Instagram is a very powerful social media tool, and it’s not just millennials that are targeted by this platform. The demographic is growing, as the future of social media is trending towards the Instagram-like interface and away from Facebook. Instagram is arguably the most powerful social media platform currently when it comes to sharing images.
Of course, Instagram now has Snapchat chomping at its heels, but when it comes to the business world, Instagram is king of branding businesses using images. Don’t forget hashtags, too. Now that you’ve had a better introduction to Instagram if you’re not as familiar with the social media platform as you’d like to be, it’s time to discover these 7 Instagram marketing secrets that can help brand your business and connect you with more customers.
Instagram is a powerful marketing tool in and of itself, by producing great content. NOT the usual BUY HERE B.S but good quality images that will engage users and you will build a following of potential buyer fast. The last Instagram campaign i built gained 2700 followers in 3 weeks.
Let’s look at those hashtags. Whether you use your business name in a hashtag or go about things a different way, hashtag branding is key to building a following on Instagram. The use of hashtags on Instagram can also translate into expanding your Twitter audience. Failing to get creative with hashtags, however, is going to make your efforts look outdated. Play around with certain hashtags, and the ones that stick and help brand your business should be part of your business profile.
Currently Instagram allows you to use unto 30 hashtags. I often find this tactic results in poor quality user interactions. Instead you should try to write more detailed descriptions of the image you’re posting.
Just like hashtag consistency is important to branding your business, image consistency is one of the key tips when it comes to the 7 Instagram marketing secrets. And, you can look at your competition to get a good idea about what to do when it comes to image consistency. That doesn’t mean using the same images over and over again of course, but instead the same types of images. Naturally, you’re going to keep searching out new ideas and expanding your base, but you want to focus on your niche to build that foundation.
Expanding your brand and customer base has been mentioned, but of course you also have to stay focused on brand relevancy. At the same time, you have to reach out to those customers, but you have to strike a balance between doing that and keeping true to your brand. You don’t want to overreach because that’s going to make your brand look less trustworthy.
Have you ever been on Instagram and Twitter and noticed that a business or person is posting over and over again? Your whole feed can be taken up by attention hogs. As a business, you absolutely never want to do that. There are other ways to get the job done. You do need to make regular posts, but you never want to do too much. There are other parts of Instagram marketing that are equally important. Work on getting people to see what you have posted through other means than simply filling their feeds with everything under the sun.
If you don’t know Instagram well enough as a social media platform, then you might not know about Instagram filters and other photo editing tools. Editing your photos gives you an advantage because you can make your brand look better that way. Don’t make your photos look fake, but instead accentuate their beauty with the tools that are available.
Instagram marketing is all about building that foundation as mentioned, and once you’ve established that foundation, your brand presence online is ready to grow. Now sometimes it’s hard to keep things fresh. You’ve been told to study the competition, and one of the 7 Instagram marketing secrets is to copy them. However, you have to know how to do that and when in order for it to work.
Furthermore, you don’t exactly have to get the ideas directly from your competition. You might get ideas from other businesses not even in your niche by simply taking a look around on the social media platform. Social media, especially Instagram, is about what’s hot, what’s new. You might find out something about current events that is trending on Instagram and somehow tie it back into your brand. That being said, don’t just pay attention to posts from businesses but also regular people and powerful Instagram users who have branded themselves.
Also, while images rule Instagram, don’t forget about the use of videos. These are videos that you can use on multiple platforms, not just Instagram. Videos are a powerful marketing tool these days, increasingly so, which means you can reach forward by pursuing videos on Instagram. Instagram just opened their video system to allow users to post 60 second video’s.
Remember that Instagram is a social media network. As a business, you need to be interacting with your customers and with other business professionals. Leveraging those relationships with other businesses can be your best marketing tool on Instagram.
When you see images that catch your attention on Instagram, are they stock photos? Of course they aren’t, even though some people do try and get away with doing this. Be creative, get help with your pictures by hiring a photographer if necessary and share images that captivate your audience. Instagram is as powerful of a marketing tool as you allow it to be for your business.