Instagram is a power player in the
social media marketing world, reporting over
1 billion monthly active accounts. With such a large and active user base, many businesses use Instagram marketing to increase brand awareness, attract engaged traffic, and more. It’s not enough, however, to simply have an Instagram business profile - you must set it up properly and have a strategy to achieve your goals.
Learn more about Instagram marketing essentials so your business will be able to get a higher ROI.
8 Instagram Marketing Tips for Businesses
Regardless of your industry, Instagram is a strong visual marketing channel that can help grow your business, if done with intention. Here are eight Instagram marketing tips that will provide a solid foundation for a successful profile.
1. Have an Instagram business account.
First, make sure you have an
Instagram business account. If your current profile isn’t a business account, don’t worry - it’s easy to switch it. Having an Instagram business account is important because it’ll give you access to features like:
- Instagram Insights
- Instagram ads
- Instagram Shopping
- Contact information and a call-to-action button on your profile
2. Define your audience and goals.
Posting random photos and captions won’t attract your ideal audience or achieve your goals. Defining your audience and goals will provide structure and guidance for your Instagram marketing strategy from content creation and messaging to ad targeting and schedule, and more.
3. Optimize your profile.
Optimizing your profile is more than a quality profile photo and bio. Here are some other ways you should optimize your Instagram business profile:
- Profile Name: 30-character limit, shown in search results.
- Username: (i.e. your “handle”) 30-character limit, shown in search results.
- Website: A clickable URL you can change whenever.
- Category: A business feature that tells people what your business is about without using up bio characters.
- Contact info: Tell people where to find you.
- Call-to-action buttons: Give users a way to interact with you directly from your profile.
4. Create visually compelling content.
Instagram is a photo-sharing app after all so if your content isn’t visually compelling, then you’ll have a hard time attracting your ideal audience. Fortunately, smartphones these days have high-quality cameras and there are lots of free and paid tools, like Canva, you can use to create attractive graphics and videos.
5. Write engaging captions.
In addition to posting great visuals, it’s also important to write engaging captions and use hashtags wisely. Instagram posts allow up to 2,200 characters, but you don’t need to use all of them to have effective captions. Whether your caption is a short quip or a detailed story, it should add value to the content and resonate with your audience.
6. Post at the right times.
Having compelling visuals and engaging captions won’t mean much if your audience doesn’t see them. That’s why posting at the right times is crucial for generating a higher ROI. According to a
Hootsuite analysis, here are the best times to post:
- Travel and tourism: Friday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Media and entertainment: Tuesday and Thursday, 12 to 3 p.m.
- Food and beverage: Friday, 12 p.m.
- Retail: Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, 12 p.m.
- Professional services: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, 9 or 10 a.m.
- Non-profit: Tuesday, 10 a.m. or 4 p.m.
- Non-retail e-commerce: Thursday, 4 or 9 p.m.
- Pharma and healthcare: Wednesday and Sunday, 9 a.m.
- Personal care: Thursday and Friday, 1, 2, or 3 p.m.
- Technology: Monday and Tuesday, 2 p.m.
- Education: Thursday, 4 or 5 p.m.
7. Engage with other users.
Posting content without engaging with your followers and other accounts not only will make users less interested in following your profile, but it’s also just plain rude. At the minimum, you should respond to comments on your posts.
Make your brand visible in a non-promotional way by seeking out popular accounts in your niche, following them, and liking and commenting on their posts. If your profile gets tagged in a post, check it out to see if there’s a worthwhile engagement opportunity.
8. Monitor analytics and track the right metrics.
One of the cool things about having an Instagram business account is the free analytics known as “Instagram Insights” which provides a wealth of data. For example, you can view statistics like impressions, engagement data, and more, or get a breakdown of your followers demographics such as age, gender, location, and most active hours.
You can even get insights on specific posts that show you how many impressions you earned for a time period and what your top posts were. This detailed information allows you to understand exactly how users are interacting with your content so you can adjust your content to boost engagement.
Leverage Instagram for Your Business
Instagram marketing offers a variety of benefits, but if your business profile isn’t set up properly and you don’t have a strategy, then you’re not using the platform to its full potential. With these Instagram marketing tips, your business will have a solid foundation to get a higher ROI from one of the most popular social networks in the world.
Ready to start leveraging Instagram for your business? Call 407.682.2222 or
contact us below for a free 30-minute strategy session!