When you think of social media marketing, I bet Instagram isn’t the first platform that came into your mind. Well, nonetheless, this visual platform is increasingly becoming a vital role player in social media marketing. With Instagram almost hitting the one billion-user mark, is it late for you to get started on Instagram? Well, it certainly isn’t.
Despite such a huge subscriber number, more marketers are hopping into this bandwagon by masses, hoping to get their fair share in the market. With Instagram rolling out new business-specific features, this is perhaps the best time to build your brand’s Instagram presence.
The best part of growing your brand using Instagram is that it isn’t reserved for a specific brand. Be it you are running an e-commerce store; motor spares business or a solo business, you can fit in perfectly. That said, below is a quick and comprehensive guide on how you can grow your brand using Instagram.
1. Fine-Tune Your Profile
First things first, you can’t do anything much on Instagram until your profile is complete. Whereas there is no clear “right” way of creating your profile, the principles below can be a good starting point based on the platform’s best practices. There is plenty of space to be creative when crafting your profile.
Photo credits – Instagram.com
- Profile photo – best if you use a company logo as followers can easily identify the brand.
- Account name – use your business name, probably identical to your brand’s name on other social profiles.
- Username – should not have any spaces. Use your brand’s name.
- Website – insert a clickable URL to your website or directing followers to your latest promotional page.
- Bio – fill in a compelling bio to capture your follower’s attention. You can opt to describe what your brand is all about, slap your business slogan or hype your website.
Photo credits – ted.com
2. Have a “Tribe” Mentality
As mentioned, there are thousands of marketers hopping into Instagram’s marketing bandwagon. With such numbers, there are many users and photos floating around, making it difficult to stand out. However, you honestly don’t need millions of followers to be a success story.
Avoid being worried about having big numbers. Instead, approach your marketing strategy with a “tribe” mentality. Simply put, start growing your brand small, build relationships and engage with prospects one-on-one. Build your Instagram tribe.
Unlike other social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram doesn’t reflect “if you build, they will come” school of thought. Therefore, as a brand, focus on building your own following as well as tapping into your niche communities where your potential audience could be hanging out.
Well, how do you do this? Try the following;
· Use Niche Hashtags
Hashtags are an essential Instagram’s search function. It enables brands and followers find each other easily. To grow your brand, consider using small niche hashtags that will make your brand stand out easily. Location-based hashtags are also vital for zeroing into your neighborhood audience.
· Use your own customers
If you already have fans and customers on Instagram, use them as your brand’s billboard. Incentivize your followers to tag your brand in their photos. This does the double duty of signaling you as a brand that listens to customers as well as shows off your products.
· Make your activities count
You shouldn’t invest all your time to grow your brand on Instagram. Efficiency in your activity counts in various social media platforms, and Instagram isn’t an exception. Activities like serially liking posts, replying to followers’ comments and following relevant users are significant actions. You should also identify how often and times to post for maximum engagement.
3. Upload Goal Driven Content
Here, ask yourself why you want to grow your brand using Instagram. The answer to this influences your marketing strategy directly. With enormous diversity in what you can post, identify your goal of publishing any content. Are you trying social selling? Are you trying to show off your products? Well, for sure, your goal is to boost your brand awareness.
Therefore, in every post you publish, make sure that it channels towards that goal. Posting haphazardly isn’t a viable strategy when it comes to growing your brand using Instagram.
4. Show Your Products Off
At the end of the day, the goal of growing your brand is to increase sales and get more business. There are several ways to show off your products on Instagram without forcing them in your prospects face. Regardless, creativity overly counts on Instagram, just like other platforms.
Diversifying your content marketing strategy while promoting your products and services is the endgame. Straight-up promotional posts announcing the latest products, contests, and giveaways are the best modern Instagram strategy. However, Instagram being a highly visual platform, video content can work magic.
5. Partner With Influencers
This is perhaps the quickest way to rise up the Instagram ranks. Getting a shout-out from an influencer will directly give your brand immediate credibility. You shouldn’t underestimate the power influencers provide even with a single post. You can negotiate with the right influencer for the exchange of some products or go for a paid shout-out.
There are many ways of approaching Instagram influencers and having them notice you. You can begin by commenting on their photos and tagging them in your uploads. Doing this frequently will bring the attention of the influencer who will try to find out more about your brand. You can also opt to start your connection from other platforms; especially Twitter, before moving to Instagram. You can also offer free product samples or services.
Final Thoughts
With its active and ever-growing subscribers, Instagram has proven over time as a staple social marketing platform. Brands with a visual story will particularly enjoy growing their brand using this platform. Apart from the strategies mentioned above, other tips to grow your brand using Instagram include;
- Pay great attention to Instagram analytics
- Leverage the power of Instagram ads
- Tag your products to make them shoppable
- Boost engagement to strengthen customer relations
- Connect your profile to other social media platforms
- Using these tools for Instagram growth
It isn’t too late to get started on Instagram to grow your brand. You only need to implement the right strategy to ace your goals.