Posted by A report by Instagram in 2021 shed light on how businesses are flourishing with the social media giant. The report includes Spotify’s #listenwiththeworld campaign, which ran for 30 days with the age group 18–65 as the target audience. The campaign’s main goal was to include creators and show how Spotify’s diverse playlist helps them create art.
As a result, Spotify saw a 22% rise in their streams.
Instagram is here to rule the virtual marketing space. Just like Spotify, you can also create a successful Instagram marketing strategy with the following tips and tricks.
1. Switch to a business/professional account
For a successful Instagram campaign, the account must be a professional one. Such an account will help you track the metrics of your social media campaigns. You can track the performance of your posts, analyze the audience’s demographics, and understand the overall reach of your account. This will help you design better campaigns for the future. Other significant benefits of a professional account include –
- An option to include links in Instagram stories.
- An option of “quick replies” helps you send automated responses easily.
- A space for public business details with contact information.
- A capability to boost posts for better reach.
2. Analyze Your target audience
It is crucial to understand every characteristic of your target audience. From their physical location to the accounts they follow, analyzing the behavior of your target audience will help you create the most desired pieces of content. List down all the things your target audience wishes to see and be involved with on Instagram. Further, map these with what you have to offer, and voila! You have a base Instagram marketing strategy right there.
3. Make your content product-focussed
Another essential feature to keep in mind while analyzing your target audience is what they lack in their lives and how you can provide that. For example, if they do not have a good work-life balance, then you should focus on “how your product/service can help them.” Make an Instagram marketing strategy that revolves around your offering but in a subtle way. There must be a balance between talking about your product/service and involving other aspects of life connected to your niche.
4. Create empathetic content
Creating content that resonates with your audience is important for establishing a long-lasting relationship with customers.
Including empathy in your content will ensure that your Instagram marketing makes the desired impact on your audience. Any post with an emotional angle will have the correct tone and emotional quotient. It is not that difficult to achieve this as tools like Instoried can provide you with efficient sentiment analysis.
The AI analysis of the content determines the amount of happiness, anger, sadness, fear, and surprise present in your text. It also provides an option to enhance it according to your requirements.
5. Have a unique voice
We all see people blindly following trends nowadays and accounts repeatedly recreating the same content. But, Instagram is all about making noise and stirring conversations. The masses might notice you with trending content, but they will remember you with a new concept. Your identity as a desirable brand will establish only if people find your content unique. Your audience will appreciate the originality and effort behind creating unique pieces.
6. Create eye-catching captions
Captions are game-changers in Instagram. It is necessary to have a captivating caption accompanying your posts as it increases the time your audience spends on each post.
Thus, you should craft them with care and attention.
Here are some tips for creating compelling captions –
- Start with a question
- Incorporate emojis
- Use proper spacing
- Offer help
- Employee an effective CTA
Simply put, you should keep the users engaged with informative, inviting, and creative captions. See how MAC Cosmetics does a great job with its caption.
Pro tip: You can take the help of AI-based writing tools to spruce up your Instagram caption game.
7. Utilize reels and the story space
Reels have taken Instagram by storm since its inception in 2020. A video space that lets you create short and engaging videos is nothing less than a blessing. Both individuals and businesses saw a more significant opportunity to increase engagement and reach of their accounts. India alone saw a 3.5% increase in people’s average time on Instagram.
The story option by Instagram allows you to create content that is easily accessible. Usually, people have to visit the account or wait until the post pops up on their feed to check out the posts. But, it is relatively easy and quick to check the story of any account. Stories also allow you to add stickers such as questions, polls, and quizzes, which are great for allowing the audience to interact with your content. MAC Cosmetics uses their story space like a pro. Take a look:
8. Make use of hashtags
Hashtags are the only way that people can find you quickly on Instagram. It increases the reach of your account and creates an easier search option for your audience. You can use hashtags in your captions, Instagram bio, or stories. Find the demographics and interests of your target audience, and then use the matching hashtags.
