Learn why Instagram Marketing Strategies Grow Your Business and Visibility
When Instagram first appeared back in 2010, it was like any other social platform: full of selfies, pets, photos of food, and anything that represented everyday life.
In fact, photography has been cleared through customs precisely because of the introduction of social networks.
While it used to be limited to the representation of an idyllic reality, with the arrival of the first camera-equipped smartphones and the spread of Facebook, it has undergone a wide evolution, turning each of us into tourists of the everyday.
Fast-forward to today, and Instagram’s transformation from a simple photo-sharing app to a marketing channel is complete.
Simply dwell on some of the platform’s new features that are perfectly suited to an Instagram marketing strategy.
Between 2017 and 2018 alone, dozens of tools dedicated to businesses were released, including advanced analytics, shoppable posts, and new ways to attract traffic from Instagram Stories.
Strategies for growing on Instagram
To date, to be successful in a social media strategy in B2C, it is critical to create and curate your presence on Instagram.
If you want to intercept new potential customers through this platform, you will need to get to know it in its entirety, run tests to understand which content is most successful, build an Instagram marketing strategy, and most importantly, monitor the results you get.
That is why we decided to write this short guide.
In the next few paragraphs we will provide you with the fundamentals of creating your social strategy and some tips for making an effective corporate Instagram account.
But first, let’s understand why marketing on Instagram has become so important.
Instagram marketing: why it is a key to success
We all know that Instagram is top of the line for sharing photos and videos with friends and family, but what not everyone knows is that it is an incredible channel for business.
Why? The main reason is inherent in Instagram’s highly visual format.
For this very reason, the platform offers tremendous opportunities for all those companies who wish to showcase their products.
Whether it’s photos, videos or Stories, millions of companies have realized that creating a presence on Instagram can give their social media strategy a boost.
To date, Instagram has one billion users-a very large total community in which to find new potential customers and target users.
In addition, Instagram users are much more engaged than users on other platforms, which is why the platform has a much higher engagement rate than Twitter or Facebook.
Another fact that should not be underestimated is that, according to various research, more than 70 percent of users of that platform make a purchase decision after seeing a post or Stories, especially in categories such as clothing, make-up, shoes and accessories, and jewelry.
The Evolution of Marketing Strategies on Instagram
Instagram offers the opportunity to push audiences to action through the creation of engaging visual content.
According to Iconosquare, 62 percent of Instagram users follow a brand on this platform.
Instead, according to a recent Forrester study, social Instagram was found to be offering 58 times more opportunities for businesses to succeed than Facebook and 120 times those of Twitter.
Forrester examined the top seven social networks, six of which showed that companies succeed in achieving a user engagement rate of less than 0.1 percent.
For Instagram, this value reaches 4.21 percent.
The incredible level of interaction that can be achieved comes from the loyal and active nature of Instagram users.
To be successful on Instagram, it is not enough to post beautiful images and photos randomly.
On the contrary, it is necessary:
- Have a clear vision on goals and strategy
- Publish with a consistent frequency
- Generate familiarity with your followers
- Have a well-defined style guide
Instagram marketing strategy: why is it important?
There are so many Channels and Tools available to structure your Instagram Strategy.
You can decide to do everything yourself, or you can rely on Agencies, such as Factory Communication that do it for you.
Through social strategy, we increase the visibility, recognition and presence of your Company, on the Web, generating new Business opportunities.
Before explaining the potential in detail, it is important to analyze why it is essential for a company, business, or professional firm to plan an effective and efficient social media strategy.
In this article we report only a few basic concepts.
If you would like to learn more about this topic, we encourage you to read the section of the site devoted specifically to social media marketing.
The basic element of growing a business is to be present where our potential customers are looking for us.
Social channels and Instagram, specifically, allow us to be found by our potential target audience.
Why use an Instagram Strategy
It is a free application that allows you to take and share pictures and videos
It has now become one of the most widely used social channels especially by those who belong to what is called Generation Z.
Generation Z or Centennials are generally confined among people born from 1997 to 2010.
Instagram is the social network of choice when it comes to posting photographs.
As of 2017, it has also integrated several functions with regard to video publishing.
In this respect, YouTube, still remains the unchallenged point of view.
On Instagram, users can follow or be followed by other users.
Interaction between users consists of the ability to
- Putting a like on a photo or video
- Post comments
- Re-post content posted by another user.
To increase the visibility of a piece of content and its searchability, #hashtags are used.
Basically keywords that group images dealing with the same issues.
Companies can find Instagram a valuable tool for their promotion.
Instagram, more than other social networks has a distinct user base.
Therefore, before deciding whether and how to use the channel for one’s social media strategy, it is essential to analyze the company’s positioning.
Instagram is used in all those areas where, since time immemorial, photography has been a feature and one of the main communication tools.
Furniture, Clothing, Automotive, Food, luxury sector products, just to name a few.
Instagram is “suitable” for all Companies or not!
It is clear how Instagram but also Pinterest are basic elements of the Social Communication strategy of these Companies.
