Instagram is one of the most critical social media networks for businesses to reach their target audience. With more than 1.5 billion monthly active users, Instagram offers businesses a unique opportunity to connect with their customers and build brand awareness.
With that said, using Instagram for business doesn’t come without its challenges. The platform is saturated with user-generated content, which makes it challenging for brands to stand out from the crowd. Furthermore, many users follow celebrities and lifestyle gurus rather than brands—which means that you need to work even harder to get your followers to see you as a trusted company rather than just another influencer on the network.
But with the right strategy and tactics, you can leverage this visual platform to drive new visitors to your website, grow your follower count, and create relationships with potential customers that go beyond just likes and comments.
Get an Instagram business account
When you’re first launching your Instagram marketing campaign, the first thing you’ll want to do is create an Instagram business account. Although you can still post content and use many of the same features when you have a personal account, having a business account gives you access to additional features that will help you build your brand and make your posts more visible to your followers. There are a few different ways to go about creating a business account. You can sign up for a free account through Instagram’s website, or create your account through the app. Whichever method you decide to use, make sure that you select “Business” when prompted to select your account type. Doing so will enable you to add a custom description to your posts as well as enable business-related features, including insights and the ability to turn off likes and comments on your posts.
Create an effective Instagram strategy
When you launch your Instagram marketing campaign, you should already have an idea of what your end goal is. What is the purpose of the account? What do you want your audience to do after they follow you? Clearly defining your goals and strategy before beginning your Instagram marketing campaign is crucial to success. This will allow you to create an effective and engaging Instagram feed that resonates with your audience. By creating a strategy that aligns with your brand and helps you reach your audience, you can increase your organic reach on Instagram, which means that you’ll be able to build your follower count without having to pay for ads. To create an effective Instagram strategy, start by asking yourself: – Who is your target audience? – What kind of content do they already engage with? – How can you create content that aligns with your brand and resonates with your target audience?
Optimize your Instagram profile
Now that you’ve created an Instagram feed that your followers want to engage with, it’s time to optimize your profile and make sure that the people who follow you can easily find out more about your business. By adding a bio and compelling profile picture to your Instagram account, you can further reinforce your brand’s identity and make it easier for your followers to recognize you. Your bio should include a one-two sentence summary of your business as well as links to your website, social media accounts, and store.
Create High-quality Content
When people browse Instagram, they’re looking for beautiful visuals that inspire them. They’re looking for engaging content that makes them laugh, cry, or feel something. They’re not necessarily looking to buy from a business, though sometimes they do—they’re looking for a great experience and something to captivate their attention. So, how can you create beautiful, high-quality content that captivates your audience? Read on!
Geotag your posts
Geotagging your posts is one of the simplest ways to increase your organic reach on Instagram. By adding a tag that notes the geographic location that your photo was taken, you’ll increase the likelihood that users will come across your image while browsing Instagram in their feed. You’ll also be able to reach a wider audience if you select a location that has a high number of Instagram users—which is why it’s important to choose your location wisely. For example, if you run a surf shop in Hawaii, you’ll have a much bigger reach than if you were to geotag your content with New York City—even though NYC has a much larger population.
Pay attention to captions
Your Instagram captions are another simple way to increase your organic reach and engage with your followers. By including a call-to-action (CTA) in your caption, you can encourage your audience to engage with your post and take the next step—whether that’s following your brand on Instagram or visiting your website. When you create a post that gets a high level of engagement (likes, comments, and shares), Instagram will show that post to a wider audience in their feed. This means that you have the ability to boost your organic reach even further by creating captions that encourage engagement.
Engage with your audience
While engagement is important for increasing your reach, it’s just as important for building relationships with your followers. When you build genuine relationships with your followers, you create a loyal fanbase that’s more likely to follow you on other social media networks and spread the word about your business. There are many ways that you can engage with your followers on Instagram. One way is to be active in your comments section. Whenever you have a new post, be sure to engage with your audience in the comments section. You can also ask questions in your captions and encourage your followers to respond with the hashtag #yourfeedback.
Collaborate with Instagram influencers
As you build your following on Instagram, you might find that you run out of content to post. If this is the case, or if you’re simply looking to engage with a wider audience, you can consider collaborating with an Instagram influencer. To find Instagram influencers that are relevant to your brand, you can use a platform like Brandless or a Instagram tools like Followgram to find people who have a large following and who would be willing to collaborate with you. Once you’ve found someone to collaborate with, you can approach them with a proposal to post one of your images with a short caption on their feed. If they like your idea, they’ll post it on their feed and link back to your Instagram account with your image and caption. This will allow your post to reach a wider audience and help you to build relationships with other Instagram users.
Run Ads
If you’re looking to grow your following as quickly as possible, then you might want to consider running Instagram ads. This is a great option for businesses of all sizes, although it does require a hefty investment. That said, if you have the budget for it, running ads on Instagram can be an effective way to quickly grow your following. Keep in mind that you have to be very specific with your targeting on Instagram, as you can’t select a broad audience like you can with Facebook. Be sure to target users that are relevant to your brand and who you hope to reach. Once you’ve created your ad, make sure that you track its progress carefully to see how effective it is. You can then make adjustments as needed to ensure that you’re spending your money wisely.
Leverage Reel
Reel is a new Instagram feature that allows you to create quick video clips that you can add to your feed. These videos will play automatically in a loop and allow you to include moving images in your feed—something that was previously impossible. By creating short, engaging video clips that you can add to your Instagram feed, you’ll be able to increase your organic reach and captivate your audience even further.
Use Instagram Stories
While posts are meant to be timeless and live on your feed forever, Instagram Stories expire after 24 hours. While this might seem like a disadvantage, it actually allows you to try out new content and new ideas without having to worry about them sticking around forever. If you’re looking to try something new or try out new types of content, Instagram Stories are a great way to do so without overloading your feed.
Wrapping Up
An Instagram account is one of the best ways to engage and connect with your customers. Whether you run a business in the fashion, travel, or food industries, you can use this social network to provide value to your existing followers, as well as attract new followers, who will often return to your account for more visual content.
However, to keep your followers engaged and motivated throughout the entire Instagram journey, you need to be strategic and learn how to optimize your Instagram engagement. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can ensure that you are optimizing your Instagram engagement by taking advantage of every single Instagram feature that’s available on the platform.
If you still don’t know where to start, or you simply want a refresher course on how to engage effectively on Instagram, keep reading to learn how to use Instagram for business and grow your company’s reach.
About Author:
Author Name: Suraj Kr. Prakash
Author Bio:
Suraj Kr. Prakash is an Author, Growth Hacker, and founder of Dhandho Karo, who has been writing since he could hold a crayon to a page. He writes articles for Business and Marketing to help early-level entrepreneurs, startups, and freelancers succeed in their goals. You can find him mentoring students or watching documentaries when he’s not working.
