8 TOP Instagram Tips for Marketing

Proven Tips to Maximize Your Instagram Marketing

Businesses are all eager to establish their presence on Instagram and encourage engagement with their clients.  This is one of the reasons why you might want to increase your Instagram marketing.  Your Instagram feed is only as good as the pictures you post on it.  This means that the best place to start is with high-quality pictures in order to increase the effectiveness of your marketing.

Shoot It Square

If you need to save time, but still want a good picture composition you should look at shooting pictures in a 1:1 ratio.  Smartphones and DSLR cameras generally have this function in their settings so it is easy to do.  By doing this you save time cropping the image later and you ensure that everything you want is within the picture and won’t be cropped out later.

Have A Strategic Bio

If you are using Instagram for personal reasons it can be spontaneous and fun.  If you are using Instagram for marketing you need to be a bit more calculated in what you do.  There are many brands that are doing well on Instagram like Nike and Starbucks, but if you have a smaller business you can still make your presence known.

The best way to do this is to have a link within your account bio that leads to your business landing page.  The landing page should hold similar content to what you have posted on your feed.  It should also have a way of capturing leads, subscribing to your blog, collecting contest entries and promoting sales.

Make Use Of Trending Hashtags

Hashtags are a great way to help users find your account and determine that it is relevant to what they want.  If a hashtag is trending this means that people are looking for it and you should get into this.  Of course, you have to time your posts correctly as there is no point in posting for a hashtag that trended hours before.  When you use hashtags you should also consider the use of emoticons if they are applicable to your business.

Drive To A Marketing Funnel

Getting a follower on Instagram is important for your brand, but this should be considered only as one step in the overall marketing funnel.  It is important that you identify ways that you can capture email address for future contact.  One of the best ways to do this is to ask for it on your Instagram account.

You could post a picture that has a call to action on it or within the caption.  You will need to direct your follows to the URL in your profile as Instagram does not allow clickable URLs in the caption.  Once the link has been clicked it should lead to a marketing sales funnel where you can capture the email.

Use Videos And Images

One of the best marketing tips for Instagram is to mix up your feed with videos and images.  You can also encourage your followers to make their own videos which you share on your feed.  The key to this tip is to make your feed about your audience and not solely about your business.

Having Sponsors

Sponsored advertising on Instagram feeds is becoming a regular occurrence.  The advert is generally displayed using the carousel element.  This offers you a new element of the platform to use and shine from.  To use this element you will need to have engaging content which has been created for a target demographic.

Tools such as Instamacro can help you get more Instagram likes too. They work by putting the hard work of following and liking on automatic; well worth considering if you want to grow your follower numbers.

Create A Story

The best way to get someone to remember your business is to make something that resonates with them.  When you use Instagram you are able to post about products, events, behind the scene items and product launches.  This gives the customer a little glimpse into the world of your business and generally results in higher interest for the brand.

You should also encourage your followers to get involved, particularly with hashtags related to your business.  A brand that has done very well with this form of marketing is Starbucks.  Instagram has proven to be an outstanding platform for branding yourself or your company.

Have Everyone Involved

One of the most important assets of your business is your employees.  Using your employees is a great way to create organic activity on social media by getting them involved.  You should encourage your employees to follow the brand on Instagram and to post images or comment on the posts.  A constant involvement of your staff increases the trust people have in your brand and give a behind the scene peek into the business.