But of course, it is not essential to work in fashion to take advantage of Instagram’s communication potential.
Some services, even if not very fashionable, nothing taking away think of accounting for example, can be presented in a more appealing or aggressive way through an image.
It is important to consider the Budget, however.
If the resources you can put into your Social strategy are small, we recommend that you carefully select which Social to use to maximize your return on investment and achieve the goals you set.
PPC (Pay per Click) Campaigns can also be set up in Instagram. They are easy to set up and achieve good results.
Where to start in doing Instagram marketing?
As with any traditional or digital marketing strategy, the first thing to do before getting started is to set goals to achieve and understand what means may be helpful in doing so.
Why do you want to create a business presence on Instagram? And why do you wish to implement an Instagram marketing strategy?
- To improve your brand awareness?
- To do lead generation?
- To showcase your products or services?
- To create a loyal community? To do customer service?
There are many declination possibilities when it comes to this platform, and depending on the goal to be achieved, an ad hoc strategy will need to be set up.
Keep in mind that goals will go into the metrics needed for analysis–and no, the number of followers is not that important.
For example, if you use Instagram for creating a loyal community, it will be important to focus on the engagement generated.
If you are having difficulty understanding your goals, take a step back and ask yourself:
- Why do I want to do Instagram marketing?
- How can Instagram help me achieve my goals?
- How much time and budget do I have to commit to Instagram?
- What does Instagram offer that is different from other platforms?
Once you have answered all these questions and clarified your goals in the short, medium and long term, you will be ready to open your Instagram Business profile.
The opening of a business profile on Instagram
Business profiles arrived in Italy in June 2016 and introduced some ad hoc features for brands.
If you are a professional or a business and you have not yet done so, we recommend that you make the switch immediately: simply go into the profile settings and click on the “Switch to Business Profile” label.
At this point, all you have to do is associate your business Facebook Page and indicate your preferred contact options.
Once you have completed the transition to Business profile, you will see a graph icon in the upper right-hand corner, which is Insights. From here you will be able to see various data regarding your profile:
- impressions and reach of posts;
- Content types with greater interactions;
- Insights data on Instagram Stories;
- Follower data;
- Insights related to promotions.
You will be able to elaborate on the data shown by simply clicking on “Other.”
As with Facebook, various socio-demographic data about followers can be verified on Instagram so that an Instagram marketing strategy tailored to their needs can be designed.
Finally, with a Business profile, you will have the ability to activate promotions to improve the visibility of the profile itself and also of the posts. You can create your listings directly from the app or from Business Manager.
Instagram growth strategies: how to create an effective business account
Now that you have opened your Business profile you will need to figure out how to set up your feed (the bulletin board) to activate your Instagram marketing strategy.
It is important to understand that Instagram is an important reflection of your brand, an amplifier of your image, so you should plan the overall appearance of your profile very well.
Let’s say that, in some respects, similarities can be found with a corporate website.
“A well-curated profile will be able to help you turn your casual visitors into engaged followers. Conversely, a profile with low visual impact can have a negative effect on how your potential customers perceive your brand.”
Below are the points you should focus on to make a good impression:
- Clear and well-edited biography;
- Strong visual impact consistent with brand values;
- featured stories to take the user on a journey of brand discovery.
Write biography on Instagram
The Instagram bio seems to be the least important thing, but that is definitely not the case!
It is the first thing users see when they enter your profile, so it is important that it is clear and well maintained.
The factors to keep in mind are as follows:
- Enter a brand name that is recognizable;
- Uses clickable keywords and hashtags;
- create a brand hashtag to allow your users to share their content with your company;
- talk about your services;
- Enter a valid URL that links to an updated Web site.
The Asos brand is a great starting point for understanding how to create an effective biography.
Create a good visual impact, consistent with corporate values
Instagram is a purely visual social network, so you will have to be very careful about what you post. The first thing to emphasize is that, to be successful, any content must be original.
No to the use of stock images.
You can really post anything on Instagram, but you will need to follow some small steps:
- Maintain a color scheme;
- Creates very bright content;
- alternates photographs with promotions but without burdening the user’s view;
- Share User Generated Content, or user-generated content.
By applying these tips you can create a feed that is palatable to your users’ eyes, proving interesting enough in their eyes to prompt them to follow you and why not? Become your customers!
Set up featured Stories
Want to take your users on a journey of discovery of your brand?
Featured Stories are essential and allow you to highlight products and/or services you wish to push, particular discounts dedicated to your followers or even, relevant moments in your business life.
The inserted screenshot highlights the purchasing process and available collections-surely a great example to take a cue from.
Instagram Social Strategy: Conclusions
Ours is intended to be an introductory guide to Instagram marketing.
Being present on the social network requires strategy, understanding your audience and Instagram’s ‘algorithm, clearly defining Call to Action, publishing original content, analyzing data and… much more.
It is commonly thought that it is only the number of followers that is important on the platform, but this is not the case at all: you need to know Instagram very well, have clear goals and a defined strategy from the beginning.
Request your Customized Instagram Consulting to increase your company’s visibility.
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