Instagram is a fun and quirky way to share your business with followers through a series of pictures. With over 100 million active users, Instagram, which has been acquired by Facebook, is an attractive platform for businesses to promote their services and products. Below are some tips on how to integrate Instagram into your business’ marketing strategy.
Tip 1 – Show how your product is made
Show how your product or service is made or carried out. For example, if your business creates personalised Christmas decorations, you can take a series of pictures and show the process of a calligraphist writing on a Christmas bauble. There are now a whole range of apps available to edit the photos into a collage and show the step-bystep process.
Tip 2 – Be genuine and engaging
This tip applies not only to Instagram, but across all social media platforms. Social media allows businesses and brands to showcase their personality without being overly corporate. Users are able to immediately sense when a brand isn’t being genuine and are being ‘sold’ to. By engaging with your users with meaningful content, you can gain greater exposure, followers and marketing insights. Interact with your fans (customers) and ask them to post their own content related to your brand. By using the regram hashtag, (#regram) your business can post the photo onto its own profile and credit the user.
Tip 3 – Use hashtags effectively
A hashtag is a word or a phrase prefixed with the hash symbol ‘#’. The best strategies for using hashtags include using hashtags in:
- your username or profile description – with every single photo you post onto your Instagram profile it will automatically include your username as a hashtag. This allows any user that is interested in your photos to find it in one single search and save the user from scrolling through all the pictures in your profile. For example if the username was #CocaCola, every time that a picture was posted to the profile, the hashtag #CocaCola would appear, without the need to always enter it in as a tag.
- your photo description – a short description of your photo, sentiment or feeling. Only tag the most relevant and important words. Be wary of the amount of hashtags used in the one post as you don’t want to overwhelm the follower or viewer.
Tip 4 – Build buzz with teasers
Reward your loyal followers by letting them be the first to know about new products, services or events. Post teaser images that generate curiosity and build anticipation for your new product releases or store openings. Make your follower feel valued and special with these special exclusive previews.
Tip 5 – Host Giveaways or Promotions
Holding contests and giveaways are a great way to get people excited and talking about your business and/or brand. It can also promote word of mouth marketing when implemented correctly. This is a valuable method to source great user-generated content, allowing your fans and followers to do the content creation for you. For example, brands can ask you to regram their images and hashtag one of their key terms as a condition of entry or take images of their own using your products or services. However, it is important to follow through with your promise and award a prize to the winner.
Remember, social media is a tool of marketing and should be incorporated into your business’s marketing strategy. Here at Clarity Marketing and Communication, our team of experienced social media marketers can assist you with your social media marketing. For further information on what Clarity Marketing has to offer your business, call Deborah on 0411 139 881 or email info@claritymarketing.com.au.
