Today, there are many social media platforms you can use to market your business. Some have become more popular than others with the rise of smartphones and tablets.
One platform that has seen tremendous growth in recent years is Instagram. With roughly one billion monthly active users worldwide, it’s an excellent place for small businesses to market their products and services.
However, because Instagram is such a visual platform, it can be challenging to know where to start if you’re new to social media marketing.
This post will discuss how your small businesses can use these 3 Instagram strategies to help grow your small business audience, and engagement and lead to conversions.
Focus on engagement and community building
Using hashtags is a great way to get your Instagram posts in front of more people. Make sure to use relevant, popular hashtags that will bring up the right content for those who are searching for it. If you try using less-popular tags, you’ll limit yourself as fewer people search for these tags.
Add your key hashtags in the first comment on your photo or video to increase exposure.
When you want to feature specific hashtags, place them at the end of your post text. This ensures they are seen by everyone who visits your profile and doesn’t get hidden somewhere in all the comments.
Creating a community around your business is an essential part of Instagram marketing. It allows you to build relationships with people interested in what you have to offer. Being honest about what your company does and being personable can help instill trust among potential customers so they will be more likely to buy from you when the time comes.
The way to build a community on Instagram is to interact with users, liking and commenting on their posts to show you’re listening. You can also create a poll to determine what your followers want to tailor content relevant to them.
As you interact with others, it’s essential to make sure your content is relevant and engaging. This ensures that people will want to return to see what new photos or videos you have posted. If your audience sees that your account is inactive for too long, they may lose interest in following you altogether.
Create video content to enhance audience experience
Videos allow you to show your followers what makes your business special, and they’re easily digestible for social media users with short attention spans. Plus, seeing videos of actual customers talking about their experiences with your products or services can help instill trust.
Since Instagram stories are only available for 24 hours, you’re more likely to get your followers’ attention with this feature. You also have a longer time frame in which to tell your story, and people will be able to see it multiple times if they miss it when it first appears on their feeds.
Video consumption on social media is rising, so marketers are experimenting with using video most effectively. One way you can test is by doing a “day in the life of” series for your business or product line.
Another example is to create content that shows what happens during each step of making your products and upload it using Instagram stories. You can also create a video showing off your company culture and post it on Instagram.
Here is a list of video ideas that you can post:
- Showcasing your products or services in action
- Testimonials from current customers
- Behind the scenes of how you create your products and run your business. Your followers will appreciate feeling like they’re part of something bigger than themselves, so give them an inside look at what it takes to produce quality products in your industry.
- Videos of special deals or discounts you offer to instill trust in potential customers that they won’t find these deals anywhere else, and it will make them more likely to buy from you when the time comes.
- Videos of your employees at work instill trust in potential customers.
Collaborate with industry influencers to expand your audience
Small businesses can use Instagram influencers as part of their strategy, especially if they don’t have the budget for advertisements or promotion on social media sites like Facebook.
The first step is to find influencers in your industry that have a large following. You can do this by searching hashtags related to your business or location, then checking out the profiles of those who regularly use these tags.
Once you’ve identified some likely candidates, look at how many followers they have and what kind of content they share. This will give you a better idea of whether their audience is likely to be interested in your products or services and how they can help boost awareness about your company.
To contact an influencer, send them a message explaining what kind of content you’d like them to create for your business. You should also offer some form of compensation, whether it’s free products or money. Just make sure to have a specific contract in place so there won’t be any issues if you decide not to work with them anymore after the first round of posts.
In addition to working with influencers, you can also post about them on your Instagram account. If they have many followers and their content is relevant to what your business offers, it’s likely that these people will want to follow you.
You could even respond or tag the influencer in some of your posts so they’ll be more likely to see it. This can help instill trust and encourage them to promote your business in the future or even work with you again down the line.
If you are looking for a way to expand your business online, Instagram may be the answer. The photo-sharing app has quickly become one of the most popular social media platforms on the web and is now being used by many businesses as their marketing arm. Moreover, users have found that using this platform can help them grow their small businesses faster than ever before. It is easy to see why so many companies are taking advantage of this opportunity.
As a bonus, there are plenty of tools out there designed specifically with Instagram in mind – meaning it’s never been easier to take full advantage of what this platform offers. Do you need some help getting started?
Contact us here, and we will work together to create a successful Instagram strategy for your small business.
