7 Tips To Use Instagram For Business

Instagram is amongst the most popular & highly engaging social media platforms, and every business should use the platform as effectively as they can. From brand amplification to selling products, Instagram keeps rolling out tools to help business owners succeed on the creative-centric social media platform.

How can I use Instagram to promote my business?

Some best practice on how to make a business Instagram:

1. Including a Link and Bio in your Instagram Profile

2. Don’t use Instagram with a single mindset of selling your product/service

3. Ensure visually appealing images

4. Offer promotions

5. Engage and form relationships

Today with more than 25 million companies worldwide are already using Instagram for business, and more than 200 million users visit at least one business profile every day. Not only this, you’ll be surprised to know that:

1. Instagram is home to a massive 2 million advertisers

2. More than 60% of users discover products on Instagram

3. Instagram influences 75% actions on your business profile

Last but not least, With 1 billion monthly users, Instagram now has more than 500 million daily active stories on the platform.

Isn’t it mind-boggling? The reach this growing platform offers and the potential it has. It doesn’t take a genius to be successful on Instagram. A killer Instagram Marketing Strategy can help businesses promote products and services, boost their brand, and increase business on Instagram. What follows are five killer hacks to use Instagram for Business and make the most out of it.

Find Relevant Hashtags on Instagram

Finding Hashtags which are relevant to your business niche is one of the most integral parts of a Killer Instagram Strategy.

Hashtags are one of the most viable ways to reach a broader audience on Instagram. Since Users can both search for hashtags and click on hashtags they see in the posts, relevant hashtags can be an extremely effective weapon in your arsenal.

As important as discovering relevant hashtags is, it’s equally important to use them in your posts. Instagram allows up to 30 Hashtags in a single post or 10 hashtags in stories. Properly use hashtags on Instagram and try to keep a balance between over-using and under-using them.

Having niche-focused and meaningful hashtags can drive meaningful engagement on your post and help your drive more followers, likes, etc. on profile/posts. It’s essential for any business on Instagram to have a loud and engaging profile. Amidst all, ensure you’ve your brand/company hashtag(#YourBrandName) used at all times.

Engagement is Key For Instagram Business

What’s a social platform without chatter. Instagram for business is no different. Engage with your followers as well as your extended audience in the business niche.

Regardless of your follower count, ensure even if your posts have 50 likes & 10 comments, ensure you reach out and engage with them. It’s important to make them feel that they are a part of your business community on Instagram.

Since we’ve already identified the top relevant hashtags, it’s time to start engaging with the audience there. There is someone in the post asking a question? Awesome! You know the answer, address them. You really loved a post and its creative? Pour your heart out. Let them know how splendid their work is.

If a post reminds you of a friend who needed something, tag them! Penultimate,  add value for them by engaging and giving out as much as you can.

It really won’t take much of your time instead will build your brand value in the community. Users will want to follow, connect with your business as you’ve been providing value consistently without much expectation.

A caveat, Ensure you’re not flaming or spamming. We all can identify spam whenever we see one. Connect with people if you really want to, ask for collab/partnership if you feel like. It really is not rocket science; it’s all about having an engaging Business Instagram Account.

Consistency in Instagram Stories

It all comes down to consistency in the end. You’ve to add value and keep posting consistently. The more consistency you have, the better the engagement you’ll have. More engagement will lead to more amplification, which leads to more brand recognition.

Brand recognition is needed to build a loyal audience and following on Instagram, so be true to your brand. Ensure you aren’t posting too much of a certain type of content and not enough of another. It’s important to strike that balance when posting content. Your consistency is visible in four verticals, namely:

1. Brand Voice

2. Aesthetics

3. Uniqueness

4. Content

It’s important to have a singular tone when it comes to Brand Voice. You should know who is your target audience and what they expect you to say. It’s vital to wrap your thoughts and brand voice around them to ensure that you get that recognition which you so thoroughly deserve.

Aesthetics are as important as anything. Ensure your creatives are visually appealing and speak a lot about your brand and its audience. Learn to be thankful when people love some creative and humble when your brand gets a little criticism. Learn from them and develop them accordingly and consistently.

Be unique! This is not just a phrase

Be unique! This is not just a phrase, but actually, a business needs in today’s world. With Instagram for business reaching new heights every passing day, this has become of utmost importance.

Lastly, tailor content around your target audience and ensure that it delivers value. Don’t get scattered and post what you know. Focus on how your audience will connect with the content you’re creating.

The end goal is to be authentic and elicit a response from the audience. As Facebook  has put it “You need to create content that does one of the following: makes me cry, makes me laugh or surprises/provoke me.”

Be Creative & Involved

We already talked about how indispensable it is to add value to your customers and look appealing while you do it. Never underestimate the fact that your most important weapon on this social media network is visual content.

Try to voice your business objective/mission in your posts and creative’s. Show your audience how you add them value and how they can benefit from you. Reach out to them, stick a helping hand out when someone’s in need.

You can add a lot of value just by making them part of your community or by simple gestures like featuring one of their posts on your business handle if they have done something remarkable.

Instagram stories are becoming more and more popular, prominently displayed at the top of follower timelines just under the Instagram logo.

It can be used to capture behind-the-scenes content and to share out with audiences and let them know what goes in your offices. In the end, it’s all about giving a smile on their faces and makes them feel valued.

Amplify & Sell

Lastly, do not forget your business objective. Ensure you amplify your brand to drive sales from this wonderful channel. Use Instagram ads to its fullest and ensure you get the best out of it.  Instagram offers a variety of ads to market your business. Instagram ads consist:

1. Stories Ads

2. Image Ads

3. Video Ads

4. Carousel Ads

5. Collection Ads

It provides a broad reach based on multiple targeting options. Instagram offers to target based on

1. Location

 2. Interests

 3. Custom Audience

 4. Demographics

 5. Behaviors

 6. Lookalike audience

 7. Automated Targeting

Conclusion

What’s interesting to keep in mind is that Instagram is also evolving as a platform for intangible marketing, where it influences users (read: buyers) interest, loyalty, and value. It has been involving consistently and now has become one of the most influencing platforms for brand loyalty and lifetime user value.

Consistently add value and create content that entices users for brand engagement and keeps reminding them how awesome & unique your business is. With the correct blend of marketing strategy, Instagram for business today has the power to re position your brand/business at the global level.