6 Ways to Make Instagram Work for You

With a high number of active and engaged users across the globe, Instagram creates the opportunity for business owners to market their products or services in an interesting way with an audience that is likely to engage. Whether your strategy needs updating, or you’re new to Instagram, you’ll find these 6 tips beneficial for your brand.

6 Instagram Tips for Business Owners

1. Step up Your Profile: We’re not sure which is worse, an Instagram account with an outdated profile, a nonexistent profile, or one that’s borderline boring. Focus on the important aspects of your business, your next big promo or event. Keep in mind, just because the platform gives you 150 characters to work with in your bio, doesn’t mean you need to use all of them.
2. Get Creative: The platform is all about the visual experience. Show the value of your product or services and make it intriguing to look at in your post. If your business sells coffee mugs, do more than snap a picture of the mug on a desk. Show them being packaged before their final destination, encourage purchasers to share photos of their mugs in use and tag your profile.
3. Hashtags: Whether they’re campaign specific or something general, hashtags are a great way to organically expand the reach of your post. It’s also a good idea to have a branded company hashtag to use periodically when creating posts. Incorporating at least 3 to 5 hashtags in your posts increases the chances of being seen by your intended audience. It also creates a way for users to find your profile if they perform a hashtag search.
4. Build Anticipation: When it comes to product launches or big news, building anticipation is key. Teaser photos, videos, or stories not only pique the users’ interest, it keeps their attention. Continue with this method until the day of the launch and unveil to your audience what they’ve been waiting to see.
5. Collaborate: An important part for many businesses is the art of collaboration. Social media, especially on Instagram, collaboration creates a strong foothold to position your brand. Sharing photos or videos and tagging the other company shows your ability to collaborate with others who share your values – all with the benefit of the customer in mind. This also helps position yourself in front of their audience, which will in-turn help to increase the size of your audience.
6. Go Behind-the-Scenes: More often than not, audiences see the outward facing side of your business rather than what goes on behind the scenes. Instagram is the ideal platform to showcase a different side of your brand; show your employees working hard on a project, volunteering in the community, or letting loose at the office holiday party. At the end of the day, consumers love knowing who they will be doing business with. In a highly technological era, we still enjoy a level of human interaction and knowing the face(s) behind the business.

Still not convinced Instagram can work for your brand? Not enough time to do it all on your own? Let us know!