Instagram is a great way to get your business out there. It’s visual and fun, so it appeals to a lot of people. This is exactly why it has over 1 billion users and continues to get more with each passing day. More than that, Instagram is a powerful tool for communication and marketing. It’s possible to use Instagram as an effective marketing tool, but there are some things you need to know first.
If you are new to Instagram or haven’t used social media as a marketing tool before, it can be difficult to get started, and even more difficult to make heads or tails of what it is you need to be doing. All successful brands on Instagram had to start somewhere, and some brands even got a little help from services. However, for those who are testing the waters, here are 5 tips for using Instagram as a marketing tool for you to get started.
Use Instagram ads
If your brand has a budget, then a great feature that Instagram offers its users are Instagram ads. Remember, the ads can only be used if you have a business account, so be sure to upgrade it to that if you haven’t done so already. There are many different Instagram ads to choose from, like;
- Video ads
- Stories ads
- Collection ads
- Photo ads
- Carousel ads
Each of these ads has different features and the engagement/entertainment level it generates will affect the price. For example, video ads are more entertaining the photo ads. The great thing about all of these is that they are organic, and won’t make the users feel like they are being sold something to.
Use a business account
The first thing that you should do, before even marketing on Instagram, is to make sure that you have a business account set up. A business account offers many benefits that a personal account does not, such as access to analytics, the ability to use ads, contact information, and Instagram shopping.
It’s very easy to set up a business account; all you need to do is select options when in your profile (the options button is the hamburger icon), select Settings, and then account. You should then see an option that says “Switch to professional account”, and after selecting Business, you just need to follow the prompts.
Post shareable content
The next tip when using Instagram as a marketing tool would be to ensure that every post that is created, is created with the intent for it to be shared. It’s easy to forget that many people actually use Instagram for entertainment, and many users send posts to their friends using Direct Messages, especially if it is funny, entertaining, informative, and mind-blowing.
It’s for this reason that you should create content that is shareable, as this will increase your reach dramatically, and help you to gain more followers, which could become customers. Keep an eye on what is trending on Instagram to make sure you don’t miss out on an opportunity to create something that might go viral.
Know the demographics
The next thing that every business or brand should do when marketing on Instagram is to know the demographics, especially the demographics of their target audience. You should first start by knowing which countries use Instagram the most, such as;
- United States: 120 million users
- India: 75 million users
- Brazil: 69 million users
- Indonesia: 62 million users
- Turkey: 38 million users
These are just the top 5, and within that population count, there are even more metrics to consider. Things like age, interests, favorite brand, salaries and more, all affect the content that users enjoy and the marketing they will respond to.
Use a branded hashtag
The final thing that brands can do when marketing on Instagram is to use a branded hashtag, as it is a simple way to get more followers. If you are unaware of what hashtags are on Instagram, they are a group of words, numbers, or a phrase that precedes the # symbol, such as #Instagram, and are used to categorize content to make it easier to find. This means that whenever someone searches for a specific hashtag, they will see posts that use it.
The advantage of using a branded hashtag is that everyone will know that your brand is associated with that post, which helps to increase reach. More than that, branded hashtags allow for your content to be discovered, as well as for the creation of hashtag challenges, and generating user-generated content.
