The last time we checked there are over 1 Billion users on Instagram.
Yes thats right…thats ‘B’illion. And more than 250 million users visit at least one business profile a day. As Facebook refocuses on connecting people with content from family and friends, Instagram has become the new home for all kinds of brands and businesses. Engagement is high, followers are brand-loyal, and real business goals can be achieved.
In our Season 02 episode with Sasha Back of EarthlingSasha, she talked about how social media and particularly Instagram has been a game changer for her business – giving her the opportunity to connect with her audience, make meaningful connection that are then taken off-line and even helping her get brand deals that help support and spread her passion for a vegan lifestyle.
If you missed her interview, you can listen to the podcast here.
We asked Sasha to give us some tips on how to effectively use Instagram for business and she shared 3 quick tips
- Be consistent with your message and content
- Be authentic and true to your purpose
- Be approachable and connect with your audience
Building up on the great tips that Sasha gave us, here are some additional ways to effectively use Instagram for your own business.
#1 Get an Instagram business account
If you already have a personal Instagram account with brand-appropriate content and an established following, you might want to simply convert it to an Instagram business account. This gives you access to all the business features like analytics behind each post and over all account statistics but also is seamless to your audience.
You could also choose to create a brand-new Instagram business account to completely separate your personal account from your business account.
#2 Create an Instagram strategy
Before you can decide what kind of content to post in Instagram, you need to think about who’s going to see it. You need to define your target audience. The vast majority of Instagram users are under the age of 35, with a fairly close split between male and female users. The United States has the largest number of Instagram users, closely followed by India, Brazil, and Indonesia. That’s good information to get you started, but you need to go beyond these overall Instagram demographics to define a target audience unique to your brand.
Determine who already follows you or even buys from you. Check the analytics on your other social media channels to learn who follows you there. Create a clear value statement for your brand. Once you understand who your audience is, think about what kind of content they want to see from you. What kind of content do they post on their own accounts? How do they interact with your competitors or similar brands?
Now that you have an idea of who your audience is, set goals and objectives. Knowing what you want to accomplish by using Instagram for business is the first stage in creating an effective Instagram strategy. Understanding your goals keeps you on track and allows you to focus all of your efforts on achieving real business objectives.
#3 Optimize your profile
For the most part, we all enter some basic information when we first create our Instagram profiles. Now it is time to really optimize it so that you not only attract your audience but you also attract the right audience. If you are a health and beauty blogger, you really don’t want a car dealership following you, do you?
Tweak your bio such that your potential audience know exactly the kind of content they can expect to see on your feed. Your Instagram bio is only 150 characters long, but it needs to do a lot of heavy lifting. It tells first-time visitors who you are, what your brand is all about, and why they should care.
Invest in a good photo that is representative of your company or business. For most businesses, the best profile pic is some version of your logo. Use the same picture you use on other social profiles to help people instantly identify your brand.
#4 Share great and valuable content
Instagram is all about the visuals, so it’s important to have a recognizable visual identity. Create a visual aesthetic for your brand. Think about what you will showcase in your posts. Is it products or services or a mix of both?
Once you decide on a content theme, go for a consistent visual look. That means consistent colors and filters and an overall aesthetic that is easy to spot as your fans scroll through their Instagram feed.
To make Instagram work for your business, you’ve simply got to have great photos. But you don’t need to be a professional photographer, and you don’t need a lot of equipment. Your mobile phone is your best friend when it comes to Instagram photography, since you can post straight from your device.
Write compelling captions. Instagram may a visual platform, but that doesn’t mean you an neglect your captions. Captions allow you to tell the story that makes the photo meaningful. Captions can make your followers think, laugh, and feel a connection to your brand.
#5 Use IG stories to take the conversation further
More than 600 million people use Instagram Stories every day. Content that disappears after 24 hours and live broadcasting features make Instagram Stories the perfect place to take creative risks with attention-grabbing photos and videos.
#6 Grow and engage your audience
Social media is all about community. A community relevant to your brand already exists on Instagram. You just have to find them. One way to do that is to engage with people and brands they already follow. Start by monitoring industry hashtags and commenting on appropriate Instagram posts. Follow the people who participate in these discussions. This is a simple way to make your presence known to people who are likely to be interested in your content.
#7 Work with Instagram influencers
Influencer marketing is a powerful way of gaining access to an engaged and loyal Instagram following by working with an Influencer whose fans might be interested in your brand. Even small brands with limited budgets can use influencer marketing by working with micro-influencers: people with a smaller but dedicated following.
When selecting influencers to connect with and form alliances with, don’t always focus on the numbers. Engagement and audience loyalty go further than just follower count and numbers.
#8 Measure success and make adjustments
Once you’re using Instagram to promote your business, you need to check in regularly to see how your progress matches up to your business goals. You’ll want to track the results of individual posts, ads, and stories, as well as your Instagram business account as a whole. There are a lot of numbers to keep an eye on, but there are plenty of analytics tools to help you keep it all sorted.
Remember like anything else, Instagram is a business tool if you want to use it in that capacity. It takes some thought, a lot of effort and consistently over time to really start seeing results.
0 Comments