The photo-sharing app Instagram is one that most of us are familiar with, but suppose it could be usedfor more than just posting vacation photos and journaling. Sure, Instagram is great for getting the word out about your pet cat, but if so many people are seeing your posts, why aren’t they also familiarising themselves with your business and becoming customers? What a perfectly reasonable conclusion! Moreover, the platform is gaining popularity quickly; every month, millions of new users sign up, and this is a phenomenon not just in the CIS but in the entire developed world.
Accordingly, we can say with absolute certainty that promoting an Instagram profile is a fantastic chance to advertise your business online in any sector. It’s also worth noting that unlike other social networks, advertising on this one costs almost nothing. As an added bonus, there is an insane amount of room for imagination and innovation. Continue on for more.
1. You should come up with your own material.
Providing high-quality content for your Instagram account should be your top priority. First and foremost, it needs to be engaging for your subscribers. This means including content that is on-brand, authentic, and useful to your business. The image could be of a new product, a funny story told by the delivery person, a news article or promotional message, a screenshot of a review written by a satisfied customer, a photo or video taken backstage, etc.
Do not be afraid to post lengthy updates to Instagram; the platform has already proven to be an effective blog. Having engaging text and a high-quality image are the main drawcards.
2. Start by attempting to purchase Instagram followers.
You’ll have a tough time getting a large following at the start, and that won’t change. So, at the start, you want to have as many Instagram followers as possible. If people see that you already have a large number of subscribers, they will assume that your content must be of high quality and start subscribing to your channel themselves.
To get started, it is recommended to purchase inexpensive Instagram followers. You only care about how many people are subscribed to your service, regardless of how active they are. However, once a sizable number of real-life subscribers have shown up, the value of purchasing them becomes moot. There, you’ll constantly be on the hook for providing fresh material for your readers.
3. Incorporate Hashtags
Instagram hashtags provide an additional, low-effort promotional channel. Feel free to use them, but make sure the hashtag is relevant to the image and of interest to your followers.
You can be discovered through the hashtags you use, which serve as your brand’s primary identifier. You can do this by using the name of the shop or brand, coming up with a catchy slogan or phrase, or all of the above (see also: #runningirls, #schoolofshopping, #dolceandgabbana, and the illustrative example of a cool phrase, #JustDoIt, which was created by Nike). Do not assume that anything written after a hash mark (#) is automatically special or memorable; use your imagination and judgement instead.
Hashtags with a central theme, such as #architecture or #foodstagram, group posts from multiple accounts that share a common focus. With the right strategy, hashtags can help you reach two very different audiences: new subscribers will be able to find you via keywords, and your current followers will appreciate the streamlined experience.
4. Join the live broadcast
Instagram’s live streaming feature, along with the “stories” function, which only stores content for a day, helps to avoid tape congestion while adding a sense of immediacy to communication. Do not discount the seriousness of something just because it appears humorous. While “stories” on a personal profile are more for fun, they can be a powerful marketing tool for a company.
We’ll highlight two benefits: first, your subscribers will be alerted instantly whenever you go live, and second, Instagram will promote your profile whenever you publish a new “story.” It’s a free and useful life hack that not everyone knows about yet, but you should start using it right away.
5. Communicate
Posts in the feed in Instagram and Facebook have a rather complex life cycle. If someone stops liking you on Facebook, for instance, the site will assume he is no longer interested in seeing your posts and will stop or significantly reduce the frequency with which it does so. The subscriber, perhaps unknowingly, will then no longer receive your messages. As a result, you risk dropping to the bottom of the feed and losing your quality followers.
The solution is straightforward: have open lines of communication with your subscribers. The “enable notification of publications” feature is one that many users may not be aware of, so it is helpful to remind them of its existence.