We see ads everywhere we go —on television, magazines, posters, and billboards. This marketing effort might still be working in today’s standard. But it’s too traditional and expensive. In fact, even big companies with big budgets are looking for more cost-efficient tools to promote and market their brands. One prominent way to do this is through social media marketing. It is effective like the traditional marketing effort but more targeted, more accessible, and less expensive.
Aside from the major used Facebook, another platform for your brand and business is Instagram. However, having an Instagram account alone is not enough to have the brand boost that your business needs. You need to come up with a strategy that would give you a way to build your brand identity. This is where Instagram Marketing comes into play.
Why Use Instagram for Marketing?
Instagram Marketing in a nutshell is the process of using the social media platform Instagram as a marketing tool to promote products, services, and brands.
Like other social media marketing strategies, the goal is to grow brand awareness and customer engagement, and ultimately, drive sales.
In today’s world, Instagram marketing has become a buzzword in the world of social media marketing. But does it really work? Short answer, yes.
According to the latest data from eMarketer, Instagram had 1.3 billion users across the globe in 2022. What’s even more significant is that, according to the transcript of the Meta earnings call, Instagram had over 2 billion users in 2023. The platform first crossed the 1-billion mark in 2020. It’s a surprise even for some experts as the number was previously anticipated to happen in 2024.
In the Philippines alone, there were 19.5 million Instagram users as of January 2022. This already accounted for 16.9% of the country’s population. These huge numbers can’t be ignored by business owners who are looking to grow their brands. Chances are your target market is there – online and active on Instagram space.
But Instagram users are beyond active – they’re engaged. An article published in Hootsuite revealed that Instagram users spend 11.7 hours per month on the platform. It can be accounted for half a day every month.
The best part here is that Instagram continues to expand to empower business owners and marketers. The platform has released new features that are valuable marketing tools for merchants and e-commerce businesses. These include advanced Instagram analytics, shoppable Instagram Posts, and the new standalone video platform, IGTV.
Instagram Marketing when done right can drive exceptional results. With the right strategy that utilizes the platform features, Instagram can be a very powerful marketing tool to help your business convert sales and leads.
8 Tips for Creating an Instagram Marketing Strategy for your Business
Instagram is no longer just for sharing pictures. It’s now a powerful marketing tool that can help any business reach new heights. However, creating an Instagram marketing strategy is not a simple task. You need a solid strategy in place to achieve the result you want.
This is why we created this Instagram guide. From creating visually appealing content to utilizing influencer marketing, these Instagram marketing tips are specifically designed to help you harness the power of Instagram in building a strong brand.
1. Set Up Your Instagram Business Account and Get Verified
First things first, before you create an Instagram Marketing plan your business should have a business profile. It’s easy and free. If your business has already an Instagram account, you simply need to go to “settings” and click on “Switch to Business Profile”.
Now, to get verified, go again to the settings menu, then click “Account”, and choose “Request Verification”. You will then need to fill up the form. You will receive a response to your request within a week. Once your request gets approved, you will receive a blue check badge on your profile. But if your verification request is unsuccessful, you can try again in 30 days.
Having a verified Business Instagram account can help you gain the trust of your customers. Furthermore, your account will have a Contact Us button right on your home page. This allows your customers to reach you faster and easier.
2. Understand Your Target Market
Now that your account is all set up, think about who are you trying to target. It’s an important step for you to create a more effective Instagram marketing campaign. Know their interest, demographics, location, and even the content that they would like. Continue to observe and understand them as you launch your social media campaign. This helps you create a more effective strategy that will turn your followers into buyers, and buyers to repeat customers.
Now, if you are still having a hard time reaching your competitor, spying on your competitor might help. Visit their profile and see their followers. In fact, we recommend that you visit their profile for you to create tailored content or marketing strategy.
3. Create Creative Content
Remember that there are a billion users of Instagram worldwide. Each one of them is publishing stories or posting pictures on their own timeline. While not all of them are business profiles, this clearly reflects how crowded the competition is for grabbing attention on the platform. The only way to break through the noise is by being creative.
