How to Create Captivating Visuals, Grow Your Following, and Drive Engagement on Instagram.
The Instagram platform is the second most visited social network, second only to Facebook. The well-loved social network that is visual first has more than one billion monthly active users and 500 million users per day on Instagram Stories.
Everybody and their dog ( literally) is on social media.
“Everyone” includes individuals, pets, and, yes, you probably guessed it, companies.
Explore Understanding Instagram Marketing Here
The number of brands that have created accounts on Instagram has exploded. Oberlo reports that 71 per cent of U.S. companies make use of Instagram. However, is it worth the users’ time and should your company be too? Yes, and here’s the reason why:
- Instagram has more than one billion monthly active users and 500 million users daily. Instagram Stories.
- It is estimated that there are 140 million Instagram users in the U.S.
- Instagram is the second-most visited social network, behind Facebook. Users surf the web for an average of 53 minutes a day.
- Around 71 per cent of U.S. companies utilize Instagram.
- Nearly 45% of people who use Instagram are between 18 to 44.
Instagram is intended for more than just private use now. Today, it’s a global platform that lets brands personalize their content, find new talent, show off their products, and inspire followers.
Instagram is also a great way to expand your brand’s visibility and introduce new products. More than 130 million Instagram users are engaged with shopping content every month. Instagram lets you promote your product or brand in a warm, genuine way without having to convince your customers.
Despite all this Instagram data, you should learn how to begin. We’re aware that Instagram could be intimidating initially, which is why we’ve developed this guide.
Why Marketing on Instagram?
Instagram’s main advantage over other social media platforms is its visual aspect. If you own an enterprise that can benefit from the design of your product or you offer a visible end product, Instagram is the best platform for displaying that content.
Imagery, video and illustrations are great content choices for this platform. Still, your business strategy will ultimately decide what kind of content you will publish and the frequency at which you post it. Setting up a plan before diving into a newly created social media site, regardless of how well it will work for other businesses, will help you stay focused on your objectives and, more importantly, your target audience.
Build Your Instagram Marketing Strategy
Many companies feel pressured to appear on all social platforms, but they neglect to consider strategies. Don’t fall for this trap.
Because Instagram is distinct from other well-known social media, it needs a unique advertising strategy. Begin here to create your brand’s distinctive style.
- Make your Instagram goals clear.
Before posting on Instagram, ask yourself (or the team you work with) one question: Why are you using Instagram? While the platform is as popular as it is, your answer should not be “because everyone else is.” To succeed on Instagram over the long term, you must have a clear goal and purpose to justify the time, effort, and money.
There’s no definitive answer to this. Perhaps you’d like to utilize the Instagram feed you have created to share and sell your items to potential customers.
Whatever your reason, establish your Instagram goals before you start. And guess what? Your Instagram account could have multiple purposes. It allows you to post images of your products and share user-generated content (UGC). It’s less about the kind of posts you publish and more about why you’re posting them if you understand why it’s easier to gauge your performance and use Instagram Analytics tools.
- Find out your Instagram intended audience.
Find out who you would like to connect with before you start marketing on Instagram. If you already have other strategies for marketing in place, consider them to ensure that your efforts are steady. Ensure you consider aspects like age, geography and gender, income, motives, interests, and issues.
Do you need help figuring out where to start? Keep track of popular events and hashtags that relate to your business. Check out who’s using these hashtags, and visit their profiles. You could also look at the followers of your competitors. Instagram allows you to determine your target group of followers.
- Analyze your competitors.
Once you have identified your Instagram target audience, analyze your competition to find out what other brands in your industry are posting.
If you know your most prominent competitors, look over the Instagram profiles. If not, look up phrases related to your business and industry to locate similar accounts.
Perform a quick check of similar accounts to find out which posts get the most engagement, which hashtags are most popular, what their captions are, how often they post and how fast they’re expanding. This can serve as a guideline when you begin growing your profile.
While reviewing your competitors’ content, note any opportunities they may have missed. Incorporating original content can help your company distinguish itself from other businesses.
- Create the editorial calendar.
An editorial calendar can help you save time and control your Instagram presence. Include certain Instagram posting types in your calendar and organize the captions, hashtags, and post dates you use in advance.
