With the advent of social media, businesses have pivoted to a successful marketing strategy to utilize their online platforms to influence buyers.
Though most buyers are influenced by their friends’ social media shares, a solid 38% say they’re influenced by a brand’s social media content, and 35% are influenced by retailers on social media.
Here’s how you can maximize that effect through one of the most popular social media platforms with more than a billion users monthly – Instagram.
Best Instagram Marketing Strategy Tips
Navigation of Contents
Create an Optimized Business Account on Instagram
Before you begin promoting your products, you will have to set up an official Instagram account for your business. Your account will reflect your business so bear in mind how you wish to appear in front of potential customers.
Keep your personal and professional accounts separate as you don't want to seem sloppy by showing your personal life instead of your products.
-
Attract With a Unique Photo and Username
This is the most important aspect of your account. You need to have a username and photo that will allow customers to easily recognize your business. Keep your username the same as your business name so customers can easily find you. However, if your business name is already taken, try a variation of the name.
You should also keep your profile picture consistent. A professional and unique profile picture will serve to make your brand recognizable as much as your brand name.
-
Boost traffic To Your Site By Including a Link
Marketing your products on your Instagram page is of no use if the customers can’t land on your site. To maximize the benefits of Instagram, you need to include a link to your official site. On Instagram, the only and best place to put this link is in your bio.
-
Appeal to Followers Through an Interesting Bio
The first thing a customer will look at after coming to your Instagram page is your bio so it is important to hook in your customers from the get-go.
You will have to convince people within a few words why they should follow your brand. Give a small description of your brand or a motto (or objective) your business believes in without making it sound sales-y.
You can always change your bio to include info about your latest promotions, product launch, or sweepstake contests, and, of course, remember to add in the link to your e-commerce page or your website.
Strategize Your Instagram Marketing
The Instagram algorithm has gotten trickier in recent years. So without an effective strategy to sell your brand, your posts will be easily overshadowed by over 95 million posts on Instagram every day. This is how to get started:
-
Set Up a Marketing Goal
Starting with a set goal is important. Whether your target is to reach an x number of subscribers by the end of the month, launch a new product, or gain a loyal customer base, working towards a specific goal will set the base of your marketing strategy.
-
The Importance of a Content Marketing Plan
After setting your goal, your next step is to design a content marketing plan. This will help you create content that represents your business as well as helps you come up with ideas for future content.
-
Why you need a Social Media Strategy Checklist
Once you open up your account, you will be flooded with comments and messages. Therefore you should set a schedule for a routine checkup of your social media accounts. Read a more detailed and helpful account on how to do that here.
Create Posts That People Want to Follow
At the end of the day, the thing that will decide your business reach and customer base is the content itself or rather your posts. Make sure to spend an adequate amount and effort to make your posts attractive to your followers. Keep in mind, key tips will not only increase your followers but also get you more repeat customers.
Add Value To Your Photos
In the Instagram world, your customers will be influenced to buy your products based on just photos. Therefore you have to put in the extra effort to show your products in a good light. The reason behind social media such as Instagram being a popular marketing route is the quality of the photography which influences consumer decisions.
You should also share your photos on your Instagram story and take customers to your official website through the swipe up picture.
In order to make your photos look professional pay attention to these few things:
-
Size
Instagram adjusts all images to a square frame of 612×612 pixels so consider this when editing photos to avoid awkward crops. Adjust the resolution of your photo to 1024X1024 pixels on photoshop to make up for this setback. If you wish to keep your photos rectangular, use the help of apps like Squaready and Instasize.
-
Photo Editing
Take advantage of Instagram filters to make your photos more visually appealing. Choose a filter that suits your style and stay consistent to make your brand instantly recognizable by followers.
-
Colour scheme
Adjust the brightness and color scheme of your photos to make it distinctly artistic and appealing. On average brighter photos get more likes than darker counterparts. Photos with a single dominant color – especially blue – are 17% more likely to appeal more to Instagrammers
-
Caption
A rookie mistake is to give too little thought to the caption and “sell” your product with words like “buy now” or “best product”. A killer caption that is engaging and fun is just as effective as a good photo.
Remember to give thought to the background as well. Lifestyle photos that help customers imagine the product’s use in daily life adds to the appeal.
How to Boost Instagram Following
The key to any successful business is a satisfied customer base. A satisfied customer will not only be a returning one but a conduit for potential customers. Nothing beats a ‘good word of mouth’ when it comes to branding.
-
Strengthen Customer Relationships By Engaging with Them Online
Engage with your customers to make them aware of your online presence. You can like their comments, answer queries, express gratitude for their purchase, and engage in fun conversations. For example, if you are a clothing brand, you can ask your customers to showcase their styles and how they put outfits together or even post pictures of customers wearing your products.
-
Contests are a Great way to Engage with Customers
Nothing is as powerful as peaking up customers' interest through offers, promotions, and giveaways.
You can promote events and give insider access such as on the launch of new products. These are some popular methods for contest ideas-
- Like-to-win or Comment-to-win
- Tag-a-friend
- Click-on-the-link-in-the-bio-to-enter-contest
- Follow-to-win
-
Buy Instagram Likes
The more likes on your post, the more likely it is to appear on public feeds. While Instagram algorithms may be tricky, a very effective way to increase likes on your posts is to buy them. After all, a wise investment will always lead to a lucrative outcome. https://www.galaxymarketing.global/shop/buy_instagram_likes/ allows you to do just that. With a post with several likes, you will be able to snag the attention of even the most skeptical consumer.
-
Answer Your Instagram DMs
Answering DMs can be exhausting but also a surefire way to engage with customers. Since many people ask similar questions regarding products, you can use quick replies to save yourself some time.
-
Influencer Help
Influencers are big on Instagram right now. Having influencers brand your products will rope in the influencer followers as your potential customers. You don’t have to hire the most popular influencer, micro-influencers are just as effective to brand your product.
Beat Instagram Algorithm and Measure Your Success
After managing to get the hang of navigating the world of Instagram marketing, you will need to maintain your streak. However, failing to keep up with the Instagram algorithm can make that difficult.
Here are some hacks to beat it:
- Comment on influencer account.
- Research about the right hashtags.
- Geotagging and tagging people.
- Use Instagram stories.
- Invest in content quality rather than quantity.
Your success won’t be measured by the number of followers at the end of the month but rather the orders, customer reviews, and brand image. Check the traffic flow to your website, this way you will determine how much you have progressed in your marketing strategy.
A Summary
Here’s a quick summary of our tips to get the most out of Instagram marketing:
- Create an Optimized Business Account on Instagram
- Strategize Your Instagram Marketing
- Create Posts That People Want to Follow
- Boost Instagram Following through engaging posts
- Beat Instagram Algorithm and Measure Your Success
When followed and applied correctly, you will soon notice the effect of these tested strategies. But most of all remember to adapt your strategy to changes in the market. That is the essence of a successful business.