In its ten years of existence, Instagram has become much more than just a space to share selfies and see your friend’s latest restaurant experience. The app has grown to be one of the top social media platforms on the planet with over a billion users! With that many viewers, it’s time to take your business marketing strategy to Instagram. Let’s take a look at some of the Do’s and Don’ts of Instagram Marketing.
Do Be Consistent
Commit to being consistent with posting to increase audience engagement. This means posting throughout the week and sticking to a consistent posting schedule.
Don’t Spam Your Audience
Don’t post an overwhelming amount or post several days one week and then go a week without posting at all. You want your posts to be on your viewer’s feed regularly without becoming annoying.
Do Generate Community
Make your audience feel like they are a part of something with the element of storytelling. Ask questions in your posts to promote comments. Encourage your audience to use a custom hashtag specific to your business. Invite them to tag you in their own posts!
Don’t Use Instagram Solely for Promotion
Instagram is a place where your audience comes to escape for a few minutes. Give them some lighter content like:
- #MondayMotivation
- #WednesdayWisdom
- Inspirational quotes
- Hypothetical questions
- Recreating old photos or other popular Instagram trends
This will help break up your feed and add some positivity to your viewer’s scrolling.
Do Use Fun Emojis and Hashtags
Instagram marketing done the right way is a lot of fun. The culture of this app is much more relaxed and allows your content to reflect this fun space on the internet. Catch the eye of your audience with the use of witty emojis and trending hashtags. Using emojis in a caption, when done correctly, will make your captions stand out and make them more appealing to read. Using unique or trending hashtags allows specific posts to be searchable and increases their visibility to browsing users.
Don’t Abuse the Use of Emojis and Hashtags
Like most things, too much of a good thing could have a negative effect. Overusing emojis or hashtags could easily get out of hand and make your captions become confusing or difficult to read. Avoid messy captions and keep things simple.
Do Make the Most of What Instagram Has to Offer
There are several kinds of posts available to create on Instagram. Video sharing has progressed a lot since its early days and is a great way to engage with your audience in a personal way. Record a client testimonial or create a video introducing your staff. The possibilities are endless!
Carousel posts (example here) allow you to share multiple photos on any given subject. This is another great way to introduce your staff, showcase multiple variations of a product, or share multiple slides of information. With 10 frames currently available, there is plenty of room to be creative!
Don’t Distract Your Audience
A post that has too much going on, whether it be a poorly edited video or a caption with too much text, is less likely to draw engagement. If the message is unclear from the beginning, the viewer is likely to continue on with their scrolling.
Do Utilize User-Generated Content
Using content from the community that you’ve created is a great way to engage with your audience and keep it growing. New viewers are more likely to trust content from satisfied customers. Plus, these posts automatically give you engagement by tagging the user.
Don’t Post Without Permission
You should always have the permission of the user before posting someone else’s content. Give users the credit they deserve!
Do Use A Link in the Bio
Your hard work is likely to go unnoticed without your audience knowing how to find your business. Point your audience to your website link in your Instagram Bio or use shopper tags for individual products shown in your posts.
Don’t Put Links in Your Captions
As of today, hyperlinks show as plain text in Instagram captions. Instead, instruct your audience to visit the link in your profile bio. Not only are your viewers more likely to visit your website now with a single tap, but now they are more likely to go ahead and give your account a follow!
Do Use Stories
Instagram Stories are one of the best, if not the most fun, ways of engaging with your audience. There are so many ways to interact with the use of polls, sliders, questions, stickers, and sharing stories! Be creative! Invite viewers to tag you in their stories so that you can share it on your own. Stories are visible for 24 hours so post as many as you like without bombarding your audience.
Don’t Forget About Story Highlights
Because stories are only visible for 24 hours, Instagram developed a highlight reel tool that allows you to save and organize stories from your archive. This way, your viewers never miss a thing! Create a specific highlight reel for:
- Past Event Highlights
- Available Products
- Project Timeline
- Customer Reviews
Categorize your highlights and make them specific to your content. There is a lot of flexibility here so make it your own!
There has never been a more fun way of marketing than with the use of social apps like Instagram. We hope that these tips help you master the ways of social media marketing and promoting your business in the future. For more tricks of the trade, visit our blog, and be sure to contact us if you are interested in more hands-on Instagram training or full Instagram management.
Pipeline Social Media is a Digital Marketing Agency that offers three approaches to help you increase your social media presence: we can fully manage your social media accounts, we can teach your team how to do it in-house, or we can monitor/coach your team along the way and report back to you. Ask us about our Google AdWords management, web design, and SEO website packages. Contact: 678-814-4601 | 280 Country Club Drive, Suite 101, Stockbridge, GA 30281
