Instagram Marketing Tips

Instagram marketing can be a great asset for businesses today. Being present on social media platforms is just the first step. What’s more important is the actual marketing strategy guiding presence. Your Instagram marketing strategy should be unique from your strategies for other social networking platforms given the distinct features it has. This includes things like monetizing posts or direct shopping options.

In this article, we will be teaching you how to market on Instagram followed up with a strong marketing strategy example. Also, we’ll show you some useful marketing tips for business on Instagram.

How to Market on Instagram

Here we have outlined a few basic points to keep in mind when wanting to market on Instagram.

Start with Clear Goals

It can be easy to forget this. Sometimes we might just rush into creating content and forget the importance of having clear goals. Knowing exactly what it is you are trying to achieve will help you narrow down the necessary steps. So ask yourself: are you trying to build brand awareness? Are you trying to generate new leads? Do you want to sell your products directly from Instagram? Each of these goals will require a different approach. You may even choose to combine some. 

A useful tool to use to make sure you are coming up with clear goals is the S.M.A.R.T. goal framework. The acronym stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Making sure your goals meet all five of these will give you the clarity you need to stay on track.

instagram marketing goals

Identify Your Target Audience

Researching statistics and using insights will help you determine who your target market is. This is crucial to identify as your content and approach will be catered to this target market. For instance, a brand that sells menstrual pads for women will have a very different approach from a brand for football equipment. You may also refer to general demographic information on Instagram users like the fact that 75% of 18–24-year-olds use Instagram. 

Optimize Your Profile

Your profile has many key features to pay attention to. This includes: a profile photo, bio, external URL link, name, username, contact info, CTA buttons, highlights, and more. All of these elements should share the common theme of what and who your brand is. For instance, you don’t want to have a URL link to some random video but instead to your website. 

Engaging and Eye-Catching Content

Quality content is essential to marketing on Instagram. After all, Instagram content creation is what makes your brand stand out from other pages. While you do not necessarily need a professional photographer or expensive camera, your photos and videos should be well-lit, in focus, and well-angled. Every post should engage in the act of storytelling. This will ensure your content is compelling to everyone who sees it. 

There are many different types of posts you can create. For instance, you can have a text-based image showing a quote that inspired you. However, be sure that it is visually engaging and interesting. You can also have a behind-the-scenes post. This could be showing users what your office looks like. Or it could be showing where your products are created. Another post idea is a video that is longer than 60 seconds – an IGTV video. These videos are perfect for when you want to show your followers tutorials. 

Remember that the content you create should make people want to share with their friends – not just tap ‘like’. This means it should be useful and have meaning.  

instagram marketing

Great Captions 

The art of writing good captions is a crucial skill when learning how to market on Instagram. In fact, most social media managers have likely practiced copywriting to improve their work. Captions are your brand’s voice. This means they must be consistent amongst posts. Keep in mind that people tend to scan captions rather than read them thoroughly. So, your task is to make that scan easy. A caption can be up to 2,200 characters long. But, only the first two lines will show and Instagram will ask to ‘tap more.’ This means you want the important information to be in the first two lines of your captions. 

Keep your captions engaging and relevant. Show off the personality of your brand and give the viewer some context of your post. Take your time to edit and rewrite the caption. Hashtags are useful – but be sure to use them wisely. You don’t want to have 10 hashtags in a caption. A good technique could be commenting hashtags on the post so they are not jammed with the actual caption. This way, they will be hidden after enough people comment. 

Instagram Marketing Strategy Examples

Generally speaking, every business needs a media strategy. We have just discussed several elements to include in your Instagram marketing strategy. Now we will look at more concrete examples.

instagram marketing tips

Adidas Originals

In 2017, Adidas Originals launched a marketing campaign using the hashtag #ORIGINALS. The aim of this was to center itself as a fashion icon in the hip-hop industry. One important strategy they engaged in was celebrity and influencer endorsements. They reached out to key hip-hop artists like SnoopDogg and Stormzy to advocate for their Originals lineup. The target market is very clear: hip-hop enthusiasts and creators. While Adidas has a lineup of clothing specifically for sports like basketball, here they are targeting an entirely new market. 

Airbnb

Another example of a strong Instagram marketing strategy is by Airbnb. They decided to take a stand on social and political issues like discrimination and refugees. The entire campaign revolved around the hashtag #WeAccept. By showing their viewers they are accepting of all backgrounds and ethnicities, they are actually increasing potential future customers. In fact, speaking on trending political topics keeps the brand relevant and well-informed. This will inevitably increase engagement. So, if you’re looking for some inspiration, check out today’s current events. 

Amazon

A third example was done by Amazon. Their loyal customers ranked them as #1 in corporate reputation. This encouraged them to give back to their customers by providing a discount code on all orders over $50 (with some restrictions). The code was BIGTHANKS and lasted for one day. The Instagram post itself was a picture of the #1 ranking and above it, the coupon code bolded and centered. Thanking customers is great to include in your strategy. Showing gratitude for their support will in turn increase their loyalty. Also, discount codes and coupons are always an excellent choice. This will help turn viewers in leads and increase purchases – who doesn’t love to save? 

instagram marketing strategy

Instagram Marketing Tips for Business

When it comes to Instagram marketing tips for business-related objectives, the first step is setting up a business page. If you already have a personal page for your business, you will need to convert it to a business page. This will allow you access to features that can optimize your business. To make the switch, you will need to find your settings icon. Next, tap on ‘Account’ and tap ‘Switch to Professional Account’. Then select ‘Business’. 

If you don’t already have a personal page for your business, then you will need to create a new account. Instagram gives you two options when setting up an account – either by logging in through Facebook or by signing up with an email or phone number. If you already have a Facebook business page then you should log in using that. Otherwise, you should sign up using the email address of your business. That way, you will avoid linking your personal Facebook account to this new Instagram business profile. 

When filling out the details for your account, the section titled Full Name should be the name of your business. That way, your profile will be recognized by customers and visitors. The section titled Username should be a unique name that clearly illustrates your brand. For some, this might be more straightforward than others. For instance, global newspaper agencies like @bbcnews or @cnn will easily identify their username. However, a pet owner starting an account for their cat will need to think creatively. 

After the set-up process, you now need to optimize (as mentioned earlier). This includes choosing the right profile picture. You need to make sure this profile photo is consistent with the rest of your branding. This could mean using your brand’s logo. Next, you need to write an engaging bio. You only have 150 characters to explain who you are and why visitors should press the follow button. It would be smart to include a CTA in this section, especially since it’s one of the only places on Instagram that you can include a clickable URL to your website or landing page. 

Having Instagram’s Business Tools feature will allow you to view detailed insights, allows users to easily reach you, and provides options to promote and advertise your content. 

market on instagram

Do You Need Help with Your Instagram Marketing?

At SEO Design Chicago, we understand it can get overwhelming maintaining an Instagram marketing strategy. So we’ve got you covered. From profile optimization to creating clear goals, SEO Design Chicago has a team of experts specialized in Instagram content marketing. We can help you create great captions and even generate targeted Instagram ads! 

FAQ about Instagram Marketing:

  • How do I promote my business on Instagram?
  • How can I improve my Instagram marketing?
  • What are good examples of Instagram marketing?
  • How do you set up a business profile on Instagram?
  • How can Instagram be used for marketing?

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