Instagram TippsPosted by Humphrey Rask on May 29th, 2021 The popularity of Instagram is incredible. The only real trouble with a platform that boasted over 1 billion active users is making sure your posts are found by people who are interested in what you need to say (or sell) - needles and haystacks involves mind! The days of adding several random hashtags to a post are well and truly over - it's becoming a lot more of a science. So you have to have a technique. Here are my top tips for obtaining the most out of Instagram for your business. 1. Clearly communicate what you do Create your profile properly. Work with a great profile image, make sure your Instagram handle instantly conveys what you do, and write a good bio. Don't forget to include your website URL! 2. Give your posts a distinctive look Instagram is an extremely visual platform, so make it work to your advantage. Utilizing the same signature filter and maintaining exactly the same style of photography will give your posts a frequent style, which helps to make them instantly recognisable. Whenever possible, try to echo your brand's visual identity - adopting the same colours, fonts and image style used on your website - in order that the experience of your brand is consistent in one communication channel to another. 3. Get active! Liking posts in a random way isn't likely to achieve a great deal. But if you do your research, you can make likes work really well for the business. Have a look at what your competitors are around on Instagram - and much more importantly, check out who is commenting on their posts. They are probably your target market. So, it makes sense to activate with and follow them. This way, you'll begin to build an audience that's actively interested in what your business has to offer. 4. Hashtags are Instagram's signposts Hashtags help people navigate through an incredible number of posts to find what's relevant or of interest to them. Research shows that using 10+ hashtags is good, but don't go too mad beyond that ? way too many looks a little spammy, and less is more definitely applies here!. However many you decide to use, get them to relevant. You can check out popular hashtags using tools such as Hashtagify . Some will trend like crazy, others are simply too generic to be of any use. It's really worth analysing successful Instagram accounts, especially competitors which have a lot of traction. Study from how they are using hashtags and emulate/adapt what they are doing for your own purposes. You may not obtain it right straightaway, but if you can find hashtags that are both popular and pertinent to your organization, you'll get instant access to an engaged audience. Some hashtags have observed virtual forums growing up around them - niche communities that will be interested in you. 5. Use special hashtags wisely I'd recommend choosing a few special hashtags to encourage a bigger following. For instance, #L4L means ?like for like' - ie if Instagram Tipps want me, I'll reciprocate and like your posts. #follow and #followme are a clear and transparent request. 6. Hashtags can look messy Putting them at the end of one's post keeps things tidy. On top of that, keep your post clean and post them immediately in to the first comment instead. 7. Make life possible for yourself! Save common hashtags for your business on your smartphone using the standard notes app (most smartphones have one). It makes it so easier to prepare your hashtags and post them easily and consistently each time. 8. Brand your hashtags Do not forget to add your brand name among the hashtags, and remember to use 4-5 core hashtags that describe your business - use them each and every time. 9. Caption your images and videos And inject a bit of personality. By this, I don't mean posting a picture of what you ate for dinner last night! Every post ought to be relevant to your business, and you also need to find means of adding value to your posts. So consider what comment you can add that may encourage visitors to like and repost it. Growth can happen incredibly quickly if your followers feel they have something to gain from following your account. 10. Quality control is essential Ensure that your pictures look amazing. Be ruthless - edit them, dismiss anything that looks poor or is blurred from camera shake. Keep things simple and shoot directly from your smartphone for ease of posting. 11. Use layout and angles The Instagram Layout app (for iPhone or Android) is actually good for creating interesting montages, especially if you intend to post a sequence of images or show a step-by-step guide. Canva is a good free tool used to create your own cool Instagram Stories. 12. Use links and landing pages Presumably, you are using your Instagram posts to encourage followers to accomplish something , whether that is to learn your latest blog post, discover your new ebook, enter a competition or register with your email newsletter. Whatever you are doing, be sure to have an appropriate squeeze page on your website that may enable them to complete the action. A quick note on the restriction of posting only one link in your bio - have a look at Linktree, a tool which will create one bio link that will then send your followers wherever you want them to go. 13. Share the love Growth on Instagram depends to an extent on demonstrating that you will be engaged together with your particular Instagram community. It's really worth tagging business associates, relevant membership organisations, industry associations or accounts you intend to nurture. 14. Require a response Instagram is - or can be - a two-way dialogue, so ask your followers to react to your posts. You, needless to say, then need to respond to any comments - it's all about active engagement, not only having a passive following. 15. Discover the movers and shakers in your town Make an effort to identify who on Instagram is really a key influence in your market, and explore how you my work with them to improve your own Instagram visibility. 16. Plan your posts Just like a blog, it makes sense to plan your Instagram activity. Create a rolling three-month content arrange for all your social media, and allocate time to curate images, captions and hashtags. 17. Use scheduling tools There are loads available, but I'd recommend looking at Hootsuite, Buffer, Schedugram and Later. Each of them have their advantages and disadvantages, so it's a case of choosing one that feels right for you. 18. Track what's working Google Analytics will show what traffic and conversion you are getting from Instagram. Should you have an Instagram Business Account you have the added bonus of Instagram Insights, which ultimately shows how effective your posts are. Other tools to take into account are Socialbakers, Sprout Social, Union Metrics and squarelovin. 19. Instagram adverts increase visibility Instagram advertising is working really well for businesses. No matter how tight your marketing budget may be, it's well worth dipping your toe and seeing what traction it is possible to gain for your business. There are four formats to select from - from the simple single image to a 60-second video - sufficient reason for a choice of banners for your proactive approach, it couldn't be better to start advertising. 20. Have an Instagram image prey on your website But always embed them, don't just connect to them. Now you have a method of growing your Instagram following directly from your own website, but don't be tempted to do it with all your Instagram images - create a taster!Like it? Share it! |