If you haven’t heard of Instagram, you must be living under a rock. Instagram is one of the biggest social media platforms out there, an app that lets its users post images and videos only to their profile. A visual based app, one a lot different to that of Twitter and Facebook. The thing with this platform is how popular it has become in the last couple of years. More and more company’s are moving to use this app for their marketing, including us. We’ve put a lot more focus on Instagram in the past few weeks, and from that we’ve picked up a few tips and ideas that we want to share with you.
If you want to get the most out of as many social media platforms as you can and don’t have Instagram, now is your opportunity!
Set a business profile
First things first, set up a business profile. It is easy to do, set up your account via settings – it’s simple and as quick as a flash. What you’ll get out of this setting is shiny new contact buttons at the top of your profile for those who are interested in your content to give you a call/e-mail if they so wish. It’s also recommended that you post your website link in your main bio, as Instagram will only let you have one hyperlink in your profile as a whole, including posts. Another great plus about doing this is you’ll be able to use analytics and insights, allowing you to read the viewership data of your posts. This will let you see what works and what doesn’t, allowing you to make future plans for your use of the app.
Be personal
You’re a business sure, but that doesn’t mean you can’t let your audience into who you are as a company. The art of visual storytelling allows you to show a range of different personalities in your posts, and we urge you to have some fun with Instagram. Take some pictures of some fun you’re having in the office for example, and post them. Add some emojis to your content descriptions and story posts, this will let your audience know how they should feel along with you. This is great for building a personal connection between you and your audience, a way of letting them in to the character of who you are and what you represent.
Use hashtags
Hashtags are your best friend on Instagram. If you want your posts to be seen, posting as many appropriate hashtags as possible could make the difference between 20 organic likes to likes up in the hundreds for example. Before you decide on the hashtags, consider what your post is about. Add ones that are trending or popular that you can associate to your post. Those that search for these hashtags are more likely to stumble across your post and potentially follow you. You never know, one ‘#goodtimes’ mention in a post may give you a new client!
Make a story
This is the big one. Stories originally made waves on Snapchat, but their influence on Instagram is now huge, with many business’s taking the opportunity to really relish in what they can offer. Stories last for 24 hours, and are usually used to show the events of the user’s day. This is great if your company is working on a big project for example, showing different moments of your day and that project’s progress allows your audience to get some ‘behind the scenes’ like insight into your company. You can play around with them in interesting ways too. Stories allow you to include add-ons to your post, such as a Q&A box, a meter for your audience to show how much they love your post and plenty of stickers and gifs. They’re very customisable meaning you can really get creative, and hopefully that will peak your viewer’s interest to come back and see more of your stories’ progression through the day.
Have a go at Instagram Live
Got a big event or exciting project in the pipeline? Why not plan an Instagram Live session? It’s basically what it says on the tin. You film your subject live, and your followers can come in and out of the live feed, interacting with comments and emotes alike. This is great for you to not only show something exciting live to your audience but it’s also great for you to interact with them. You can give special thanks, answer questions and have a bit of fun. If the prospect of the visual medium is something you would really like to utilise, having a live session may prove to be a really good experience for you and your viewers.
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