There are over a billion Instagram accounts active worldwide - over 25 million of them being businesses alone. Does your company have a strategy on how to harness all of that marketing power?
Don’t stress, we’ve got the hacks to help you conquer the beginning stages of THE Instagram, Insta, IG, the gram. There is a lot of information out there—we sifted through it and culled out the 9 nuggets we thought would be most helpful for your business and easiest to quickly implement for fast results. Consider them as points on a map as you start your ascent to a cohesive and effective marketing strategy on Instagram.
1) Any friend of yours:
Encourage your followers to tag a friend who may be interested in your company. This is an easy hack to overlook but it’s a simple way to increase your audience. A companion to this hack is to use the “tag a friend to win something” method. This tactic is helpful but best in small doses with entry requirements that are clear and simple. Since you are asking your followers to do something, make sure what you’re offering is of value to them and worth their while, but also stays true to your brand and vision.
2) Everyone loves a good story:
Share posts to your story to increase their reach and to maintain visibility in your followers' feeds. Over 500 million Instagram accounts use stories every day so this is clearly where a lot of magic happens. Be selective with what you put there because you don't want your followers to ignore your feed. You should also share the posts of others to your story and let them know by tagging them. Sharing helps your company gain more reach and engagement for your own content.
3) Organizing is a journey, not a destination:
Save your own posts to collections to give them a boost. Instagram metrics include saves in addition to likes and comments, so by saving your post it may rank higher in the algorithm and be seen by more people, increasing the impact on engagement. What exactly does this feature do? Think of it as a filing system to help you stay organized. This function is a great way to save user-generated content, other images or captions that you like and also to see and save what your competition is doing.
4) Videos > Pictures:
Less pictures, more videos is the trend we’re seeing. Did you know that 149 million people log into YouTube daily? The visual content train is something you most definitely want to get aboard. 60 second Instagram videos are easier to create than you think – here are some specific tips:
Remember: Instagram videos start playing automatically as users scroll their feeds, so try to start a video with an eye-catching scene. Make sure you have a call to action at the end.
Go toward the light: Find the natural light and keep the light in front of you and shining toward you when filming. Stay away from overhead lights if you can help it.
Easy to Diy: Use your phone to make it simple - use portrait or landscape mode. Keep the shot focused on your subject by tapping on the part of the screen you want to be in focus
Who, What, Where?: Staff introductions, special events, office tours, and tutorials are a great place to start.
5) Posting without a net, that’s right, we’re talking live video:
Once you’ve mastered posting videos, you can kick it up a notch and use live video in posts - you can answer questions, show behind the scenes content, and feature new products. You can also post the live video to your stories after, giving you additional content. For best results with live video, announce it in advance to give your followers a heads up; have a plan and practice before you go on; give the audience at least 30 seconds to join by having an intro before you start.
6) It’s not what you know:
An influencer is someone who has credibility in a specific industry and who has access to a significant audience of followers. They are strategically very important. Find the right ones to partner with and their followers become your followers and vice versa.
How to find them? What bloggers or websites do you and your employees follow? Try a hashtag search with terms relevant to your industry. Another option is to use an agency, blogger network, or an influencer website. Make sure the influencer you target aligns with your company’s brand and vision. If they do, reach out to them and make marketing music together. The goal is for this to be a mutual, collaborative relationship.
Things to look for when picking influencers - Do they use high-quality photography? Do they have a high engagement rate in comparison to follower count (ratio of likes and comments per follower)? Does their fan base align with your target customer? Are they authentic in how they represent brands?
Micro-influencers (those with 100K followers or less) will be more open to working with small businesses.
7) Hashtags Matter:
Hashtags are the most effective way to create visibility for your company which will enhance the success of your brand. They are incredibly versatile, as you can create your own for a product, service, or event you’re promoting. We recommend using no more than 7 hashtags on your posts. You can also use hashtags on your Instagram stories to increase reach! Think of hashtags as the digital word of mouth method - you use it, your followers use it, their followers use it and so on.
8) “Save the Stories!” :
Use highlights to save specific Instagram stories to your feed, creating an archive for content that would otherwise go poof. You can create “collections” for seasonal product releases, build categories for your content around specific topics, and have different options for audiences with specific interests or needs.
9) Who wants to meet the wizard?:
You want to please the all-knowing Instagram algorithm? Here are some tools to help:
Put quality posts out frequently
Post videos—live, as a story, or IGTV
Determine when your users are online and post then
Engage with your followers by liking their posts, asking questions, and making comments - it’s all about relationships
Use hashtags wisely
Ask users to turn on push notifications for your account
We get it, it’s a lot of information, basically a whole new language that can be quite daunting to the uninitiated. Instagram is the gold standard in social media marketing, so it is a crucial part of your business. We will help you work your way through these tips so you can see them in action and experience the difference this can make for your company. Contact us today and set up a 15-minute discovery call.