Instagram Marketing Strategy
Even while most businesses use social media to increase brand recognition, businesses may also generate significant amounts of income using social media. One of the biggest social media networks in the world, Instagram has more than 1 billion monthly active members. Today, millions of companies are aware of Instagram’s power. They are using it to interact with their audience, connect with new individuals, increase brand recognition, and eventually sell more goods—all from one location.
On average, users spend 29 minutes each day on social media, and 400 million new Stories are uploaded daily. 83% of respondents to a Meta-commissioned poll stated that Instagram helps them in their quest to find new products and services. Instagram provides several options for business account holders who are sellers to participate in social commerce, including shoppable Instagram posts. Businesses may tag products in shoppable photos, set up an online shop, and accept Instagram payments.
Why should you Market on Instagram?
Almost everyone uses Instagram. As one of the top 5 social media sites in the world, Instagram receives millions of visits and content uploads daily. There, consumers and brands may view stunning images, watch videos, engage with companies, learn about products, or draw attention to themselves by posting anything.
In the last few years, the number of businesses and brands using the platform has risen dramatically and presently. It is thus reasonable to say that your closest competitors are on Instagram.
About 59% of the platform’s monthly active users log in every day.
On Instagram, 130 million people interact with shopping-related posts each month.
A minimum of one brand is followed by 90% of Instagram users.
On Instagram, 83% of users discover new businesses or goods.
80% of people claim that Instagram helps make purchasing decisions.
But everything is not rainbows and butterflies. Instagram’s algorithms were modified in 2016 so that posts now display in feeds based on popularity rather than chronological order. As a result, postings with high engagement are viewed more often than ones with low engagement, which are never seen.
How do you improve sales on Instagram if your company is new and you don’t have many followers? Here are a few strategies you can take on to increase your Instagram sales and reach:
1. Creativity:
There are too many brands competing for consumers’ attention in the overcrowded internet market. Therefore, it’s likely that you won’t be doing business alone, regardless of the niche you are in.
The first and most crucial aspect of standing out is creativity. This may be done mostly through your visual content (design aesthetic, color palette, general branding), as Instagram is a visual medium. Fortunately, this is now easier to do than ever before: you can quickly and easily develop your full identity online, including a logo. However, it is critical to remember that the concept underlying the design is equally as important, if not more important.
Content with humor, inspiration, and education does well on Instagram. Understand what you want to accomplish with a particular article, or even for months, by defining your core aim. Create something distinctive that will stick out in the feed and convince users to stop scrolling based on this information.
2. Include Relevant Hashtags:
At this moment, it is common knowledge that hashtags have several advantages, including helping to categorize and boost the visibility of your posts and articles. Additionally, you can create custom hashtags for Instagram that you can use to identify your posts and encourage others to do the same when posting about your company.
Find relevant hashtags for your field of business, select the most crucial ones, and use the newest, most popular hashtags. Use more particular terms rather than overly general ones, like “makeup,” or “fashion. Despite having a limited use case, they will help you connect with those who are truly considering your offer.
Make it a practice to regularly update your hashtag list with new ones, preferably twice per month. To ensure that everyone on your team is on the same page, you may include this in your social media onboarding checklist. Furthermore, you may use up to 30 distinct hashtags in Instagram posts and up to 10 different hashtags in Instagram stories. Try not to overwhelm your audience with hashtags, though. Likewise, avoid considering hashtags as a substitute for Instagram captions.
3. Sell with Stories:
Stories can only be seen by the audience by touching on your profile picture because they do not show up in the stream. The stories, on the other hand, are more eye-catching and noticeable than feed posts since they are displayed at the top of the feed. Additionally, stories include sophisticated analytics tools for analyzing the effectiveness of the content and customizing your stories. Create a story highlight for your profile if you want to save the stories for more than a day.
Instagram stories are one of the most popular features, with 500 million daily users. The increased visibility helps to raise brand recognition, engage the audience, provide them an opportunity to interact directly with you and advance the stages of the sales pipeline. A little spontaneity there will help your brand come off as more personable and have a personality.
4. Post related to your Products:
Content creation is one of the trickiest aspects of running a business on Instagram. You may have even asked yourself what to publish a few times. The posts about your product provide one very simple response to this question.
One of the most well-liked forms of content on Instagram is content that is product-focused. Although they may follow you because of the useful content you offer, your consumers are also likely drawn to the goods and services offered by your business. Therefore, make an effort to represent them favorably and do it regularly. But avoid being overly aggressive.
