How to Make Best Use of Your Instagram Presence
Contributed by;
Laura Buckler
Laura Buckler
|
Although we are living in the age of social media, there is still a lot of hesitation from small business owners to get involved in such a media and use it as a promotional tool. 24% of them don’t use social media at all. Among those who use them, Facebook is used by 91% of the small businesses, while Instagram is used only by 52% of them, Clutch 2017 small business social media survey claims.
The reason for such a low Instagram result lays in a fact that many people observe this platform in a wrong way. Some of the major delusions are that this platform is intended only for posting photos, or that is intended just for big brands and businesses. The fact is that Instagram actually gives many opportunities to all the businesses, no matter how big they are. With 800 million monthly users and 86% of the top global brands that use the Instagram, this is no longer place reserved just for the young generation. |
If you want to build your brand, connect with customers, and boost your marketing, there is no better place than this platform. You can re-use your old marketing materials, display some “behind the scenes” footage, or use it as a testing ground for future photo campaigns. The options are countless and the best part of all this is that you can do it basically for free.
Since Instagram photos have high engage rates, you can build a community that keeps coming back and makes repeat purchases, which are the most profitable ones. Also, you can grow your traffic and sales by using user-generated content that is constantly made and shared by your customers. With their permission, you can use their photos for your own marketing purposes and that way, you can get free content and customers that are encouraged for future engagements and co-operations.
But, in order for you to manage that, you need to optimize your Instagram presence. It is not an easy task, but don’t worry, you can do it. Here is some advice that will make this whole process a bit less stressful.
Customers engagement
This is the major point of Instagram: audience engagement. If your post doesn’t provoke likes, comments, clicks, there is no use of it. You wasted your time on its preparation. The three major tools that gain audience engagement are hashtags, contests and direct messages.
Through hashtags, you define your posts and make them easier to be found. Also, with a hashtag, you can name contest, experience, event, or use it to promote your brand or product. One of the good examples of such a practice is a #welltraveled brand hashtag by Herschel Supply Co., that motivated the audience to share their travel photos that include Herschel products. That way, they created one of the most popular hashtags dedicated to travel.
A contest is a great way to get new followers, promote your product, attract potential buyers or increase engagement. Usually, a contest is made in a way that audience is sending you posts or pictures with specific hashtags, and the best ones get some sort of a prize, your free service or a product that you sell. You can also ask for customers to vote for their favorite posts, and that way get even more involvement from them.
Direct messages allow you to make personalized messages that are sent into a private box, helping you make a more intimate contact with a customer. But be careful, because everything you say or share can easily been transferred from private to public sphere. So, if you don’t want everyone to see it, don’t send it.
Keep the posting frequency and strength of the content
It is recommended to post at least two times a day. Stick to that. If you can, post more, but be careful what kind of content you are delivering. It is better to post only two times, but with a quality material, than with content that is unimportant.
Make sure that photos and videos that you share are relevant and of a good quality. Also, pay attention to the colors, because certain colors grab more attention than the others.
Polish your profile
The fact that Instagram profile consists from only three elements (photo, bio, link) makes it very important to keep these elements at their best.
Your photo is the most important part. It represents your business and when people see it, they will automatically connect it to your business. Since image will be something that will help customers recognize your company, try to use the same picture for all the social media platforms. Be sure that it represents and sends the message you want to send.
Your bio or short description should describe what your work is all about, and what is it that you offer or sell. Try to make it as humanized as you can, so that people can see there’s a real person behind the account. Also, if you want it to sound really good and be error-free, you can get help from professional writing service.
When it comes to the link, use it wisely. Link it with your home page or, if you are hosting a contest or a promotion, it would be a good idea for the link to lead customers directly to this topic.
Use analytics
The best way for monitoring your posts engagement is to switch to business account. The Instagram Business profile includes Instagram Insight, where you can find detailed info about your posts impressions, reach, your followers’ behavior, and many other things that can help you organize your posts better and creation of the right strategy.
