- Set Up Your Profile
Your Instagram bio is a short introduction to your business. You have to set up your profile with an attractive bio that lets people know what your brand is about. You can give the website details and other contact details. You can also provide a call to action button on your page and give people clear directions.
You can add a category to your profile. This will let people know what it is that you do. Using categories will reduce the size of your bio and make it more concise.
You can also add your location to your bio. This will allow people to reach out to you in person if they want to.
- Start Posting Content
A good Instagram post will help you promote your brand. It will also increase brand awareness and engagement from your followers. Your posts thus need to be unique and creative. Something that users will not be able to find elsewhere.
There are various types of posts that you can create to engage your followers. One of the ways is holding a questionnaire session. These include posts that are of the type “AMA” or ask me anything. Such posts allow your followers to ask you questions and know about you and your business.
You can also ask questions to your followers. This will allow them to share ideas and gain a better understanding of what drives them.
5. Instagram Analytics
It is important to understand how your posts are doing. Regular analysis will help you understand what is working for you. You may use third-party analytics tools like Hootsuite Analytics or Iconosquare. Or, you can go for Instagram’s analytics tool.
Either way, you can rest assured that you will have a better understanding of your posts once you have analyzed them. You can use analytics for your posts, stories, reels, etc.
There are some important metrics that you will need to keep track of. These include:-
a) Engagement rate:-
It is important to know the engagement rate of your posts. This rate will tell you how well your audience interacts with your posts.
b) Website referral traffic:-
This is the rate of people who visit your website through Instagram. Constant monitoring of the referral traffic will help you increase the return on investment from Instagram.
c) Increase in followers:-
You have to check the growth rate of your followers. Having a huge quantity of followers sets the perception of your brand.
6. Interact With Your Followers
Marketing on Instagram shouldn’t be a one-way street. It is important to engage with your audience. Listening to your followers and engaging with them will keep your followers engaged with your posts. You should respond to people who comment on your feed.
You should engage not only with your followers but with other major accounts as well. This practice will help your account gain some visibility. It will increase your trustworthiness. It will also keep your followers happy.
There might be occasions when people tag you. You should use this opportunity to interact with them. Your interactions should not be bland. But rather, they should be interesting and make for interesting conversations.
7. Influencer Marketing
Influencers make for a huge part of marketing on Instagram. One of the fastest ways to reach a wider audience is through an influencer. They are usually people who have already built a huge audience.
People trust these influencers. With their huge audience, they can help you build your brand awareness. This will increase your sales by a huge margin.
Influencers can be regularly seen on Instagram promoting one brand or the other. You can find an influencer for every niche. Depending on your audience, you can pick an influencer who is in the same market as yours.
Conclusion
Using Instagram for marketing is a great strategy in this digital age. It helps you reach a wide audience very quickly and within a budget. You can use the tips given in this post to start your Instagram marketing journey. As you progress, you will find more and more people will slowly join you in this journey, and someday, you will be able to create a big brand on your own.