Instagram has now become a go-to social networking website for all kinds of business. It has emerged as a trendy tool for managing different marketing activities. Established businesses like Nike, Durex, etc. are making the best use of the platform.
The use of Instagram marketing is not restricted to only these multinationals and huge companies. Small businesses are now finding their spaces in these huge networks. They are making the best use of Instagram to increase the reach and promote their business online.
Listed below are some of the useful Instagram marketing tips for small businesses:
Instagram Stories
Instagram has this popular feature of putting up stories that stay for 24-hours on the company's Instagram page. Stories will keep your audience hooked to your page. This way, you will be able to easily promote your business and its offerings. These stories have great potential and are also trending on the internet.
Use this feature as a tool to give your consumers small insights into your business daily.
Keep a track on the comments
Comments usually give you insights on what your consumers want. These comments also help you in understanding where you are going wrong or what you could have done better. Monitoring and reading the comments is critical.
Also, the business must make sure that it addresses all the comments on a particular post. This builds a positive image of the business in the eyes of the existing and potential consumers.
Monitor the performance
After posting a video or a visual, it is important to keep track of what’s working for you. Tracking audience engagement is a critical step while you are using Instagram to run a campaign or market your products.
A small business can effectively make use of Instagram reporting tools to track the performance of your posts. These figures will give you an insight into what your customers are liking and what strategy is not working for you. This gives you a window of improvement, and also you can now drive your strategies in the direction the consumer wants.
Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing has become a go-to strategy for all kinds of businesses irrespective of how big or small the business is. Several local influencers are dominating the market. These influencers have a huge follower base which a small company can leverage on in exchange for a little money. Brands can get in touch with these influencers and ask them for a video or a static post on their Instagram pages. You can also connect with an influencer to launch an Instagram contest to increase your engagement with your target audience.
Use hashtags
Hashtags are the lifeblood of Instagram. With the use of proper and relevant hashtags, a small business can make the best use of Instagram. Make sure not to use random hashtags.
A business must use proper hashtags to reach its audience. Also, these businesses can post content related to the trending hashtags on Instagram. Also, using broad hashtags always works.
Take the video route
Videos are the new Gospels of marketing. Make sure to post more video content on the Instagram page. A small business can easily create videos using video editing software like InVideo. This software is easy to use and is less time-consuming. These videos can also be made on a phone or a laptop.
With the help of videos, you will be able to connect well with your audience.
Instagram Ads
Ads are significant when it comes to video generation. However, platforms like Facebook and YouTube are quite expensive in terms of the ad cost involved. Therefore, Instagram becomes a more accessible tool for these small businesses to run ads and promote their products.
Small businesses can create custom images that can be used in bumper ads or static ads. Instagram also gives you a channel to enhance the aesthetic appeal of these ads.
Repost and Regram
Small businesses support each other. Therefore, it is very important to build a cohesive atmosphere for all small businesses to conduct operations. A small business can grow its network by reposting relevant content posted by other pages operated by different companies.
This strategy can give your page the required momentum. You can use different applications to repost. Alternatively, you can also share public posts by different companies on Instagram stories. This has become a really popular way to network with other small and large businesses.
Reach out or target your competitor's followers
People who are following your competitors fall under the category of your direct consumers. These people share a common interest. Therefore, it becomes important for you to target these consumers and build an engagement with these people.
You can make a list of your direct competitors and study their Instagram pages. You can easily check what your competitors are doing to market their product and how do these pages engage with their competitors. Try with following those people and using similar hashtags. This will increase the visibility of your posts and your Instagram page.
Organize an Instagram contest
Instagram has been successfully using different contests for product promotions. Small businesses can launch small competitions and giveaways to create a buzz among their followers. Different kinds of the Instagram contest can be organized to increase engagement with your target audience. Some of these contests would include small quizzes, treasure hunts, selfie competitions, etc.
However, you can create a much larger impact by providing your consumers with experience. You can ask them to prepare a video and then publish the best entries on your Instagram page as posts or Instagram stories.
Instagram has now emerged as a very popular and useful tool to promote all kinds of businesses. Therefore, a small business can make the best use of the features that Instagram has to offer. Small businesses can also collaborate with businesses to increase their reach and promote their products to a broader set of audiences and also to gain mass popularity.
Why You'd Be Wise to Get In Early On Instagram Reels for Social Media Marketing
As you may have heard, Instagram recently released its newest feature, Instagram Reels, allowing users to create and edit 15-second video clips set to music. Sounds familiar, right? Many have been comparing Reels to TikTok, an app which similarly allows users to create short, entertaining videos.
Even though TikTok’s original target demo was Generation Z, it has also attracted millennials seeking advertisement opportunities. Besides, it only makes sense to use the most popular and fastest-growing social media platform to promote yourself — especially one getting through to a younger crowd.
