6th October 2010 is not just any random day. It's the date when Instagram first became accessible to the public. Since then, the evolution of Instagram has reverberated beyond the social media platforms and become a go-to application for small businesses. From affiliate marketing to selling digital products to sharing food recipes, Instagram has become an eventful platform for many small businesses. Needless to say, Instagram even has its own thing known as Instagram influencers.
Instagram Influencers are the well-distinguished people on Instagram who enjoy a focused and loyal followers base. We can even call them the "Celebs of Instagram." Small businesses have often collaborated with Instagram influencers to market their products. However, such marketing does come at a cost because Instagram influencers come with a price tag. And we understand how difficult it can become for small market owners to spend on marketing their budget. Therefore, I bring you some well-filtered Instagram marketing tips that can propel your business to the next level.
Small businesses have so much to gain in 2023 and later in this new marketing frontier known as Instagram. With more than 1 billion users, the platform is ripe for creating your customer base. With its upbeat vibes and vibrant, visual solid, Instagram is a package for small businesses to explore their potential. But it needs marketing to be done right, and here are the tips you must practice.
Business Account
When you sign up on Instagram, you can select your account type between personal or business accounts. As a business owner, you must always go for the business account for two primary reasons:
You can connect it with your Facebook page, view analytics, run advertisements, and quickly connect with your followers.
It helps establish the required brand presence that you must build upon with strategies and implementations.
Keep the Bio Updated
The bio space on Instagram essentially gives you 150 characters to tell you about your business. It is most likely the first thing your potential customers will check. So, you must always ensure that your bio has every important detail in it, from required hashtags to the website link.
Work on the Presentation
One of the strongest suits of Instagram is its visuals. Hence, the look of your profile matters a lot here. For small business owners, it is a must that your potential customers and followers can relate to your content immediately. To make it possible, you can rely upon specific styles of the image with set color palettes and fonts that can go along with the message you want to share.
Content Pillars
A critical and essential Instagram marketing tip for small businesses is to create content pillars. You can never put across random content and expect a turnaround in your business from any platform. You must strategically select specific topics and themes and divide your content into different sections, pieces, and materials. The accurate way to accomplish it is by planning or scheduling your content.
Plan the Content
Once the content pillars have been created, your next step, as mentioned above, is to plan the contents. You must now decide the type of content you want to share and when? Be strategic about posting your content. Decide whether you will put up content daily or every week. Another thing is to be consistent with whichever strategy you want to proceed as consistency is important.
Use Hashtags
Another important feature of Instagram is the hashtags, and businesses can benefit a lot from it. Hashtags can allow potential customers to find you on the platform without knowing about you. Say, for example, #ChickenRecipe. When I search for the chicken recipe hashtags, Instagram will immediately show me a filtered list with the chicken recipe hashtag. So, I may well land upon several business account pages that have shared a chicken recipe on it.
Another thing about hashtags is you should use them strategically too. You can see how people have found your post with a hashtag and how many times it has been used.
Use Captions Properly
Since Instagram is a visual-oriented platform, it is least likely for people to read through captions. So, make sure your captions are crisp and concise. In any chance, you have to use a lengthy Instagram caption, then try to use line breaks, so it becomes easier for other users to recognize and read them.
Instagram Story
The Instagram story feature has made a huge impact ever since it got implemented in the social media application. Small business Instagram pages can reap benefits out of it immensely. The stories on the top of the page stay there unless viewed. It means your followers can have better visibility of your Instagram stories. Also, there are tons of features such as hashtags, mentions, and Gif to enhance the reach of your Instagram stories.
Make Videos
Allow me to remind you that Instagram is a visual platform for one more time. I want to emphasize enough to remind you that your content for Instagram must be visual-based and not in written format. Furthermore, by default, most people use pictures to share content. But it is the video format that you must put more focus on.
Make fun, engaging, relatable videos to promote your products. Keep the video length under a minute and share it through reels, stories, and even IGTV.
Engage with Others
In 2023 you have to do more than put brilliant content on your Instagram page. You have to build a strong presence on the platform, and you can accomplish it by healthy engagement with other users on the forum. Comment on others' posts, and in between, you can always ask the user to take a look at your page as well. Also, if you are getting comments under your post, do respond to them at the earliest as it will show that you care.
Direct Message Others
Direct messaging is a double-edged sword, so several business owners shy away from using it. Let me tell you that you mustn't shy away from it; instead, make proper use of it. Don't just randomly message someone. Instead, try to engage with someone under your post, and if the user seems interested, then take the conversation to direct messaging and discuss with them.
Bottom Line
You can forever count on the aforementioned 10 Instagram marketing tips for small businesses. They are the simplest of tips that can bring your business potential return if followed correctly. However, they're definitely more, and if you know about them, do share with us.
