If you ask people about the most popular social media platforms, they would most probably name Instagram. Many prefer it for business and products promotions. With a monthly usage of over 1 billion people, you can easily see why. This visual-oriented platform can allow your business to give customers a creative, consistent, and target market-oriented closer look at the products. It also allows you to keep an eye on your competitor’s activities while gaining a more accurate picture of what your customer profile really wants or enjoys. Following are some of the tips of using IG for your small business.

Staying True To Your Business Image

Whether your business has existed before or it’s a completely Instagram based business, its image should not be determined by the media you use to promote it.

Ask yourself about your image you want to present to your customers. You should always post on your account what is related and be consistent. In the end, your customers will recognize your brand by the image that you create. This will also influence their engagement with you.

Defining Goals And Monitoring Targets

Many businesses start their IG accounts only because it’s a trend or because their competitors do so. However, only having an account on Instagram, and not doing anything else will not help you with marketing strategies. It should be an additional platform to your main site. You should also set clear targets on what exactly you want to present there and which content to publish.

Creating Content That Suits Your Company

When users open an Instagram page, the first thing they see is a picture or a video post because Instagram is a very visual-oriented platform. This is why it is crucial to define your visual style from the beginning of your brand’s journey on Instagram. The customers will be able to associate themselves with your brand and easily recognize it among many others. The ideas in the account should be in line with your logo, style, and design. Many different tools and professionals, such as graphic designers, will be able to help you with it.

Posting Consistently

Over 1 billion of active users per month, over 60 million photos posted daily, and 1.6 billion daily “likes” only confirm that Instagram is really popular. This is a great stage to develop your business and attract new customers. Nevertheless, to be visible among all these millions of accounts you would need to be present every day. Instagram is like a big market, where to become recognizable, you should always show yourself. Posting once or a couple of times a week will not be enough to face the aggressive competition of your adversaries.

Here are a couple of helpful tips:

• Use teasers about your products. The advantage of teasers in IG in comparison with advertisements is that they are shorter and not that annoying. You can use a short period of time to attract your customers and make them check on your new products. If your strategy is planned correctly, you’ll be able to bring excitement to your customers, which will increase your interactions with them.

• Implement sponsored advertisements. Using Instagram advertisements is quite popular today and has many advantages. You can define yourself, the budget you want to spend on it, and the exact posts you want to promote. Besides, IG allows choosing your audience, the format, etc. The ads on Instagram are of different types, and you can choose what suits your business the most. It can be the ad in photos, stories, carousel ads, and many more.

The ads can be set in a way to target the exact audience you need. Another benefit of it is that more people will be able to see your posts, even those who do not follow your account.

Being a Part Of The Community

Customers want to be up to date, especially with the brands they follow and buy from. That’s why you should always be creative and come with ideas to engage your audience. With quick changes happening every day in every sector, you should be on a path and in trend. The more audience you engage, the more they will feel part of your community, the community you create around your brand. Different tools, such as questions, challenges, or giveaways, will help you with it.

Here are some other possibilities you can build a community on Instagram:

• Social media is, first of all, an interactive place, not a one-sided monologue, so don’t make mistakes by only posting without reacting.
• Posting frequently pictures, videos, and stories will add to your engagement with your subscribers.
• Make use of stories. Use them to drive engagement daily. IG stories are utilized by about 500 million people daily. A big part of all the most viewed stories belongs to businesses.
• Make your audience ambassadors of your brand.
• Create an ‘Instagrammable’ experience. Remember that this platform is very visual when you post your pictures and videos.
• Provide people with a cause to get behind.

Finally, make sure you keep yourself informed of all the new trends and use them to your advantage. You can outsource your SMM operations to other brands or professionals. They can help you create a specific campaign that meets your expectations.