An editorial calendar is ideal for recording important events that you want to feature via the Instagram account, including new products, special promotions or product launches. Keeping an editorial calendar allows you to monitor for opportunities in real time instead of rushing to find last-minute postings.
- Create a consistent brand image on Instagram.
Organized or consistent content can make your followers clear, but this could result in losing followers. To prevent this, keep the aesthetic consistent on the Instagram account.
Find out what it looks like by analyzing your brand’s persona. What are the values of your brand? How do your employees and customers define your brand? Are you affluent, fun or gritty?
The brand’s aesthetic doesn’t only apply to images. Try to create images with your company’s story in mind. Including compelling stories in your captions will increase your brand’s credibility.
For instance, Red Bull’s feed has plenty of videos and images that help tell its brand’s story.
- Increase your Instagram followers.
Building your following requires a lot of time and effort. It’s tempting to go easy to buy followers; avoid this! Purchasing followers will not increase engagement, but that’s what you want to ensure your posts are seen. (Also, Instagram’s recent API updates will remove those followers!)
Here’s what to concentrate on to create and do it correctly.
- You must ensure that your username is easily identifiable and searchable. If users can’t find you, they can’t find you! Create a bio. It’s the first thing anyone will see before making the choice to follow you, so make sure you include your name and what you do.
- After optimizing your profile (discussed in this article), you can begin posting. Before engaging with users, filling your feed with 10 to 15 quality postings is a good idea. If your followers check your profile but find it unpopulated, they likely will not follow you.
- Begin by following accounts you find interesting and are related to your business. Consider Instagram a social network and search for nearby businesses or influencers who may appreciate your products or services. When you follow profiles, Instagram can suggest similar accounts that you could also follow.
- When you follow an account, engage with their posts. This is the best way to get attention for your personal Instagram account without appearing unprofessional. The owner will be notified if you interact or follow in a conversation with a particular account. This may cause them to look at your profile and then follow you. Always show your appreciation to the followers you follow by replying to posts and engaging with their posts.
- Invite others to spread your posts. Brand ambassadors are invited to share your content or work together with accounts similar to yours.
Promote Your Business on Instagram
Once you have established a committed following, you can convert those followers into paying customers. Here are some tips.
- Promotions: Discounts, BOGOs, deals, and other offers are excellent methods for increasing sales for the first time to your Instagram followers. Be sure to mention the things your followers have to do to avail themselves of the offer and also include a deadline to convey a sense of urgency.
- Contests: Are the best to make someone an actual customer than to let them test your product? Create contests requiring participants to join your account or make a post with a hashtag to be entered.
- Charity: 81% of young people believe companies should publicly commit to charitable causes. This can help build a sense of affinity with your brand and make followers customers. For instance, Gap partnered with The Global Fund to help combat AIDS within Africa. Since 2006, it has raised more than $130 million.
- Teasers: Instagram can be a fantastic platform for giving your followers glimpses of the latest products before they’re made available. Although you shouldn’t bombard users’ Instagram feeds only with pictures of the product, posting just a handful of images can create anticipation.
- Live launches: Consider showing off a new service or product on Instagram Live. By including the purchase link within your bio, you can encourage people to buy.
Remember to use the link in your Instagram bio and the highlights of your Instagram Stories Highlights because they can direct users to your blog, website, or product pages.
Also, promote your Instagram across other platforms. Add your Instagram Social Share button to your site and share your Instagram across other social networks. Sometimes, the most efficient method to increase your followers is to request them!
How to Create an Instagram Business Account
Before we start, remember that Instagram is designed to provide instant content. To be relevant to your followers, you must invest the necessary resources to update your content regularly.
Keeping your profile current is the most effective method of keeping your fans interested. We’ll go over how to build and maintain a profitable Instagram profile.
If you don’t have it, install the Instagram application via the App Store or Google Play Store. You can view Instagram’s content on the Instagram website; however, you can’t upload it on your desktop. You’ll need the app for this.
Step 1: Open the Instagram app and select Sign Up with an iPhone or Email
If you launch an Instagram application, you’ll be presented with two options for creating an account for your business: Sign In via Facebook and Sign Up Via Email or phone. Ensure you sign up with an email for your business so your Instagram account isn’t linked directly to your private Facebook accounts.
Step 2: Enter your account details.
