How businesses can get the most from Instagram?

To survive in the digital age, businesses must not only have an online entity but also be present on social media regardless of the size and type of business. It is the same for the small shop around the corner and big corporations. Just as a company cannot do without a marketing strategy, so also it simply cannot exist without showing its presence on social media.  Even if businesses implement SEO, they must also be significantly present on social media to widen the scope of connecting with customers, increase brand awareness, and boost leads, conversions, and sales. Read out below How businesses can get the most from Instagram.

Doing it rightly, businesses can use the social media platform to infinitely expand their reach by connecting with three billion users that can change the fortunes of the company. Therefore, it is no surprise that social media is an integral part of any business marketing strategy today.

Interactive customer engagement

Marketing has evolved with time, and it is imperative to convey value to customers by using the channels of communication for which the social media platform provides endless opportunities for engaging in two-way communication with customers. In the process, it enhances brand visibility and even builds social currency. Social networks are much more than just connecting with customers because it provides an interactive platform where customers can connect with you. Brands that are visible on social media generate more interest among customers to make them follow the brands. 

To choose which social media platform would suit your business needs, you must consider the channels most used by your existing and potential customers. Currently, there are one billion active users of Instagram, and you must take your business to the photo-sharing platform that has evolved into a powerful platform for business promotion and marketing.

Why use Instagram?

Instagram is perhaps the best social media platform for engaging with your customers and driving them closer to the brand. If the demographics of your customer base reveals that young customers are the majority, then there is even more reason to be on Instagram. The simple yet attractive media attracts the younger generations much more than any other social media platform.

To help you make a good start by taking your brand and business on Instagram, here are a few tips that should help to master Instagram for business.

Showcase your business in a creative way

Since Instagram is all about visuals, you must make your brand look pretty while conveying value to your customers. Visual content is your most important asset when you are using Instagram, and you must never focus on the products you sell but the solution you provide. If you are a service provider, then you must showcase what goes behind the scenes when preparing to deliver the services. To provide immersive brand experience to customers, highlight your company culture, tell the world about the vision and mission, or you can share some how-tos and tips.  Besides uploading photos, you can also upload short videos and GIFs not exceeding one minute.

Tell stories on Instagram

Instagram has now introduced a new feature Instagram Stories which is a slide show format that stays live for 24 hours only.  However, you can save it to your device for re-use later. Take advantage of the storytelling feature to display a story about your brand or business that appears just under the Instagram logo and at the top of follower timelines. This allows you to showcase content related to behind the scene activities, and even if it is not of high quality as regular posts, it does not matter. The feature allows you to experiment with a variety of contents like photos, live videos, short videos, Boomerang, or GIF like images and video filmed backward.

Stories are only available on the mobile app, and you can send Instagram stories as DM or Direct Messages.

Create an impressive profile

Creating an impressive business profile on Instagram has far-reaching benefits because it has the power to make or break your business. Remember that you must encapsulate the company activities and what it can offer in just 150 words, and it is not an easy thing. Put aside the long list of activities and solutions provided and instead focus on your most important USP or what big thing you are about to present very soon, like a new product launch or promotion or any event.

Use hashtags# to expand your reach

Hashtags# are the identifiers of your content and increase visibility as it becomes easy for people to connect with your content. At the same time, it expands your reach as more people can find you out.  Besides the main company hashtag that upholds the company name or your brand name, you must use hashtags sparingly, not more than 3-5 hashtags per content so that people can find you easily. Remember that hashtags must be highly relevant, or else it would become useless.  

Measure audience response

How the audience is responding to the campaign becomes evident from the number of followers and likes. Likes reflect the acceptance level of the content and give an idea about which way the campaign is heading so that you can make ongoing improvements to it. Likes are supposed to reflect the real response that the content receives, and to ensure that the content garners maximum likes, you can also buy real Instagram likes that come from high-quality accounts courtesy the handiwork of the company from whom you but the likes. 

Instagram gives you splendid opportunities for sharing customer success stories and highlighting collaborators. Since everybody is not monitoring hashtags on social media, a better way of getting noticed is to tag an account that opens the gates for collaboration and mentions. Using shout-outs is another method of collaboration in which you partner with another brand that has the same size of followers and promotes each other to your audiences to reap the mutual benefit. 

Use social media management tools to analyze what worked and what did not and then build upon it for more success.