One way to get ahead is to take advantage of other Instagram features, aside from sharing eye-catching photos of your products. You can try doing interactive content such as Instagram Live, polls, quizzes, video series, mini-games, and so much more.
By incorporating creativity into all your Instagram marketing, you have more chances to appeal to your audience on an emotional level and make them feel more connected to your brand. This then can result in customer loyalty.
Being creative is important but make sure that your content is aligned with your brand voice and personality. Should it be minimal or colorful? Is your brand bold or classy? Should it sound like a millennial or maybe a businessman? Once you have a clear brand identity, you can move on to the next Instagram Marketing tip: being consistent.
4. Be Consistent
Brand voice is everything in creating an Instagram marketing strategy. And as a brand that wants to earn its consumers’ trust, you need to build and maintain this. This is more critical than you can imagine.
Consistent voices in a campaign can help reinforce your brand identity and increase recognition among your target audience. A sudden change to your tone or messaging can cause confusion, leading to a loss of engagement and trust in your audience.
One tip to help build your brand’s visual is to plan your Instagram feed. There are applications you can download where you can plan and organize your photos or content before uploading it. Advancing 3-9 of your postings will help you visualize what your feed would look like. This will then give you the image of a clean and well-curated feed. The photos and captions or copies should be connected for a more solid and consistent brand image.
5. Don’t Forget the Hashtag
Hashtag plays an important part not only on Instagram but also in other forms of social media marketing. First started on Twitter, the hashtag is a useful tool to help you categorize your content, making it more discoverable to users searching for specific topics. When users click on this hashtag, they’re taken to a page that displays all the posts tagged with it.
Using a hashtag in your content is a good Instagram marketing strategy as it allows you to tap into those smaller communities on the platform that share the same interests. For instance, it is safe to say that users who use #makeupgoal are passionate or interested in makeup. If you are a makeup brand, you would want to target them as they have more chances to buy your products.
Aside from making your content more visible to your target market, you should also encourage your audience to use your hashtag. Adding these hashtags to your bio can help. Your visitor will be able to click directly on these links.
6. Be Active and Foster Your Relationship With Your Audience
Building your IG does not end with creating an account and posting stuff after. You must be active from time to time. Posting at least once a day is suggested to maintain your activeness online— may it be a post or a simple Story. Interacting with your followers also builds good relationships with your audience. Take time to like and reply to the comments on your posts!
Being more active online converts to higher engagement. And again, higher engagement then turns to follow increase and potential customers gain.
7. Collaborate With Instagram Influencers
Working with influencers on Instagram can be a valuable strategy for businesses looking to reach new audiences and drive engagement on the platform. Influencers have the power to sway the decision of their followers in making a purchase decision. The reason for this is that their followers already trusted them.
However, Instagram influencer marketing requires careful planning and execution. For starters, you need to choose the right influencers that will represent your brand. They should be able to create effective content as well. Finally, you need to measure the result of the campaign. In that way, you can track if your strategy is working for your business. If it’s not helping you meet your goal, you can partner with another influencer or focus on a different marketing approach.
8. Try Instagram Ads
Running Instagram ads is probably the fastest way for your business to reach your target market. Since it is using the platform algorithm, it ensures that you reach the right people. Your ad will be in the front and center, appearing in users’ feeds relevant to your brand based on demographics, interests, and behaviors on the platform.
The best part of Instagram ads is the call-to-action button attached to them. This provides a great opportunity for e-commerce businesses as it can instantly drive conversions and turn followers into customers.
Instagram Marketing Made Easier
Instagram was once just an online space for you to share pictures you love. Although it still is today, with the right marketing strategy and creativity, it can become so much more. Instagram can be a marketing tool for creating a strong brand. There are billions of users around the world. And the number continues to rise each year. That could be your market.
So, are you ready to step up your Instagram marketing game? If you’re still unsure where to start, you might need to partner with an Instagram marketing Agency that will do the hard work for you. Be Global E-commerce got you covered.
Our social media marketing services are tailored and carefully strategized to reach your marketing goals. From developing engaging content to utilizing Instagram’s various features, our team of experts can help you and your business reach a greater height. Start today by contacting our representatives.
