For those of you who are considering (or already using) Instagram to grow your brand, we know some handy tips that can help you get noticed.
Social media platforms are constantly evolving and shifting their algorithms. It’s hard to keep up with the new trends and features added to these particular platforms each year. It can be frustrating for marketing professionals who are constantly required to shift their strategies and rethink their methods. We have decided to put together a few handy tips which will hopefully help you stand out above your competitors and grow your audience:
- Video is king. Videos always get noticed and they are a great way to get your message across. If you wanted to use videos that go over the 30 second limit, then IGTV is a wonderful new tool that enables you to upload lengthy videos that can be uploaded on your desktop as well as your smartphone!
- Visual appeal. Instagram is an extremely visual tool that can really help to strengthen your brand. It’s advisable to create a distinctive look, utilise your colour scheme where possible and consider the entire look of your tiles, not just focus on one image at a time. Remember your Instagram look and feel publicly reflects your business.
- Interact with your audience 10-15 mins after you post! Instagram’s algorithm picks up on engagement within the first half an hour of publishing your post. If it recognises activity, it sees your recent post as something worth pushing up the feed which will help you to get more attention. You can do this by selecting a relevant hashtag and liking a few posts within this hashtag – this will enable you to get attention from the recipients who will be intrigued by your like, look you up and return the favour.
- Stories get noticed! Due to the constant changing of algorithm in Instagram, it’s hard to predict if your post will actually generate engagement. The best way to stay at the top of the page and in front of your followers is by posting stories regularly. One thing you can do is to add your most recent posts to your stories as well – you can simply add text: “check out our new post” or something more quirky to get attention. If you have more than 10,000 followers, you are also able to add links to your stories which is really handy when selling products.
- Strategise your hashtags # Hashtags are the best way to grow your audience and increase your reach organically. If you are using the wrong hashtags, you are getting the wrong followers and the wrong attention. Hashtags are like SEO – you need the strategise which keywords or phrases will lead the audience to your page.
- Look at your competitors It’s always a good idea in marketing to look at your direct competitors, not to copy their style, but to investigate their hashtags. You can see what works for them and what doesn’t and apply this knowledge to your own methods.
- Key words in your bio:Ensure your Instagram bio has targeted keywords strategically placed in or under your name. Like SEO for your website, your target audience can find you more easily through an Instagram search if you have relevant keywords in your bio.
Marketers all over the world are convinced that Instagram is a power marketing tool for business. The below are the most recent stats on Instagram usage for 2020 for those who are trying to build a business brand:
- 1 billion people use Instagram every month
- 500 million people use Instagram Stories
- 63% of Instagram users log in at least once per day
- Instagram users will spend an average of 28 minutes per day on the platform in 2020
- 200 million Instagram users visit at least one business profile daily
- Instagram’s potential advertising reach is 849.3 million users
- One-third of the most viewed stories are from businesses
- Brands post an average of 2.5 stories per week
- 75.3% of U.S. businesses will use Instagram in 2020.
If you are looking to expand your presence and enhance the visibility of your products or services, then Instagram is a highly recommended platform. If you have not jumped on the Instagram bandwagon yet, you may be doing your business a great disservice. Contact the team at Milestone-Belanova for further tips or advice in regards to your Social Media strategy.
