In the internet generation we live in today, going online has become second nature and part of our daily routine, not something we do for fun or in our spare time. When asked which site they spend most of their time on, three out of five adults would answer – ‘Instagram.’
Social media websites and apps that started as a platform for users to share photos are now perhaps the biggest social media platform in the world. Home to around one billion users, Instagram has recently seen the light of business and firms are using the platform to promote themselves. And why not? Promoting your brand on Instagram is simple, and reaches more people than you can imagine. Until recently, more than 500 million people were actively using Instagram every day.
With Instagram’s new option that enables you to turn your regular account into a business account it has paved the way for many brands and firms to elevate themselves on the platform with ease.
More and more brands are actively trying to interact with their customers to get them interested in the products/services they offer. The company continually keeps coming up with techniques that have earned them some very dedicated customers who keep coming back for more. However, that’s not all; a recent study showed that more than 70% of Instagram users have searched for a particular brand and company.
Additionally, around 60% of users follow a brand’s page just because they like it. This tells you that customers expect brands to have a social media presence, it’s a reflex for purchasers to turn to social media for references about brands, and have Instagram presence will absolutely benefit them, and the brand.
Customers receive the latest updates from their favourite businesses, while brands can promote themselves and have a wide reach. They can develop stronger relationships with their customers and understand what they like and what they have an interest in, while promoting themselves. Another advantage of marketing via Instagram is that it’s cheaper than regular advertising, and reaches more than double the number of individuals. If someone clicks on your brand page, even if they do not make a purchase, they will remember your brand, and they will come back.
But how can you get them to come back to your page?
How can you create an authoritative and powerful presence on Instagram? With more than 25 million companies worldwide running Instagram pages to promote their brands, how can you get your company to rise to the top?
After intensive research and reference, we have selected some of the tips, tricks, and methods online marketers swear by, and we hope they will help your brand in creating a robust Instagram presence.
Have a Special Business Account
Your potential customers have an interest in what your brand has to offer; they’re entirely indifferent or involved in your personal life. So ensure you have a separate business account that uses all of Instagram’s business tools to promote your company. Remember, your customers aren’t interested in selfies from your recent family vacation, so keep them off your business Instagram account. They are irrelevant to your customers and will not get you any clicks or sales. Your brand page is not about ‘you’, it is about your brand, so try your best to minimise or entirely remove anything personal from your business account.
Make your brand account look professional. Tweak your bio and make it look more attractive and proficient. Use hashtags, tag influencers and more in your posts; this will get more people to view your account. Using clever but easy language conveys that your brand is legit and reliable. Even if you use plain language, it should have a component that says, “This business is not fake.” Most businesses use their company logo as their profile picture, if you do, ensure it’s at least 320 x 320 pixels and the same as the image you use on other platforms, this allows customers to easily identify your brand.
Become an Active Participant
No one is interested in seeing a page that hasn’t posted anything since the summer of 2016. To guarantee that a business Instagram page is hugely successful, experts suggest you should be active on the platform 24/7, answering comments and replying to questions, and you should be posting regularly. However, it does not end there; You should also actively follow other brands and influencers. Responding to customer comments promptly is a terrific way to gain more traffic and trust.
You must become involved and not just publish content and go, commit to a regular posting schedule. Many studies have observed that customer traffic occurs at different times of the day for various industries. For example, companies in the food and beverage industry have received quite a lot of action on their posts around noon and noon and firms that post education-related posts do well in the afternoon and evening. Your account’s ‘Insights’ option also tells you when your followers are most active so you can plan your posting schedule accordingly. The best way to make sure all of this is finished is to hire someone to handle your company’s social media, which is what almost every big name in the industry has done today.
Define Strategy
Publishing content blindly on your Instagram account won’t work at all. After all, this is also marketing. And marketing requires strategy. It’s best if you clearly define who your target demographic is and how successful you want your content to reach them. Most Instagram users are under 40 years old, and most of the users are from the United States followed by India and Brazil. This gives you ideas on how to plan what to post and when to post it. How can you make your services and products appealing to 23 year olds? Luckily, Instagram’s business tools let you check your page’s analytics. These tools tell you who repeatedly interacts with your posts, where they come from, what age group, and so on. All of this information helps you optimize your marketing strategy.
As we mentioned earlier, your profile must be complete, and it must look genuine and experienced. Always add your website link and a contact (e-mail address or phone number) that your customers can use.
Publish Great Content and Overall Interactive
One of the most significant features that attract people to an Instagram account, business or not, is the type of pictures you post and how aesthetically pleasing they look. The best way to accomplish this is to have a professional camera and someone who can click great pictures of your product. It is best to hire a professional photographer for this purpose. Most companies have a predefined feed, they’ve a clear idea of when to post what, and they even have to ensure it is interesting to watch. Make sure you have a consistent color/filter theme; this gives your page a distinctive and uniform look that will make your customers identify with your page instantly.
Resharing happy customers’ Instagram Stories on your page is another way to earn more instagram followers; using specific hashtags can even help you. Recently, Instagram Stories have gained immense popularity amongst users, and research shows that about 40% of users are interested in a service or product after seeing it on Instagram Stories. Use this feature to keep putting out interesting content that will bring you more followers and potential customers.
These are some very easy tips and tricks that will get your business Instagram account going. We hope this helps and we hope you apply these tips to your business!
