As the calendar turns to 2022, Instagram continues to grow. Humans are visual beings, and Instagram capitalizes on that. The platform has made looking at pictures, sharing videos, watching Stories, and interacting with friends, family, and even celebrities part of our daily lives. With more than one billion active users, the social media platform keeps expanding and gaining more active users by the day. Instagram has become more than a place for people to simply look at pictures—businesses can thrive there as well.
Why Use Instagram Marketing?
A 2019 report by Mention notes that 71% of US businesses use Instagram and that more than 80% of businesses consider Instagram engagement the most important metric. Companies can use the platform to engage with current followers, showcase their products, and deepen brand loyalty. Instagram organically supplies a massive amount of potential customers, which most businesses can reach without spending much of their budgets on advertising. According to Instagram’s internal data, 90% of people on Instagram follow at least one business, so it makes sense for companies, brands, and products to tap into Instagram for social media marketing.
Read on to discover ten ways to make your Instagram marketing efforts worthwhile and improve your bottom line.
Switch to a Business Account
While you may be familiar with using the platform for personal use, creating a free business account on Instagram offers more opportunities to market your company, product, or brand. Instagram business accounts are all public, providing more openings to showcase your company and for potential followers to find you. Business accounts also come with Instagram Insights, an analytics tool to help measure performance on Instagram. You can boost posts for advertising, add calls to action such as a contact button, configure quick replies for when you can’t respond to a direct message immediately, and incorporate many other additional features designed especially for business accounts.
Make the Most of Your Profile
There’s not much space (just 150 characters!) in an Instagram bio. Use those precious characters to convey the heart of your business, product, or brand. Your bio is the first thing users see when they visit your page, so be sure to include important information and make it clear why they should follow you.
There are also a few other categories in the Instagram profile where you can include key details about your business, product, or brand such as your name, your username (handle), a “category” section (if you’re using a business account), and a place to include your contact info so people can find you easily. There are also handy call to action buttons (like “Contact” or “Message”) that you can include in your profile to simplify ways for people to connect with you. Another important element of the Instagram profile: it’s the one place on Instagram where you can include a clickable link. Use the URL space in the profile section to link to your website or to a “link in bio” website which can lead to multiple other places. Utilizing all the opportunities to showcase yourself in your Instagram profile is the first step to marketing success on the platform.
Build a Storefront—On Instagram
Another bonus of creating a business account is being able to create your own Instagram Shop. You’re essentially setting up a store within Instagram! This digital storefront is where users can purchase products directly through the app. Users can find shops through posts and Stories, and browse and buy—all without leaving the app. Additionally, there’s a Shop tab on the Explore page, offering more people the chance to see and purchase your products or services. According to company data, 130 million Instagram users click on a shopping post every month. If your company or brand has something to sell, it’s a smart business decision to integrate shopping into your Instagram marketing strategy.
Create Visually Appealing, Authentic Content
On Instagram, visuals are king. For this reason, it’s important to create visually appealing content—posts people want to look at and engage with. Using filters and good quality photos can be a bonus, but be sure to keep it genuine, both visually, and in terms of content. Blatant ads turn users off, and Stakla reports that 90% of consumers say that authenticity is important when deciding which brands they like and support.
Great images may capture us initially, but great captions keep us interested. From snappy one-liners to funny quips to inspirational messages, well-written copy helps drive your marketing strategy. Captions should stay true to your brand, engage and entertain your followers, and compel them to take action.
Champion User-Generated Content (UGC)
User-generated content (UGC) is one of the most popular types of Instagram posts. Real people lead to more real people. Embrace user-generated content! Think of UGC as free advertising for your brand—while having the opportunity to amplify followers within your community. It’s a win/win! And the numbers don’t lie: a recent survey revealed that consumers are 2.4 times more likely to view UGC as authentic compared to brand-created content. Sharing user-generated content that is relevant to your business, product, or brand helps gain your followers’ trust (and ultimately their business).
Partner With Influencers & Other Guests
Take UGC one step further and add an influencer post or a guest takeover. Influencer marketing helps businesses grab the attention of other follower bases, promote their brand, gain credibility, expand their reach, enhance brand awareness, and drive sales. Many users see influencers as everyday consumers just like them, so influencer posts come across as a recommendation from a friend rather than an ad. Influencer posts should be relatable, align with your company's values, and provide a chance for you to connect with your niche audience. And since one in five American consumers have made a purchase based on an influencer, why not feature an influencer today?
