5 Steps to Grow Your Business on Instagram
Photo sharing on mobile was all the rage when Instagram came on the scene. Today it’s even better with Facebook behind the wheel and more access on phones, tablets, and computers. The growth of this social network has been phenomenal, and continues at a record pace. The bottom line is your business needs to take advantage of this powerful marketing tool.
In 2013 Buffer broke down the top contenders in social media with Instagram falling just under Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest as shown here in this image courtesy of Pew Research on the Buffer blog:
Not only does Instagram bring more visibility for your business online, it also helps attract more subscribers to your blog and provides an opportunity for new connections on your other social networks.
It’s important to understand how to successfully post on this rising star in order to attract more followers, likes and shares. Starting with a username that is consistent with your other online profiles your branded image should also be reflected so that your business is easily recognizable in this highly competitive place. Start creating a winning marketing strategy today with these five tips:
1. Create standout images and videos: Instagram is a visual network, and so it is important to post high quality photos and videos as much as possible. These can be a mix of your daily business events and activities, helpful tips, personal photos, announcements, and more. A good example of this can be seen from @PegFitzpatrick:
2. Follow and interact with influencers – It doesn’t matter whether your account has been dormant or if you have had action on it lately. Your business can start today by posting content and following those of high level interest in your market. By liking, commenting, and sharing their posts your network will soon start to grow and will attract even more followers.
3. Use the right hashtags for each post – In the comments section you can take full advantage of Instagram’s powerful search feature with the use of multiple hashtags that convey what your post is about. For example, here is a recent post that I made, which generated a large response:
4. Invite your customers to the conversation – Your business can stand out on Instagram by encouraging your community to share their experiences with your company as well as providing fun or interesting posts that create a more personalized image of your brand. Depending on your niche you can create something that not only captures their attention, but appeals to the needs of your customers. This is effective from the solo entrepreneur to the large corporation like this post from Starbucks sharing a fan video:
5. Be active on your account frequently – Your business should be making at least two posts per day in the morning and afternoon, and checking for comments on your feed when possible. This provides an authentic and genuine persona to your community as you build on your relationships there.
Take advantage of free tools, as well. There are many great resources available that will help your business manage and share great content on Instagram. For images you might enjoy Canva or PicMonkey, which can be used with royalty-free images from Pixabay. Flipagram has become a popular and fun tool for video, and Latergramme, Hootsuite, and Iconsquare will help you manage your network. Reposting apps are also available for both iOS and Android users.
By using these simple strategies your business will be well on its way to building a great community on Instagram, which will attract more leads and sales. Be sure to have a clear description and link to your website, and track your progress each month making adjustments when needed. Instagram is not only fun to interact on, but it is an incredible marketing machine that can bring more visibility to your brand.
Susan Gilbert
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