You can use up to 30 hashtags, but a report by Hubspot claims that using less than 6 is more beneficial. You should have a proper balance of trending and campaign-specific hashtags that gets the job done without looking too spammy.
9. Post at the correct time and maintain posting frequency
The Instagram algorithm favors accounts that have a proper posting schedule. You should analyze the posting frequency and modulate it according to your needs. Examine the time slots that work best for you. Timing is crucial, and you need to figure out when your target audience is active the most.
Try not to miss posting deadlines. You can achieve this by having substantial content with you in advance and keeping your content queued for posting.
10. Make use of Instagram Ads
You can fast-track your content promotions with the help of Instagram Ads. These help you grow your network faster by increasing your brand awareness. Here’s how fabfitfun leverages Instagram ads like a pro:
Instagram Ads assist you in targeting the correct crowd and keep track of your campaigns’ performance.
The paid marketing aspect of Instagram does not burn a hole in your pocket. It is adaptable according to your budget and works on a pay-per-click arrangement. This means that you only pay when someone clicks on your Ad and visits your website to make a purchase.
11. Make your Instagram profile visually appealing
Your Instagram profile should reflect your brand image. Anyone who visits your profile for the first time should decide to stay longer and explore the account. This decision relies majorly on the visual appeal of your profile. Choose a color palette representing your brand and stick with it throughout the profile. Like colors, select fonts and designs that work the best for your product/service. Uniformity is also essential to capture the attention of a random person scrolling.
Utilize the highlights section and categorize them for a better user experience. To make your highlight section elegant, add homogenous cover images to each of them.
The sparkling water company Recess is the perfect example of a visually appealing profile with its dreamy color palette that compliments its products.
12. Create a compelling bio section
The Instagram bio section provides you with a space to showcase all the important information related to your business. This can include your area of expertise, offerings, official address, and a compelling call-to-action (links to your website or blogs). It is best to create Instagram-specific landing pages and provide links to those in your bio. Make use of the highlight section as well. A properly categorized highlight section elevates your bio and makes it more compelling.
You can take some inspiration from the bio section of the brand FashionNova.com:
13. Collaborate with influencers
Make use of influencer marketing to boost your campaigns. A report by Business Wire states that –
“Consumers find influencers more helpful and trustworthy than brands during the pandemic.”
Influencers can help in building the trust of your target audience. Since they have dedicated followers who believe in them, any product they endorse automatically becomes more favorable. Micro-influencers bring in a more organic audience to your account. These influencers are often more impactful, and they have deeper connections with their followers. The content from influencers also helps fill gaps when you run out of your ideas.
14. Keep tab of analytics
Analyze the performance of your content regularly for better results. You should examine the performance of every piece of content to understand what your audience prefers. Knowing which post has more comments or which reel has the most views will help you plan your upcoming strategy more efficiently. Some metrics that you should monitor for better growth are –
- Comments per post
- Account Reach
- Engagement on Reels
- Engagement on Stories
- Post saves
- Follower growth
- Link clicks
You can analyze the above parameters on Instagram’s analytics feature or tools like Campaign Monitor and Sprout Social. Understanding what is not working for you is also crucial as it will save you time, effort, and money.
15. Share user reviews
While 36% of global internet users use online reviews for brand and product research, 19% trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Similarly, your business will look more reliable if you include user reviews and testimonials in your Instagram marketing campaigns. The best way to gain the trust of your audience is to provide social proof of your offerings. Share the reviews as stories and keep them in the highlights as a separate section. This makes it easier for your audience to access all the testimonials in one place.
You can do it the way cocotteandcocreations does:
Conclusion
You cannot overlook Instagram in 2022. It is the single platform that can boost your business like nothing else. To be a successful account on Instagram, focus more on offering help rather than selling a product or service. Community building is now more important than everything else. You need to have a loyal customer base that believes in you and supports your cause because selling is an outdated term. The world is focussing more on evolving together.