Guest takeovers are a chance for companies to promote community, collaboration, and communication. Having someone else step in and take over your Instagram account (or even just your Stories) for the day can be a way to amplify another voice on your platform, reach new followers, and shake up your normal feed.
Stay True to Your Brand Aesthetic
Whether you’re creating your own visually appealing content, reposting someone else’s, or sharting user-generated posts, ensure you’re staying true to your brand aesthetic. Since Instagram is such an image-forward platform, companies and brands that want to create a niche for themselves on Instagram should work to create a visual identity that defines their brand or product. Maintaining a consistent aesthetic will help your followers recognize and appreciate your page, so have fun picking out colors and themes that define you. Whether this is brand colors or a specific filter, make sure it’s consistent so that new and potential followers can recognize your content.
Have Fun With Stories & IG Live
Instagram Stories are photos or videos that disappear 24 hours after posting. They’re not shown in the newsfeed, but at the top of the app when you’re logged in. According to Instagram internal data from 2019, each day Instagram Stories are used by 500 million users, and a third of the most-viewed Instagram Stories are from businesses. With data like that, how can you not tap into such a fun, free, and ephemeral option? Stories offer an important and unique element of Instagram marketing: a chance for your current and potential followers to get intimate, behind-the-scenes perspectives of you and your brand. Stories are an opportunity to showcase authenticity, which resonates with most users. Since Instagram Stories can’t be calendared in advance like posts and other content, it’s a chance for you to connect with your community in a more immediate, organic way. You can also save selected Stories into collections (called Highlights) on your page, making those 24-hour-long posts available for as long as you want.
Instagram Live offers a similar way to connect with your audience. Since it’s happening in real-time, Live awards a chance to have a genuine dialogue with friends, followers, and fans. Show your community your unfiltered side! Instagram Live is a great way to run fundraisers, raise awareness about your company, product, or brand, or simply give you an authentic way to introduce yourself.
Make Inclusive, Accessible Content
Think about diversifying your page. This can mean offering more inclusive options such as adding closed captions to your Instagram videos. It can also look like acknowledging where your business might be falling short when it comes to awareness and inclusion. Honoring all people’s experiences makes them feel seen and understood. Since connecting with others is a foundational element of Instagram marketing success, making inclusive, accessible content is crucial for any Instagram marketing strategy.
Stay Engaged
Above all, Instagram is a place to connect with current and potential followers. From a business perspective, followers equal customers. Get them there by creating engaging, fun, compelling, authentic content that keeps people coming back for more. Work to grow followers organically through interaction and collaboration using tools like Instagram Live, Ask Me Anything posts, contests, giveaways, and behind-the-scenes Stories, just to name a few. It may take time but it will be worth it in the end—don’t sacrifice your company’s brand integrity by paying for followers or using bots to get likes.
Engage frequently with your followers—and give them the chance to be active as well, by incorporating elements like calls to action, polls, and questions to draw them in and give them ways to interact with your company, product, or brand. Although Instagram is a place to build your brand and drive sales, what’s most important (and what will naturally lead to more commercial success) is forming deep connections and creating community.
Learn Instagram Marketing
Want to learn more about how to make Instagram part of your marketing strategy? Enroll in Noble Desktop’s Instagram Marketing class. This course focuses on advertising on Instagram as well as how to build a following by creating resonant content. The course delves into the Instagram algorithm and how to use it to develop content and posting strategies as well as increase engagement. Students will also learn best practices and how to leverage tools like Instagram Stories, marketing, and advertising. You can attend this course in-person classes at Noble Desktop’s New York City location or live online from anywhere in the world.
Individuals ready to dive into other platforms beyond Instagram can look into Noble’s 30-hour Social Media Marketing Certificate. The curriculum gives participants a comprehensive overview of the industry. Hands-on training over five distinct units allows students to master various elements of social media marketing. Certificate program participants will learn how to determine the right social media platform for their goals, develop a successful social media strategy, and create content that increases engagement and drives sales. Expert instructors teach participants how to gain a following and underscore the importance of market positioning and using social media analytics to improve results. Noble even offers students a chance to retake the class for free within a year to drill down on challenging concepts or refresh their skills.
You can also find local and/or live online social media marketing courses, bootcamps, and certificate programs in your area using Noble Desktop’s Classes Near Me tool.
Other social media marketing resources offered by Noble Desktop include its blog which has detailed articles about various social media marketing topics, and the Intro to Social Media Marketing seminar on YouTube, which gives in-depth descriptions about various social media platforms and strategies.