Like any other website or application, once there is enough foot traffic, marketers will find ways to profit off of the captive audience. What would make Instagram any different? Nothing. Advertisers have been creating paid advertisements for a while now, but with very little ability to analyze the results. Fortunately, Instagram is now giving advertisers instant access to data on how their posts are doing. And yes, this means paid and unpaid posts.
Why is this so important?
Not all brands see Instagram as a way to advertise to social media users, in part, because the website and application was not set up for more conventional advertising tactics. With these new features, advertisers will now be able to see more detailed information, including which time of day is best for their post. Now that advertisers can see a report of their success, or lack thereof, they can choose to make adjustments to optimize their messages to users.
Now that advertising on Instagram is becoming more official, we will likely see an increase in brands attempting to market to users. This could also mean that advertisements could become more frequent in the coming months.
Does your brand currently market on Instagram?
Here are some things to consider:
Sign up on Instagram for Business: The Instagram for Business website allows you to set up your account for business purposes. If you have specific questions about the page, check out their FAQ section. Make sure to link your brand’s Instagram with your Brand’s Facebook and Twitter pages.
Create a business username and complete your profile: Use your business name as a username if you can, if it is taken then choose a username that is easily recognized as being correlated with your brand. Also make sure to complete the Instagram profile information. If you want people to learn more about you, your bio and a link to your website can work wonders.
Focus on Your Customers: Customers are more involved now than ever with brands, thanks to social media. You can make your followers feel extra special by embedding their photos on your website. Also, you can create everlasting bonds with your brand’s fans by reposting and commenting on follower’s photos.
Learn appropriate use of Hashtags: Add some hashtags to your posts, but make them relevant. Instagram is one of the social platforms that is more forgiving of Hashtag use, compared to Facebook and Twitter. Appropriate use of hashtags can help your post reach a greater audience and ensure that people can find your brand when searching related topics. Monitor popular hashtags and see if you can find ways to link to them. However, if they are not relevant, the posts will be dismissed. Hashtags.org follows trending hashtags and has some paid features which offers more information. However, you can follow the trending hashtags for free.
Learn the Basics of Instagram: Follow Instagram trends. If something is currently trending, find ways to relate your brand to the trend. Post consistently because Instagram users like to see new content constantly. If you are not posting new content enough, Instagram users will become less interested and may ignore future posts.
Instagram’s new tracking features: Using Instagram’s new features, determine when you should post content. Monitoring that information constantly will allow you to make any necessary adjustments. Figure out what posting frequency works for your brand based on when your followers are on Instagram.
If your brand has not established an Instagram account yet, look into creating one. There are many detailed “How-To” guides for marketing on social media out there if you need to be educated in social media marketing. Keep in mind that social media trends change constantly, and that social media etiquette can change over time as well. Most of all, remember why your target audience uses Instagram, because they like to look at cool pictures and short videos throughout the day.
