Bringing your brand to life is easy if your business uses INSTAGRAM. With a SOLID MARKETING STRATEGY, you can compound this effect, increasing BRAND LOYALTY and DRIVE SALES as a result. Plus, it’s free.
I’m going to tell you the truth…
I use my personal Instagram account, @haileyefeldman, for one purpose: I like to show off. If you scroll through my feed, you’ll get a visual understanding of what I love to do, where I like to go, how I dress, and what I’m proud of. A business Instagram account should be the same: Show off what you sell!
When I speak about the importance of a solid social media marketing plan, I like to compare social media to a party. Instagram is the hottest party your business can attend.
Now I’m going to tell you how to own the Instagram algorithm and be the life of your industry’s online party.
Share Quality Images
Develop and share great content that represents your brand.
Instagram is the platform that shows how your company sees the world. Sharing imagery and videography strengthens your audience’s understanding of your brand further than other social media channels. Visual storytelling allows your customers a unique view into the lifestyle that your product or service creates.
- Take it easy with the filters. Make your ads as realistic as possible.
- Don’t feature your logo on your Instagram Ad.
- “Be True to Your Brand”
- Live in the moment. A lifestyle photo of your product in use speaks volumes.
- Don’t reinvent the wheel. Look at what other brands are doing well.
Your bio should also have a fantastic profile photo. Instagram likes rounded profile photos. If your logo is square, like Mixed Digital’s, use Adobe Spark or Canva to help it fit into the required Instagram profile photo size.
Optimize Your Instagram Bio
One of the easiest ways to connect with your potential followers is to optimize your business bio. Take advantage of the 150 characters allowed to give followers a reason to click the “Follow” button. I recommend you refer to your brand positioning statement and your unique selling point (USP) to maintain brand consistency.
Your Instagram bio can also be changed to complement a marketing campaign. For example, if your business sells online, you might want to change your bio text during Black Friday/Cyber Monday to promote discounts.
When Mixed Digital posts a new blog, I change our Instagram bio URL from mixeddigital.com to the short URL blog link.
Paid Advertisements
Advertising on Instagram can be used to build brand awareness, drive consideration, and action. To drive website traffic and conversions, paid ads help buyers discover your products and also help to optimize your marketing campaigns for your desired business objectives.
The best practices for ads reflect your everyday content marketing on Instagram. As a business, I recommend you focus your Instagram ad campaigns around 3 key objectives:
- On Brand
- Tell a story
- Compelling
Hashtags: When, Where, and How To Use Them
Which hashtags should your business use?
When & Where:
- On every Instagram post you share, add a comment with your big picture and niche industry hashtags.
- Add a hashtag in your bio.
- Comment on other user’s posts and use a hashtag.
- For one of my clients, I “sign” my comments using the client’s business hashtag.
- Example Comment with a Signature: “Great photo of you and your pup! — #TheMarketingExpert”
- For one of my clients, I “sign” my comments using the client’s business hashtag.
How:
Create a Google Sheet with a list of industry hashtags. We have a client who sells luxury products to a niche market. Use the process below to start:
Industry, Big Picture:
Then, Target Audience, Niche Industry:
Finally, combine your big picture industry hashtags with the hashtags your target audience and niche industry is scrolling through, and convert.
Recommended Apps & Tools
INSTAGRAM FOR BUSINESS – https://business.instagram.com
Hey, you’re a business! Here’s how to get on Instagram as a business, and use it to your advantage.
BOOST FOR E-COMMERCE – https://boo.st/
Generate #hashtags for your products and instantly sell everywhere. Buyers can comment, tweet or text your #hashtags to make a purchase. With Boost, your content is your #commerce.
ADOBE SPARK – https://spark.adobe.com/
For $9.99/month, use Adobe Spark to create branded videos and photos formatted for Instagram. Spark is made for people who are NOT graphic designers. Somehow, they have taken the entire Creative Suite and simplified it into perfect mobile & desktop friendly apps.
CAPTIONA – https://goo.gl/RYrKgG
Search for relevant keywords and get creative with your captions! Captiona takes simple keywords such as “fashion,” and provides 3-15 clever sentences and phrased to upgrade your Instagram and your brand. The best part – it’s completely free.
URL SHORTENDER FOR GOOGLE’S goo.gl – https://goo.gl/hijxmp
A zero-touch URL shortening experience for your phone. Copy the URL, launch the app, and watch URL Shortener shorten the link for you. URL Shortener will even automatically copy the shortened link to your clipboard. Note: No Analytics.
Final Thoughts
Instagram’s launch in 2010 is the best example I use when defining the term, “going viral.” Chances are you have your personal Instagram account, and hopefully, a business Instagram account.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me directly. This blog post does not include the entirety of best Instagram marketing tactics, of course! Let’s talk Instagram!
About Mixed Digital
At Mixed Digital, we take the time to get to know what makes your business tick—and by that, we mean that we don’t just learn about what you sell. We learn how you sell it, and the value you’re ultimately providing your customers. This knowledge enables us to become true partners—not just service providers.
We also recognize that your time is a valuable commodity. And, hey: we’re a small business, so we understand the importance of a budget. We respond fast, and manage your campaigns as if we were spending our own money. This high-touch, fiscally responsible approach contributes to our clients’ high satisfaction and excellent retention.
Once we’ve got a fully formed picture of your business, we put our experience with Fortune 500 companies and leading digital agencies to work. We’ll show you how to make the most of your data, how to use automation to become more efficient, and how to maximize ROI from digital marketing efforts.
The post The World’s Most Powerful Selling Tool: Instagram Marketing 2019 appeared first on Durham Digital Marketing Agency.