Practically every brand in the world is using Instagram as an advertising channel. It’s one of the most visually appealing social media platforms available today and offers marketers an excellent opportunity to connect with users on a deeper level.
We live in a visual world where images are more impactful than ever. Businesses that recognize this fact and take advantage of it reap the benefits. As of September 2022, there were an impressive 1.44 billion monthly active users on Instagram. It’s no secret that this photo-sharing platform has grown substantially over the past few years. This growth is mainly because businesses can now use a more direct marketing strategy by targeting specific audiences with branded pages.
If you are just getting started with marketing on Instagram and are looking for some tips and tricks, you’ve come to the right place. While it isn’t as large as other social networking sites like Facebook, marketers can finally get their in-house content directly in front of customers without relying on third-party marketing software. In this blog post, we will go through some best practices and advice for using Instagram for brand marketing.
What Is Instagram Marketing?
Before we dive into Instagram marketing, let’s take a step back and understand what exactly marketing on Instagram even is. On a high level, Instagram marketing is the process of growing your business and increasing revenue through visual content.
With Instagram, companies can use visual content as a marketing strategy to connect with customers, drive sales, and increase brand awareness. When marketing on Instagram, businesses can create branded accounts to post images, videos, and stories. Each post can be targeted toward a specific audience so that it appears in their “Feed.” You can use hashtags to help grow your account to reach a wider audience.
Why Marketers Should Care About Instagram
There are a few key reasons you should be interested in growing your Instagram following.
Growing your Instagram account allows you to connect with customers on a more personal level. It can be difficult to establish meaningful connections with customers viewing your website on a computer or reading about your brand through a blog post. When you post images on Instagram, customers can connect with your brand emotionally. This allows them to better understand your brand’s values, mission, and products.
Your Instagram posts show customers what goes into making your product, your company culture, and what your team is up to. This gives customers a more personal connection with your brand, which can drive more conversions.
The Benefits of Instagram Marketing
Now that we understand why marketers should care about Instagram, let’s discuss the many benefits of using it as a marketing channel.
- Visually oriented – The largest social media channel is visually oriented, which means that all the popular brands are there. Most of the posts on Instagram are visual. This makes the platform more attractive than Twitter, which is text-based.
- New users are more engaged – New Instagram users are more engaged than other social media channels, meaning you can reach a large new audience and convert more buyers.
- Direct connection – You can post images directly from your device to your brand’s account, making engaging with customers easier.
- Long-lasting content – The images and videos you post on Instagram will remain on the channel for years, giving you long-lasting exposure.
How to Use Instagram for Marketing
First and foremost, you need to create an account for your brand. You can create a “Business Account” by visiting the “Create an Account” page, selecting a username, and setting up your payment information. Once your account is live, you can begin posting and driving traffic to your posts.
Once your account is running, you need to start posting regularly. As a general rule, you should post at least once daily. You can post both day and night to reach a wider audience. We recommend that you try to post at different times throughout the week, so you don’t get repetitive.
You should also take advantage of your feed and stories to reach a wider audience. You can use your feed’s “Explore” section to reach more people with your posts. You can post to the “Explore” section using hashtags and location-based filters. The “Explore” section is where a user discovers new content that might not be in their feed. However, it’s not a guarantee you’ll make the explore page, but hashtags and location tagging can increase your chances.
The Art of Producing Great Content for Instagram
Now that you know how to use Instagram for marketing, you must ensure that you post high-quality content. You can drive traffic to your posts and generate sales, but you will not see much success if they are low-quality. There are a few tips that you can follow to produce high-quality content for your Instagram account.
- Use high-quality images – You want to ensure that the photos you post on your Instagram account are high-quality. If you are taking the pictures yourself, ensure that your lighting and camera settings are correct. Also, ensure your content complies with Instagram ad specs.
- Be consistent – Ensure that the images you post on Instagram are consistent. You will attract followers and generate more sales if your feed is full of high-quality photos.
- Use relevant hashtags – Make sure that you use relevant hashtags when posting to Instagram. This will help you to reach a wider audience, which is the whole point of social media in the first place.
Using Video on Instagram for Marketing
Now that you know the basics of using Instagram for marketing, you need to make sure you are posting video content as well. You don’t want to post ten high-quality images and one low-quality video. This can hurt your account, as your followers might unfollow you due to the poor quality of your content.
You need to use a high-quality camera to shoot your video content. You don’t need super expensive camera equipment, but make sure it is of decent quality. Once you have your video content ready to go, post it to your Instagram account regularly. Your followers want to see fresh content from you, so post videos more than once a week.
Bottom Line
So, here we have it. The Instagram marketing guide for beginners. Hopefully, some of the advice in this guide will prove helpful to you, and many new doors will open for your business, organization, or blog. Remember, though, to succeed on this channel, you must create high-quality content, post regularly, and take advantage of the different features available.