Show potential customers all the advantages of buying your product and how it can solve their issues, rather than bragging about how fantastic it is and outlining all of its current features. Later, you can use startup marketing automation strategies to speed up and improve the procedures.
The graphics are important as well. Instead of sharing boring images of goods, come up with something more entertaining. For example, use colorful objects or create a stop motion or 2D video showing how the goods were made. Whatever it is, just make sure that it focuses attention on what you are selling.
5. Videos:
It’s hardly surprising that videos are one of the most popular forms of visual content. They are interesting, catchy, and entertaining, and provide the spectator with a wealth of information. Compared to static posts, Instagram videos receive about 21% more engagements.
Instagram is adding video content choices that you can use to stand out on the platform as the popularity of video content rises. Instagram gives you the ability to create and share a variety of video content for a variety of reasons, from behind-the-scenes video tales to fashionable Reels or even live Q&A with the founders. So don’t pass up this chance; make videos about your company or industry and share them with your audience.
Try experimenting with Instagram’s video choices to see what suits your brand the best and what kinds of video content you have the resources to create. Then, make an effort to routinely include them in your content calendar.
6. Go with Paid Ads, If needed:
There are several strategies to naturally increase your interaction and following on Instagram. On the online platform, there are other ways to position your business as well. Paid advertisements are another effective weapon in your marketing arsenal for Instagram. Among the major advantages of sponsored advertisements are:
Improved targeting, a larger audience, increased following, important insights, and Effective marketing analytics software. Instagram provides a targeting tool specifically for you, whether you’re attempting to advertise a sale or your newest product. Furthermore, you do not need to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on sponsored advertisements: invest as much of your money as you can.
7. User Generated Content:
The biggest recommendation for your brand on Instagram (and other platforms, for that matter) is User-Generated Content or UGC. Since people trust other people more than they trust businesses, consumer feedback and testimonials are among the most effective marketing strategies, even if all of your marketing activities are important and contribute to building your brand.
From a marketing viewpoint, the images and films that your consumers create about your business and goods are pure gold. Even while finding these videos and photographs could take some time (unless they tag you, of course), the outcome is worthwhile. One approach to this is to search hashtags. For a chance to expand your audience and win their trust, set aside time each month to include UGC in your content marketing schedule.
In addition, you may encourage consumers to take photos of your product for a chance to be featured by holding freebies and competitions. For a chance to expand your audience and win their trust, set aside time each month to include UGC in your content marketing schedule.
8. Influencer Collaboration:
Influencers have increased on Instagram over the past several years, and this trend doesn’t appear to be slowing down. Instagram influencers spend months or even years scouting out audiences in a certain niche who would be interested in their following and with whom they can develop a nice and trustworthy relationship.
Many businesses make the mistake of focusing on the “following.” Of course, audience size matters, but engagement is more important. The specialization is another important factor; if you are offering online courses, a lifestyle and fashion influencer isn’t the best option. Find the appropriate influencers in your field through research, then get in touch with them to discuss possible partnerships. This is a fantastic approach to get outcomes quickly.
Getting positive feedback from Instagram influencers is one of the most popular ways to collaborate with them. Then, to mention a few potential ideas, they may do an unboxing of your product, give tips on how to use it, or discuss their experience.
9. Business Email Marketing:
It could surprise you when you discover that Instagram and email marketing can complement one another to improve the outcomes of your business. Consider it as a blend of traditional and contemporary. While email has been there for some time without losing any importance, Instagram is the new kid on the block. A successful fusion of these two approaches will present several prospects for your business.
Few instances of how you may combine them:
- Get people to join your email list by encouraging them to follow you.
- Include your Instagram live stream if your email provider permits.
- In the emails, show off your feed and include contact details with a link to your Instagram account.
- Create your email list by holding freebies and contests.
- Set up a contest on Instagram and let your mailing list know about it.
- Send emails that feature Instagram UGC.
Have a well-thought-out plan in place before you begin to ensure success. Work together with your email marketing consultant to create a strategy that will work for both of your campaigns.
Wrapping It Up:
Instagram is a great medium for developing client connections, offering client support via direct messages, and raising brand recognition. However, a consistent content flow and the correct posting frequency are essential for success on Instagram. Increase the recognition of your brand and create an engaging brand image for your audience. In the long term, this will increase product awareness and boost sales for your business.
