Instagram marketing is all about highlighting your business to attract customers or, at least, social engagement. If you want to promote your business on Instagram, you must have a competitive edge. And that starts by knowing the things that you should do to succeed.

Making your business stand out on Instagram is a real challenge where most people and businesses fail.

I know that you don’t want to have the same fate as those businesses buried by their competition. Therefore, I want to give you some useful and effective tips to help your brand succeed.

Should my business be on Instagram?

There are a couple reasons why you should utilize Instagram for your business. For starters, social media platforms offer a wider audience you can reach (everyone’s on social media these days.) Second, it also works as another place you can use SEO and increase your ranking on SERPs. Finally, you can also use it as another publishing avenue for your content, letting you branch out from publishing on your website.

Here are a couple of reasons why Instagram might be what your business needs:

• Your current visitors can also be found on the platform

• Your competition is using it, and it’s working for them

• An audience you want to start tapping into is found predominantly on social media

What should I remember when placing my business on Instagram?

Before you jump onto the social media platform, you need to know a couple of things to ensure you have a successful launch.

Identify your goals and objectives.

The best way to create an IG page that meets all your needs is to have those needs laid out ahead of time. Write down the goals you have for the platform and keep them in mind as you look through the different tools Instagram offers.

Have a content strategy

One crucial part of any marketing plan is a content strategy. This way, you know what you’re posting, when you’re posting it, and where.

Measure success after you publish

You keep track of your posts and how well they do so as to know what works and what you should throw out. In addition, you should also conduct audits on your page to keep it running at optimal levels.

Tips to make your business IG account stand out

Now that you have the basics needed for Instagram marketing, here are some tips to help your business succeed on the social media platform.

1. Look for inspiration.

Establishing and maintaining the momentum is difficult if you’re just starting your Instagram game. Especially if you have no idea what to post, it all starts with a simple spark of inspiration.

Admittedly, gaining popularity on social media is not that easy. But it isn’t impossible either.

The first step to reach your target audience on Instagram is to find popular brands in your industry and take inspiration from their content. Go hit that “follow” button and observe how they execute their page, how they time their posts, and what their posts are all about.

You should also take the time to read the caption of their posts and the hashtags they use, so you have a baseline on how you do yours.

2. Create high-quality images

Unlike other social media platforms where most of what you see are words, Instagram focuses on images instead. It’s like a photo album that the whole world can see.

The global reach of Instagram has a substantial impact on your business, too, because you have access to millions of potential customers. Therefore, you must ensure that when Instagram users reach your page, they are greeted with high-quality images related to your products, customers, behind-the-scenes, and what have you.

Make sure to avoid low-res images at all times. Low-quality images could leave a negative impression on your customers about your products.

3. Post regularly.

Consistency is the key to establishing brand awareness. However, posting on Instagram also needs to be systematic. You have to know how much is too much, or you’ll receive your customers’ ire. What’s worse is you’ll see them leaving your follower’s list day by day.

According to research conducted by Hootsuite, “It is generally recommended to post to your Instagram feed 2-3 times per week, and no more than 1x per day. Stories can be posted more frequently.”

4.Be strategic in the content that you create.

Having an Instagram page is like curating your photo exhibit. You want people to see the best that you have to offer. However, there is some technicality to it.

You must have a good content strategy to achieve maximum reach, engagement, and viewer appreciation as a content marketer.

Creating high-quality images isn’t enough. It must help you achieve your online brand goal. Your photos must all be coordinated and related to one another.

To maximize reach, you need to learn how to find the right hashtags to use in connection to your brand. You can easily do this by looking at your competitors’ posts.

Moreover, you must be engaging in the captions that you write. Be meticulous in your choice of words, and as much as possible, you must add value to your customers whenever you share something.

What should I post?

To write great content for your followers, you should have an idea of what kind of content you want to showcase. It makes no sense to post about cats when you’re a small clothing store (no matter how cute Mr. Snuffles is.) Instead, research what content your followers are looking for. Then create a content strategy  using topics connected to your niche and your followers.

There are different types of content that you can use on your IG account. Branded content lets you publish your content on other websites and IG accounts, boosting your credibility and gaining even more brand awareness for you.

When you create branded content with an evergreen approach, that content can keep leads coming to your business long after you hit ‘post.’

