Instagram is no longer just the social media platform for users to post endless pictures of latte art, friends, and travel pictures. Every day, more business owners are using Instagram to promote their products, engage with their audience, and create buzz to attract new potential clients. Below you’re going to get the run-down of what Instagram is and how it can be used to help your small business’s marketing!
Instagram is a visual social media platform that enables users to interact through photos, videos, likes, and comments. Similar to Facebook and Twitter, successful interaction on Instagram can bring your business new followers and customers. Due to the visual nature of Instagram, it can be a quick, easy, and fun way to increase your social media presence and get new customers.
Related: Guide to Getting Started with Instagram
Instagram is an effective tool for getting your business in front of new customers, promoting your products and services, announcing upcoming events and partnerships, and for engaging with loyal and potential customers. Instagram has even recently introduced new business profiles you can take advantage of to increase your business’s visibility on Instagram. Here’s an explanation of how to use Instagram to accomplish all of these things for your business.
Instagram can get your business in front of new customers who are looking for businesses, products, and services like yours. Whether your business targets local customers or niche customers, Instagram can be effective in getting your business in front of the people who are a good fit for your business. Check out this post on creating the perfect Instagram profile to learn how to optimize your business’s Instagram profile and get found by new customers.
Businesses use Instagram to get their products and services in front of new customers. Instagram is like a gallery that you can use as an extension of your website to show people the products that you sell and the services that you provide. By posting photos of what you sell or the services you provide, users get an understanding of the value of your business.
Another way to use Instagram for business is by posting photos related to upcoming events. In addition to using Facebook events, businesses often use Instagram to increase ticket sales or get more people to attend events. To promote an event on Instagram, post sneak peeks related to the event or photos of past events to encourage customers to attend.
Instagram makes it easy to to engage with customers and for your customers to engage with you. Similar to Facebook, you can like, comment, and tag users on Instagram. The more you engage with people on Instagram, the more successful your business’s account will be.
Once you’ve got the basics of Instagram down, most people quickly get the hang of posting photos, tagging people, and commenting to create engagement. Like any marketing activity, consistency is important. Whether you’re posting once a day or once a week, stick with it and you should see results.
The question of what to post on Instagram is a common one. Some ideas of good Instagram posts for a business are:
There are many ways to engage with your audience on Instagram, whether it’s through following users back, holding an Instagram giveaway, responding to comments, or reposting pictures. Reposting pictures on Instagram can be done by either reposting a photo using a repost app or reposting a picture using a screenshot.
Do you use Instagram for your business? How has Instagram helped improve marketing for your small business? Tell us your success stories or how you engage with your customers in the comments below!
1 Comment
Nice article. What are your thoughts on how to use Instagram stories for brands? I was reading about them here – https://northcutt.com/instagram-marketing-guide/ – and it seems like there’s definitely a place in every business’s marketing plan that could take advantage of this new feature. I also worry that maybe the traditional use of Instagram changes to something resembling stories even more.