The best content marketing strategy is where targeted engagement blends organically with exciting visuals. Instagram’s assortment of features isn’t only for followers to enjoy, but for businesses to use to their advantage. Including these features within your content approach is the key to attaining consistent and loyal growth.
1. Geolocation and Hashtags
Did you know that by attaching your company’s location within your Instagram posts, you could get up to 79% more engagement? Small business accounts thrive utilizing geolocation to increase visibility within targeted localities. Hashtags are feeds generated with a wide range for interested users to discover your profile. Attract customers you’re looking for with minimal effort by adding geolocation and relevant hashtags to the bottom of your Instagram posts.
2. Instagram Stories
Instagram stories allow you to unleash the full creativity of your brand through real-time marketing. Instagram stories give you a short window to showcase details of your brand. Brands connect easier with their target market, where a survey found that 58% of people exhibited an increased interest in a brand after viewing it in stories. Instagram stories are key motivators in a company’s marketing funnel, where extra interest pushes inquiries into conversions through stories such as:
- Updates
- Behind the scenes
- Blog promotions
- Instagram promotions
- Product reveals
- Polls
- Question and answers
- Giveaways
- How-to’s
- Countdowns
3. Visuals
Whereas a website is permanently fixed, Instagram feeds change as your business grows. Your brand’s Instagram showcases how it relates to the rest of the world. Instagram nurtures your brand’s visual storytelling for potential customers to quickly become inspired. If you do it well, your online aesthetics will mirror the colours and vibes of your service in person.
4. Direct Messages
Instagram provides direct access to your current and potential clients with quick and immediate channels to respond to customer inquiries. Customers value quick responses when making product decisions. Direct messaging enhances the online service your business provides and drives trust to build stronger connections.
5. Instagram Live and IGTV
Instagram lives provide the most real access for followers to connect with your brand through live streams. Your real-time engagement will be rewarded with visibility as Instagram notifies your followers of your live stream by placing you at the top of their stories bar. IGTV allows you to save your Instagram lives. Incorporating Instagram lives into your content strategy does not need to happen frequently, but provides the ability to curate maximum impact around an important event or launch.
6. Micro-influencers
Influencer marketing occurs when brands connect with individuals who provide expertise in their niche with an attractive following to grow your audience. Instagram micro-influencers partnerships allow a brand to locally spread awareness at a lower price while achieving increased credibility. Micro-influencers have 1,000-100,000 followers. Their small audience provides a gold mine of hyper-engagement that generates high-quality leads from trust derived customer-influencer relationships.
7. Contests and Giveaways
Combine the engagement of Instagram stories and posts with the organic reach of influencers by participating in a branded Instagram contest. Giveaways are often cheaper than the blogs of traditional PR, where an average of over 34% of new customers can be gained. Instagram contests feature a partnered Instagram post highlighting your brand’s product or service. Followers will be encouraged to enter to win free product packages or services by liking the post, following your account, sharing the post to their story and tagging a friend in the comments. Followers will even go beyond posting to their story, where 62.13% share the contest with a friend for their chance to win.
8. The Power of People
Instagram necessitates a people-rich feed as followers connect best with others. Utilize photoshoots to generate content for your Instagram feeds. A digital marketing agency with photoshoot management services can add direction to your photoshoot, merging brand compatibility with your vision. Featuring people within your photos shows your audience how to use your product without having to describe it.
9. Ad Campaigns
Appealing to the design elements that catch customer’s eyes, the sharing features that keep customers loyal, and the marketing features that generate new, quality leads, Instagram will boost your sales. With advertising run by Facebook Ads Manager, reaching your target market has never been easier where 50% of Instagram users show interest in a brand after seeing an ad for it on Instagram. Instagram offers a variety of ad formats to customize your campaign’s message with, including ads such as:
- Carousel ads
- Explore ads
- Instagram shopping ads
- Story ads
- Photo ads
- Video ads
- IGTV ads
10. Mobility
Mobile access provides users a convenient way to use Instagram to share, message their friends, browse and shop. Being part of the Instagram community, customers will recognize your technological aptitude to stay-in-the-know with features that work best for them.
Incorporating organic and paid tactics, Instagram is essential for your business to gain new customers, retain loyalty and show the face of your brand. Upleap.com is a place I recommend to buy Instagram followers. Stand out from your competitors and start building a community that supports your brand.