1. Defining your Instagram marketing goals and purpose on the platform
his might seem like a no-brainer, you need to be able to answer exactly why you want to be on Instagram in the first place.
Are you interested in generating leads? Building a community? Brand awareness?
Setting social media goals isn’t fluff. These goals will determine everything from your content strategy to how much time you spend on the platform.
There is no “right” or single goal you have to commit to, either. That said, your ROI from Instagram really boils down to your goals.
For example, Crate and Barrel is a shining example of a retail brand whose Instagram strategy is laser-focused on social selling. Their entire feed centers around showing off their products and encouraging followers to check ’em out as well.
2. Optimizing your Instagram profile for engagement
Here’s some good news: in terms of setting up your profile, Instagram is relatively straightforward.
However, there are a few small details to watch out for as you put together your profile.
Before you worry about creating content for Instagram, make sure you’ve ticked the following boxes. This rings true for new profiles and brands looking to fine-tune their Instagram marketing.
3. Creating content for Instagram that your customers will love
Now let’s get into the nitty-gritty of your Instagram strategy.
That is, creating content.
Yet again the concept of creative freedom rears its head. With so many possibilities in terms of what you can post, where do you even start?
Here we’ve highlighted some specific Instagram marketing tips that showcase the types of content that crush it based on best practices. Although these aren’t the only types of content you can publish, consider these post types to be cornerstones of your Instagram marketing.
Eye-popping imagery
Stylish snapshots.
That’s exactly what put Instagram on the map.
Photos featuring some sort of striking creative trademark, whether it be a stunning setting or bright color scheme, are the types of posts that reel in the “likes” and comments Of course, not all of us have the privilege of working in an industry that allows us to take exotic photos. Thankfully, most modern smartphones have features baked into them to take compelling photos of just about anything.
4. Publishing your content to Instagram to maximize engagement
Let’s say you have your content ready to publish. Now what?
Good question! Simply posting at random isn’t going to do you any good.
As part of your marketing strategy for Instagram, take note of the following before you put out your next post.
Crafting captions
Each post you publish should have a unique caption. Even the seemingly smallest details of those captions can impact your engagement rate and whether or not your post is discoverable.
With 2,000+ characters to work with, you certainly have creative freedom. However, you’ll notice that many businesses take a “less is more” approach to their Instagram captions.
No matter what you’re saying or selling, make sure that you include a combination of the following in your captions.
- A call-to-action (a question, “check out our bio,” etc)
- A touch of personality (use emojis, take up a conversational tone)
- Hashtags (including your branded hashtags, between one and five is considered optimal)5. Promoting your Instagram for the long-term
No matter what Instagram strategies you’re experimenting with, so much of your engagement depends on how you promot your instagram
Followers and customers don’t show up by accident. As a result, you need to put your Instagram front-and-center across your other marketing channels.
For example, make a point to prominently feature your Instagram on-site. Whether it’s social buttons or a feed of your followers’ photos, customers should know that you’re active on the ‘gram.And of course, promoting your Instagram also means showing up day after day. If you let your account gather cobwebs, you can’t be surprised when your engagement rate takes a dip.
Respond to followers. Engage with other accounts. Committing to Instagram means being an active participant on the platform.
