If you want to start marketing on Instagram, all you need to do is just take out your phone, follow with downloading the Instagram app, start an account by signing up, take a good picture of anything associated with your business, just add a hashtag and post. Voila! You are on Instagram already!
Well, the story doesn’t end here. There is a lot more you have to do to bring success to your small business while being on Instagram.
Killer tips to find Instagram success
• First, find a niche. Users of Instagram are passionate, in fact, more passionate compared to other social media users and participants, however, only if you possess a well defined identified interest.
Make sure you avoid general subjects such as fashion, food, sports, etc. Instead focus totally on a niche: maternity clothes, vegan, marathon running and so on.
• Make use of hashtags. Experts suggest that most people search using hashtags. Perhaps, hashtags help users to find you.
Use #marathonrunning or #maternityclothes. When using Instagram for the first time, employ hashtags to find influencers who can follow you. Doing so, you can stay abreast of your industry and market, and a lot of people will follow you back, eventually helping you to build a following.
• Make it a point to interact with your influencers. Users get involved with the people they follow on Instagram. Provided you have influencers that love your brand, leverage their reach & impact.
• Time your posts. Timing is the biggest thing to do well on Instagram, according to social media experts.
It doesn’t matter what the picture is. If it hits at the appropriate time, you will get more likes. You might post the same picture at several times of the week and see that you see a difference in the number of likes.
It is ideal to post your photos before 9 AM on the weekdays because that is when most people check their mobile phones before going to work.
• Post on a regular basis. You should post at least one time a day so as to build a following. This shows that you are always active. Well, you don’t have to post what you are doing at the very moment. You can even post a picture from some other day. But the point is that you have to be posting regularly.
• Keep your pictures interesting and on the topic. As followers visit your profile, they get to see the six most recent pictures posted by you. To keep them interesting, keep changing those pictures.
• Use video. Needless to say, videos do very well. Instagram states that video consumption of users seems to have increased by about 40% recently. The website recently increased the limit of its video length from 15 seconds to 60 seconds.
• Never get hung up on numbers. If you post a picture that is too brand-oriented, you may get fewer likes. However, it will certainly be seen. In fact, the same number of people gets to see that picture, and it will show up in the feeds of your followers.