If you have an online business, a lot of your customers are probably on Instagram. As of April 2017, according to a blog post on their website, Instagram had 700 million users! Do you have an Instagram account for your business? If not, you’re missing out on an effective way to promote your products or services to consumers.
Here are four important tips to setting up and maintaining an Instagram account that will not only get “likes,” but also lead to loyal, passionate customers:
- Images are everything. Your Instagram feed should have photos that are appealing, beautiful, clever, authentic, or humorous. People don’t want to see photos that look like a spammy ad or stock photos with posed models, or videos that look and sound like an infomercial. So even if people aren’t initially interested in your company, by posting images that catch their eye, you can compel people to follow your Instagram account. Eventually, they may become a customer if they see your posts in their feed.
- Use hashtags correctly and effectively. Hashtags help to organize and categorize content so people can find their posts based on what interests them. If you have an account with a smaller number of followers, you should use a targeted hashtag that’s more likely to trend than a very common hashtag such as #fashion, so you don’t get lost in the crowd. The hashtag should also be relevant to your image, and not a random, popular hashtag. You can also use branded hashtags that are unique to your business, such as your company’s name, product, or slogan.
- Write a caption that engages your followers. The caption should be brief, clear, conversational, and include a call to action, such as “click the link in the bio,” “leave a comment,” or “visit our website” with an URL that is short and memorable.
- Post when your customers are active on Instagram. This way they’re more likely to see your picture at the top of their feed and engage with your post. When should you post on Instagram? According to a poll of social media managers, more than half of them said that evenings between 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. was the best time to post in your feed. Of course, depending on your customers, another time may work better, so use your discretion.
We hope you find these tips helpful and effective for promoting your company’s Instagram account and engaging with consumers.