LeadAdvisors is a content agency that specializes in creating branded evergreen content for brands, no matter the size.

Are you interested in using branded content for your marketing?

5. Build your brand.

Aside from the photos you share, building your brand requires consistency regarding tone, colors, and themes.

Your Instagram page doubles as your business profile. Therefore, be decisive and consistent regarding the tone of your brand. Be it playful, casual, formal, or educational. It is important to maintain your brand’s tone on all your posts.

The same principle applies to the dominant colors and themes that you use. As you move along in your Instagram marketing efforts, these colors and themes will serve as associative elements of your brand.

You want your customers to remember you when they see a certain color.

Moreover, you can also make a branded hashtag using your brand. Thus, if, for example, you own a business named “Joey’s Cheeseburgers,” you can introduce a #joeyscheeseburger hashtag that you can use throughout your posts. Furthermore, you can create a #bestcheeseburgerintown hashtag to add to your posts.

You can encourage your customers to use these hashtags too. It’s a great way to establish brand awareness.

Lastly, use a professionally designed profile picture on your page. It could be your logo or a photo associated with your brand.

6.Be engaging.

Promoting your business on Instagram is a two-way street. You must engage with your customers from time to time.

Establish open communication with your customers by responding to their comments in your posts. Share on your Instagram stories user-generated content to show that you appreciate them. You can also tag them whenever you see fit.

You must also recognize other businesses and Instagram pages related to your business. Remember, Instagram is a platform where you must coexist with other businesses (even with your competitors).

Lastly, make sure that your business is registered in Google Maps. Add your location on your posts so people know where to find you. (Instagram bios are also a great location to put your address in.)

We wrote an in-depth article on increasing social engagement in a previous blog. Go check it out.

7.Use different kinds of posts

You don’t just have to focus on the regular post anymore. It’s 2022; there are so many ways to post on Instagram.

For example, you can use stories to promote new products and services. You can also use highlights that get archived and stay on the page instead of lasting only 24 hours like stories. This way, you can showcase aspects of your brand or important content continuously.

Don’t restrict yourself to just regular posts. Experiment with different forms to get the best results out of your content.

8. Use Instagram for business.

According to Instagram for business, “44% of people surveyed use Instagram to shop weekly, using shopping tags and the Shop tab.”

If you have an Instagram account promoting your page, you might also want to take advantage of Instagram for Business.

An Instagram for a Business account lets you access the following features:

• Post boosting

• Adding clickable links to your stories (if you have more than 10,000 followers)

• Insights

• Sell directly from your Instagram posts

• Call-to-action buttons to redirect your followers to your landing pages

9. Revisit your previous posts and clean up when necessary.

If you’re managing your brand’s Instagram page yourself, you are very prone to make mistakes.

Which is acceptable.

But once you get the hang of it and learn the best practices in promoting your business on Instagram, revisit your previous posts. View them one by one and examine if they are aligned with your established brand identity today.

Read the captions and see if they use the same tone or if they’re using the hashtags you’re using today. If not, give them an update to implement changes.

Look at the photos from previous posts and see if they are high-quality. Suppose you find low-resolution photos or those that do not align with your brand’s colors and theme, remove them. (Unfortunately, Instagram doesn’t allow users to change the images after posting them. Your best choice is to delete the post and re-upload it with better quality images.)

10.Make sure your brand is as good as your Instagram page.

How often have you purchased a product online because it looks so good in the pictures? And when it was delivered, it was an abomination.

I had my fair share of similar experiences with online shopping.

Some brands tend to oversell themselves to the point that it becomes disappointing to see their actual business.

My point here is that you can’t just focus on Instagram marketing or branding alone in establishing a brand. Your primary focus should be your actual business first. Strive to provide the best products and services to your customers before making a breath-taking Instagram curation.

Promoting your business on Instagram should only complement providing a great customer experience. You can do both at the same time. But do not neglect the main purpose of your brand – to make customers happy.

When your customers are happy, you can encourage them to give your brand positive feedback on your Instagram page. Perhaps, they can also share their experience in their Instagram stories. And they will be genuinely happy to do so.

If you succeed in giving your customers a great experience, they’ll be more than willing to spread the word within their social networks. And that’s a good way to make your business stand out on Instagram.

Q&A’s