Instagram Tipps
The popularity of Instagram is incredible. The only trouble with a platform that boasted over 1 billion active users is making sure your posts are found by people who are thinking about what you have to say (or sell) - needles and haystacks comes to mind!
The days of adding a few random hashtags to a post are well and truly over - it's becoming much more of a science. And that means you have to have a strategy.
Here are my top tips for obtaining the most out of Instagram for the business.
1. Clearly communicate what you do
Set up your profile properly. Work with a great profile image, ensure that your Instagram handle instantly conveys what you do, and write an excellent bio. Do not forget to include your website URL!
2. Give your posts a distinctive look
Instagram is an extremely visual platform, so make it work to your advantage. Using the same signature filter and maintaining exactly the same style of photography gives your posts a consistent style, which helps to make sure they are instantly recognisable.
Whenever possible, make an effort to echo your brand's visual identity - adopting exactly the same colours, fonts and image style used on your website - so that the connection with your brand is consistent from one communication channel to another.
3. Get active!
Liking posts in a random way isn't more likely to achieve a great deal. But if you do your research, you can create likes work really well for the business.
Have a look at what your competitors are around on Instagram - and more importantly, check out who's commenting on their posts. They're probably your target market. So, it makes sense to engage with and follow them.
This way, you'll begin to build an audience that's actively interested in what your organization has to offer.
4. Hashtags are Instagram's signposts
Hashtags help people navigate through an incredible number of posts to find what's relevant or of interest in their mind. Research shows that using 10+ hashtags is good, but don't go too mad beyond that ? way too many looks a bit spammy, and less is more definitely applies here!.
However many you decide to use, get them to relevant. You can check out popular hashtags using tools such as for example Hashtagify . Some will trend like crazy, others are simply too generic to be of any use.
It's well worth analysing successful Instagram accounts, especially competitors that have a lot of traction. Learn from how they are using hashtags and emulate/adapt what they are doing for your own purposes.
You may not obtain it right straightaway, but when you can find hashtags which are both popular and pertinent to your organization, you'll get access immediately to an engaged audience. Some hashtags have seen virtual forums growing up around them - niche communities that will be interested in you.
5. Use special hashtags wisely
I'd recommend choosing a few special hashtags to encourage a more impressive following. For example, #L4L means ?like for like' - ie if you want me, I'll reciprocate and like your posts. #follow and #followme are a clear and transparent request.
6. Hashtags can look messy
Putting them by the end of your post keeps things tidy. On top of that, keep your post clean and post them immediately in to the first comment instead.
7. Make life easy for yourself!
Save common hashtags for the business on your smartphone utilizing the standard notes app (most smartphones have one).
It makes it so much easier to get ready your hashtags and post them easily and consistently each and every time.
8. Brand your hashtags
Do not forget to add your brand name as one of the hashtags, and be sure you use 4-5 core hashtags that describe your organization - use them each time.
9. Caption your images and videos
And inject a little bit of personality. By this, I don't mean posting an image of what you ate for supper last night! Every post ought to be relevant to your business, and you need to find ways of adding value to your posts. So think about what comment you can add which will encourage visitors to like and repost it. Growth can happen incredibly quickly if your followers feel they have something to get from following your account.
10. Quality control is essential
Ensure that your pictures look amazing. Be ruthless - edit them, dismiss anything that looks poor or is blurred from camera shake. Keep things simple and shoot directly from your own smartphone for ease of posting.
11. Use layout and angles
The Instagram Layout app (for iPhone or Android) is really best for creating interesting montages, especially if you want to post a sequence of images or show a step-by-step guide. Canva is an excellent free tool used to create your personal cool Instagram Stories.
12. Use links and landing pages
Presumably, you are making use of your Instagram posts to encourage followers to do something , whether that is to learn your latest blog post, discover your new ebook, enter a competition or sign up to your email newsletter.
Whatever you are doing, make sure you have an appropriate landing page on your website which will enable them to perform the action.
A quick note on the restriction of posting only one link in your bio - check out Linktree, a tool that will create one bio link which will then send your followers wherever you need them to go.
13. Share the love
Growth on Instagram depends to an extent on demonstrating you are engaged with your particular Instagram community. It's really worth tagging business associates, relevant membership organisations, industry associations or accounts you need to nurture.
14. Require a response
Instagram is - or can be - a two-way dialogue, so ask your followers to respond to your posts. You, of course, then need to respond to any comments - it's about active engagement, not only having a passive following.
15. Discover the movers and shakers in your area
Try to identify who on Instagram is really a key influence in your niche market, and explore how you my work with them to improve your personal Instagram visibility.
16. Plan your posts
Just like a blog, it seems sensible to plan your Instagram activity. Set up a rolling three-month content arrange for all your social media, and allocate time and energy to curate images, captions and hashtags.
17. Use scheduling tools
There are loads to pick from, but I'd recommend considering Hootsuite, Buffer, Schedugram and Later. Instagram Tipps of them have their benefits and drawbacks, so it's an incident of choosing the one that feels right for you.
18. Track what's working
Google Analytics will show what traffic and conversion you're getting from Instagram. Should you have an Instagram Business Account you have the added bonus of Instagram Insights, which ultimately shows how effective your posts are.
Other tools to take into account are Socialbakers, Sprout Social, Union Metrics and squarelovin.
19. Instagram adverts increase visibility
Instagram advertising is working effectively for businesses. Regardless of how tight your marketing budget may be, it's well worth dipping your toe and seeing what traction it is possible to gain for your business.
There are four formats from which to choose - from the simple single image to a 60-second video - and with a choice of banners for your proactive approach, it couldn't be better to start advertising.
20. Have an Instagram image prey on your website
But always embed them, don't just link to them. Now you have a method of growing your Instagram following directly from your own website, but don't be tempted to do it with all of your Instagram images - create a taster!