Also, a good source of valuable information is Google Analytics, which delivers precise information about total visits, number of users, the percentage of people that visited only one page of your site, and many more.
All in all...
There are a lot of different pieces of advice that can help you gain better Instagram presence. We talked only about the ones that are the most important and have the biggest effect. Be patient, don’t expect overnight changes – there is no shortcut to success. Instagram is like a living organism. It evolves, so let your Instagram story also evolve.
Since Instagram photos have high engage rates, you can build a community that keeps coming back and makes repeat purchases, which are the most profitable ones. Also, you can grow your traffic and sales by using user-generated content that is constantly made and shared by your customers. With their permission, you can use their photos for your own marketing purposes and that way, you can get free content and customers that are encouraged for future engagements and co-operations.
But, in order for you to manage that, you need to optimize your Instagram presence. It is not an easy task, but don’t worry, you can do it. Here is some advice that will make this whole process a bit less stressful.
Customers engagement
This is the major point of Instagram: audience engagement. If your post doesn’t provoke likes, comments, clicks, there is no use of it. You wasted your time on its preparation. The three major tools that gain audience engagement are hashtags, contests and direct messages.
Through hashtags, you define your posts and make them easier to be found. Also, with a hashtag, you can name contest, experience, event, or use it to promote your brand or product. One of the good examples of such a practice is a #welltraveled brand hashtag by Herschel Supply Co., that motivated the audience to share their travel photos that include Herschel products. That way, they created one of the most popular hashtags dedicated to travel.
A contest is a great way to get new followers, promote your product, attract potential buyers or increase engagement. Usually, a contest is made in a way that audience is sending you posts or pictures with specific hashtags, and the best ones get some sort of a prize, your free service or a product that you sell. You can also ask for customers to vote for their favorite posts, and that way get even more involvement from them.
Direct messages allow you to make personalized messages that are sent into a private box, helping you make a more intimate contact with a customer. But be careful, because everything you say or share can easily been transferred from private to public sphere. So, if you don’t want everyone to see it, don’t send it.
Keep the posting frequency and strength of the content
It is recommended to post at least two times a day. Stick to that. If you can, post more, but be careful what kind of content you are delivering. It is better to post only two times, but with a quality material, than with content that is unimportant.
Make sure that photos and videos that you share are relevant and of a good quality. Also, pay attention to the colors, because certain colors grab more attention than the others.
Polish your profile
The fact that Instagram profile consists from only three elements (photo, bio, link) makes it very important to keep these elements at their best.
Your photo is the most important part. It represents your business and when people see it, they will automatically connect it to your business. Since image will be something that will help customers recognize your company, try to use the same picture for all the social media platforms. Be sure that it represents and sends the message you want to send.
Your bio or short description should describe what your work is all about, and what is it that you offer or sell. Try to make it as humanized as you can, so that people can see there’s a real person behind the account. Also, if you want it to sound really good and be error-free, you can get help from professional writing service.
When it comes to the link, use it wisely. Link it with your home page or, if you are hosting a contest or a promotion, it would be a good idea for the link to lead customers directly to this topic.
Use analytics
The best way for monitoring your posts engagement is to switch to business account. The Instagram Business profile includes Instagram Insight, where you can find detailed info about your posts impressions, reach, your followers’ behavior, and many other things that can help you organize your posts better and creation of the right strategy.
Also, a good source of valuable information is Google Analytics, which delivers precise information about total visits, number of users, the percentage of people that visited only one page of your site, and many more.
All in all...
There are a lot of different pieces of advice that can help you gain better Instagram presence. We talked only about the ones that are the most important and have the biggest effect. Be patient, don’t expect overnight changes – there is no shortcut to success. Instagram is like a living organism. It evolves, so let your Instagram story also evolve.
about the author
Freelance writer, contributor
|
Laura Buckler takes a meticulously approach in all of her articles. That, along with a lot of digital and social media expertise, make Laura a complex freelance writer, and an amazing contributor. Follow her on twitter. |