In the Full Name field section, enter your business name to make your profile visible to users. The name you enter is displayed on your profile. It isn’t the Username of your account (or handle for Twitter people).
Step 3: Pick a username.
Your Username can be an individual name that is unique to your profile. It also allows other accounts to interact with your company’s brand. The HubSpot username is @HubSpot.
Choose a username that is well-known and easy to locate. If your company name has already been taken, you should retain the first letter of your business’s name in your Username. Note that you can change your Username at any time in your account settings; therefore, don’t fret about changing it later.
Optimizing Your Instagram Account
Once you’ve established the foundations for the Instagram account, it’s time to make it more efficient. Use these tips to set up an account that people want to check out daily on their news feeds.
Step 4: Pick an image for your profile.
Your profile photo is the first impression new users have of you. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that it aligns with your brand and other visual indicators.
Think about using your logo or a familiar image. Instagram profile photos are automatically cropped into circles, so leave enough space between the edges of your photo.
Step 5: Then is Your Instagram’s bio.
Instagram bios can be as short as 150 characters maximum, so your goal is to clearly and concisely describe what you do and why they follow you. Let your followers know about your company using some of your personality. Instagram bios aren’t searchable online, so don’t fret about hashtags or keywords (which we’ll cover in the next section).
Your bio could invite users to act like they are using a particular hashtag. Or, they can visit your site. In your bio, you are the sole spot where you can include a URL that can be clicked and send users to an external website.
This is why it’s typical for businesses to change their featured URL to match with the latest post they’ve published. If you decide to include links, use an online shortener such as HubSpot’s TrackingURL Builder or an application like Bitly or Linktree to keep your profile from appearing overloaded. Tracked URLs can assist you in understanding how much traffic Instagram brings to your site.
Pro tip: If you want to make further edits, simply click the Edit Profile button on your profile to alter your picture username, name bio, URL and username.
Managing Your Instagram Settings
Let’s look over your account’s settings. Within this area, you’ll have the ability to change your details about your contact details, privacy settings, and much more.
Step 6: Modify your settings.
Select the three lines located in the upper right edge of the profile. Next, select settings at the top of the screen. (You’ll see several links under the username, which we’ll review in the following section.)
Users can perform actions within your settings, such as changing their password, viewing posts you’ve liked, setting up notifications, etc. Here are some things that you must look into now.
Control your settings for your stories -you can control who can view and reply to your Instagram Stories ( which we’ll discuss later). We suggest allowing all of your followers to view and respond to your stories to boost your brand’s engagement. In your settings, select Privacy > Story to open the Story Controls. (You may also gain access to this feature by clicking the gear icon located in the top left corner of your screen when creating your story.)
Change to a professional account allows you to mark your Account as a professional profile. In addition, Instagram’s Business Tools feature lets users reach your Account, gives you deep insights, and allows you to market your content. Your company should have an official Facebook company page to be able to switch to the Instagram professional profile. In your settings, select Account> Switch to a Professional Account to gain access to these options.
Change to a company or creator account. Select this setting, log into Facebook and let Instagram manage your pages. Choose a Facebook page that you can connect with your Instagram profile. (You must be an administrator on a Facebook page to link both platforms.)
Instagram can automatically load pertinent information from your Facebook profile to allow you to modify it. Now you have an Instagram professional profile. Be sure to take advantage of the features offered by this kind of account, such as the profile’s insights.
Private Account This is where you can switch your public profile to private. Instagram will make your profile public. We don’t suggest making it public! If you’re a business, you want your customers to be able to view your posts and follow your company without obstacles. Select privacy > account security in your settings and ensure it’s disabled.
Comments: This setting lets you turn off specific keyword or phrase comments. To enable this feature, input the words or phrases you want to hide in your Instagram settings and then enable the feature. The process of receiving comments is exciting and motivating. However, certain comments might be against your brand’s values or may offend your viewers. In your settings, go to Privacy > Comments and update the comments you receive.
Add Additional Instagram Accounts: You can add as many accounts as you want and switch between them without logging in to and from. This feature allows users to have multiple people logged in to your Account simultaneously. To create an account, simply select Add Account at the end of the settings. Add the username and password for the Account you wish to add. To switch between different accounts, visit your profile, then tap your username near the high-up on your display. Select the Account you’d prefer to change to.
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