With the sustained rise of social media marketing over the past couple of years, it’s no wonder many businesses are now gravitating towards platforms like Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to build their online presence.
A particular platform that rocketed during the pandemic was Instagram – and it’s still growing and developing. As of 2022, over 200 million Instagram users visit at least one business profile per day.
As many companies continue to build their presence on Instagram, it’s now more important than ever to keep up with these business trends. Although Instagram has many features, we’ve outlined some key tips and tricks to support your business growth on the platform:
1. Objectives
Before diving straight in, it’s important to first understand what you will be using Instagram for. By setting out your main objectives, you will have a clear and refined business strategy for the platform.
For example, many companies have implemented Instagram into their business strategies to increase brand awareness and build a community.
2. Your page
When people visit your business’ Instagram page, the first thing they will see is your biography. This should include:
- Your written bio – what your company does and why your visitors should follow you. You have 150 characters to engage your audience, so keep it short and sweet. You may also include your contact details if you wish.
- Your bio’s link – commonly referred to as your ‘link in bio’, this will encourage and direct your visitors to find out more information about your business. It will also allow them to move from your Instagram profile to landing pages, such as your website home page or recent blogs.
- Your profile picture – it’s best to include your company logo here, as it prompts easy recognition. Remember that this is shaped as a circle, and is 110 x 100 pixels, so make sure your photo is high quality and fits into the shape.
3. Visual content
Instagram is commonly known for its visual aesthetic.
Make sure to keep a consistent visual theme – this could be by sticking to your brand’s colour palette or using recurring image themes related to your business, for example. This can help to create your visual identity and allow your brand to become more recognisable and authentic.
4. Captions
As visual content can sometimes make it challenging to maintain your brand’s tone of voice, captions can be used to keep this consistency. They support your visual content by allowing you to describe your image or tell the story behind it.
Instagram captions have a limit of 2,200 characters, so the first line must grab your audience’s attention and help them to decide whether to read on.
Also, including a few hashtags will help with your organic reach. Make sure they are relevant to your content – searching for keywords will help with this. You can use tools such as RiteTag to find popular hashtags.
5. Engagement
Engaging with your audience is essential for your company’s reputation, especially if you are looking to build a community. Remember that Instagram is a ‘social’ media platform, so users like to socialise on here.
Liking and commenting on photos, following new users and checking your direct messages regularly will all encourage interaction, which can lead to building a community. Create polls and ask questions in your stories to further this interaction. You could also ask questions in your captions to prompt likes and comments, and by responding to these you are creating a two-way interaction.
6. Analysis
Finally, analysing your results is undoubtedly the best way to optimise your content.
Instagram has a built-in analytics tool, known as ‘Insights’, which allows you to track your engagement, reach and followers. You can also view insights of your individual posts, which show you different metrics, such as saves and the number of accounts your post has reached.
Remember to measure success against your objectives – for example, if your goal is to increase brand awareness, focus on metrics such as engagement and new followers.
A/B testing is also an insightful way to figure out what type of content is working and what isn’t. You can use this feedback to measure success and implement changes to your strategy to drive better results.
Instagram allows you to engage your audience with both visual and written content. Posting consistently will give your audience more opportunities to engage with you, as well as a reason to follow your page.
For more information on how you can develop your business via Instagram, book your free communications review here.
Alternatively, call 0121 212 6250 or fill out the form below to speak with a member of the Kinetic team.
