It is crucial for businesses to have an active social media presence to survive. No social media marketing strategy is complete without Instagram. It has become a superior platform for brands, advertisers, and consumers alike.
This platform has 800 million monthly active users, and 500 million Instagram profiles are active daily. Here’s something else that may surprise you: 70% of the platform’s hashtags are bookmarked.
What does that tell you? If you’re not active on Instagram, your competitors definitely are. Those who already have an account set up are on the right track. But having an Instagram profile does not necessarily translate into sales.
If you want to drive sales and make real money from Instagram, you need to come up with a workable strategy. This post will guide you in the right direction with these tips from the best Instagram marketing strategies that you can apply today.
You Must Increase Followers On Instagram
One of the first steps to having a successful marketing strategy is to increase your followers on Instagram. Without many followers, you will have a hard time seeing your posts. It will not be easy for you to generate sales without followers.
For those of you who have just created your Instagram page, it can be intimidating to start with the number zero. But unless it’s a new business, you already have customers.
More than 73% of users say that they follow brands on social networks because they are interested in the product or service they offer.
Your current customers are interested in your brand. Tell them about your profile and ask them to follow you. Start by sending messages to your email subscribers. Just make sure you give them an incentive to follow you.
Focus On The First Impression Of Your Instagram Profile
First impressions matter. This statement is valid both in the real world and in the virtual world. As a seller, you must recognize this. It’s the same reason why writing a compelling introduction to a blog post is vital to your content strategy.
When an Instagram user clicks on your profile, what is the first thing they see?
They see your profile picture, bio, and your most recent posts. Going back to our last point about following users to grow your own follower base, when a user clicks on your profile, they shouldn’t have any more questions as everything is displayed.
What is meant by that is that your Instagram profile should say who you are and what you do. Having your logo as your profile picture makes more sense. It is much more recognizable than a random image of a person or one of your products.
Basically, if your brand’s Instagram page doesn’t capture the attention of users, you won’t have much luck getting followers. In most cases, it’s best to keep everything short, to the point, and professional. Now, you will have a greater opportunity to promote your products and ultimately increase your sales.
Post Content For Instagram On A Regular Basis
Adding a photo or video to your profile only once a month is not an effective strategy. You can’t even call an active profile. What you want now is that your brand is always fresh in the minds of your followers. At the same time, you don’t want to flood users’ timelines and be perceived as annoying. You need to find a happy medium here.
It is not recommended to post a lot of content on Instagram, more than once a day. If you have a lot of content you want to share each day, it’s best to add it to your Instagram story.
How often should you post on Instagram? Research shows that top brands on Instagram post 1.5 times a day on average. That equates to around 10-11 posts per week.
The timing of these posts is also crucial. The best brands typically publish content during the office hours of a standard work week.
Why?
Well, about 90% of employees admit to using social media as a distraction while at work. You need to recognize this and plan the timing of your posts accordingly. Posting regularly increases your exposure and the likelihood that as many people as possible will see your content.
Don’t Be Too “Sales” If You Want A Good Instagram Profile
So, we just established that you should post daily, but we haven’t talked about the content of those posts. Obviously, you want to drive sales. However, that doesn’t mean that everything you post has to be a product promotion.
That will annoy your followers and end up having the opposite effect of what you’re looking for. Mix up your content, be fun, and post photos of your employees. Just don’t stray too far from your brand image, to have a good Instagram profile.
It’s okay to post content that doesn’t promote a product, but you should stay away from controversial topics. By this, we mean topics like religion, politics, and race. Offending your followers will not help you drive sales.
Again, just avoid too many promotional posts. Posting too many promotions is the number one annoying action companies take on social media, according to users.
Additionally, 46% of users say they will unfollow a brand on social media if they post promotions too often. Whenever you post a promotion, do it casually. You don’t need to capitalize words and include tons of stars and quotes around everything. That’s annoying. Be short and concise.
Instagram Live Streams Are The Best
Instagram has a live streaming feature. Users love it, and brands are using this information to their advantage. Live video gives you the opportunity to connect with your audience in real-time. While you broadcast, they can comment.
Be sure to reply to these comments and do your best to acknowledge those users. This will help you increase engagement metrics. There are endless possibilities with your live streams.
You can demonstrate new products, take a tour of your facilities, or even introduce some of your employees. It’s a good one, the idea of hosting a Q&A segment to give you a more authentic connection with your audience.
Another way to use Instagram live streams is by working with other brands. Instagram is the leading social platform in terms of brand collaborations, worldwide. You could try to appear on another profile’s live stream, in an effort to promote your brand.
As a result, these types of Instagram Marketing actions or strategies can help you expose your brand to a new audience, increase your following, and ultimately drive more sales.
Add Photos And Videos To Your Stories For Instagram
As mentioned above, your story is a great place to add daily content. You can post content to your story several times per day because it won’t flood the deadlines of the users who follow you.
But that doesn’t mean you should go overboard and post 20 different photos and videos to your story every day. People won’t look at every one of them, so it’s a waste of time and resources. Engagement and views will decrease with each additional post to your story.
You should also make sure that the time of the post in your story is relevant because it will disappear 24 hours after it is uploaded. It is recommended to use your story to offer discounts, organize contests or tell people what you are doing that day at the office.
The idea here is to have your brand in mind. If they’re thinking about your brand, they’re more likely to make a purchase. Similar to your live video strategy, you can even use your Instagram stories to partner with another brand for an acquisition. This will make it easier for you to expose your brand to a larger audience.
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