The debut of Instagram Reels has come at a very convenient time, as the future of TikTok remains uncertain with the Trump administration’s potential ban of the app. Consequently, many TikTok stars are encouraging fans to follow them on other apps. So, why should you use Instagram Reels for your social media marketing strategy?
Reels could topple TikTok
Since its release in September 2016, TikTok has gathered more than 800 million active users worldwide. In February 2019, the app reached its first billion downloads, and eight months later, obtained half a billion more — a massive feat considering its infancy.
However, because Reels is built into Instagram, it has the potential to reach an even wider audience — and faster — than TikTok. An article on Entrepreneur points out that Reels combines all of TikTok’s best features and offers them in the same place you create your regular posts, making it more easily accessible. After all, Instagram is still technically more popular than TikTok, having reached one billion monthly active users as of 2018.
But Instagram won’t stop there. They’ve been working on expanding to an even wider audience. Instagram’s VP of Product, Vishal Shah, shared with reporters recently that, “We have not historically been very good at helping new creators find an audience. The pitch for new creators is that Reels is a way for you to get discovered. It's a way to find a global audience.”
Related: 7 Tips for Increasing Your Brand’s Instagram Followers
Instagram is already an important tool for marketers
Eighty-nine percent of marketers say Instagram is crucial to their marketing strategy. Brands with more than 100,000 followers on Instagram have grown by 163 percent in the past two years.
Then there’s the question about engagement rates. Instagram already has an incredible global reach, so brands will inevitably see those statistics climb even higher with Reels.
In an article from 2016 on Entrepreneur, Jonathan Long stated, “Take advantage of free Instagram tools,” as his very first tip on how to grow your brand on Instagram, and the point still applies.
Instagram has a track record of successfully following in footsteps
For anyone who has an Instagram, you should know that its popular Stories feature was also essentially mirrored after another social media app, Snapchat.
Since its release, Instagram Stories has opened up a whole new world for brands to interact with their followers. In a 2019 study from Social Insider, it was found that 51 percent of brands analyzed are currently using Stories to promote their business. Instead of trying to cram everything in a description of a few hundred words or less, Stories has enabled brands to show what makes them unique and interesting in a fun and exciting way.
If the response to Stories is any indication, Reels might be just as successful for marketers in reaching the largest audience possible.
Related: Instagram Launches Reels and Tries to Beat TikTok at Its Own Game
TikTok’s future is uncertain; Instagram will stay put
The potential ban looming over TikTok has sparked fear in many who rely on the app. Stars and influencers have been pleading with their fans to follow them on other social media platforms before it’s too late. That’s why now is the best time to get a leg up and start using Reels to spread your message.
Expanded Ecommerce on Facebook & Instagram & This Week’s Digital Marketing News [PODCAST]
Hosts Jess Budde, Greg Finn, and Christine “Shep” Zirnheld are covering all the digital marketing news of the week on this week’s episode of Marketing O’Clock.
Plus, why the new CVS ad network and Google’s heavy ad policy have us listing to Sarah McLachlan, the Deftones, and seagulls on repeat.
If you’re unable to listen on Spotify, check out our smiling faces on YouTube! You can catch full video episodes each and every week.
Instagram Checkout & Facebook Shops
Facebook announced enhanced ecommerce experiences on Facebook and Instagram apps and that all selling fees will be waived through the end of 2020.
Facebook Shops and Instagram Checkout are both expanding to all U.S. businesses and creators.
Retailers will be able to manage both their Facebook and Instagram shops through a single online store.
Shops will integrate with Instagram Direct and Facebook Messenger so retailers can assist customers while they shop on the apps.
Finally, they announced the launch of live shoppable videos on both apps.
Google Career Certificates
Google announced professional six-month certificate programs for Data Analyst, Project Manager, and UX Designer career paths.
The new programs will help job hunters fast-track employment regardless of formal education or experience.
Google said that they will treat the certificates as the equivalent of four-year degrees in related fields in their own hiring practices.
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Is Apple going to launch a search engine?
There has been significant evidence that Apple may be planning to develop its own search engine to compete with Google.
Updates to the Applebot web crawler page and Spotlight Search seem to shed light on Apple’s future plans.
Short-format videos spotted on Google Discover
Short videos from Trell and Tangi have been spotted in a carousel format on Google Discover recently.
The new test, along with the upcoming lunch of YouTube “Shorts” are compelling reasons for brands to invest in short video content.
This week’s take of the week comes from Anna Blanken, who isn’t pulling punches when it comes to agencies being forthright with their clients (and former clients).
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Then, ICYMI, Martin McDonald, doesn’t have a lot of confidence in Apple’s new search engine.
We answer these important digital marketing questions during our lightning round segment:
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