Instagram can be a highly effective tool for growing awareness of your brand with a targeted audience. Just like on other social media channels, there are best practices to follow when using Instagram. This is where an effective strategy comes in to play. Growing your audience and creating successful engagement is key. Here are just a few ways you can grow your business’ Instagram account.
Post photos and video that tell your brand’s story without trying to sell. If your Instagram account is full of advertisements for your service or product, you won’t get any new followers and current followers may jump ship. Instead, use this space as a way to communicate what your business is all about. If your company produces leather sandals, you could post a video snippet of how your product is made or photo submissions of clients wearing your product. Make it fun and informative.
Don’t forget to utilize hashtags, but beware that they can be overused and used incorrectly. Follow this rule of thumb to properly use hashtags: keep it simple and relative! Do a keyword search to determine the most popular hashtags related to your product or service. For our leather sandal example, appropriate hashtags could include #sandal and #leather. It may also be useful to create a unique hashtag for your own brand. This will allow you to find clients who use your product and discover what they have to say about it. A custom hashtag will also help grow your brand across Instagram and increase interaction between you and your clients.
Engage with other users to grow a following of your own. Follow similar brands and known clients. Like and comment on other users’ posts. Ask for client submissions. A fun way to get user interaction and grow a following is to hold a contest. To continue with our leather sandal example, a contest that asks clients to submit photos of your sandals being worn on beach vacations all around the world will grow brand loyalty, increase user interaction, and provide you with lots of content to post later. Don’t forget to tag your clients when posting their submitted photos. This will encourage participation in the future and expand your reach to users outside of your following.
Instagram is a fun way to grow your brand’s following. Snap behind-the-scenes shots to tell your company’s story and don’t forget to utilize Instagram’s creative features to create even better photos.
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