10 Instagram Marketing Tips | ueducat.blogspot.com
1: Build a community around an actionable Instagram hashtag
The great thing about this strategy is that it can be leveraged across other social networks like Twitter and Pinterest, but works so well on Instagram and is the perfect way to get your audience to engage with your brand.
Nike did it well with their winter campaign Choose Your Winter. Being an avid runner and one of the crazy people that runs the Charles River in 10 degree weather during Boston winters, I might be a bit biased, but Nike really did knock it out of the park with this campaign. Instagram themselves have recognized Nike for having the ability to start a movement with their #runfree campaign.
#2: Partner with a good cause that supports your brand’s values
I’ve observed a few brands that take a unique approach to their posts by promoting and sharing their partnerships with their followers. For instance, SweetGreen, one of my favorite lunch spots for salads, soups, and fro-yo, prides themselves on serving local and organically sourced ingredients from farmers and trusted partners.
#3: Relate to your followers while staying relevant to your brand
#4: PLEASE don’t over-post
This Instagram best practice is pretty self-explanatory, but for those new to the Instagram platform, please note that over-posting is a big insta-no-no!
I remember when my good friend first joined and posted an entire Facebook album to his page, until friends from all locations were yelling at him to chill-out! If you’re tempted to post multiple pictures at once, use Instagram’s album feature which allows you to make a carousel gram with multiple pictures in a slideshow format. That way, you won’t clog your followers’ feeds and cause them to unsubscribe for life.
#6: Find the beauty in your brand (even if your offerings are ugly)
A lot of B2B companies have already ruled Instagram out as an unusable platform for their business – their mind-set being that they don’t sell food, beer, or clothing; their products are either unattractive or intangible so why would they use a photo-sharing application?
I get it, perhaps you sell software, so images of your product aren’t super attractive to your Instagram audience. I feel your pain, but I will not be sympathetic if you rule Instagram out altogether – because there are so many other ways to build your brand without directly showcasing photographs of your products!
#7: Use all the tools Instagram has to offer
Since Instagram’s birth in 2010, they’ve continued to make changes to the application at a good pace (although, take a deep breath, I’m not talking about a Google algorithm update pace).
There’s a lot you can do on Instagram to beautify your photos, track performance, and stay on-top of changes.
#8: Get inspiration from others
“Steal ideas from other companies”: this was the advice my first manager at my first job gave me when I hit an inspirational road block. It is genius advice when it comes to Instagram. There are so many incredible brands out there on the platform and you should be following all of them. Follow Charity Water, GoPro, Starbucks, Adidas, Taco Bell, all of the brands listed in this article, as well as anyone in your field or a related field and copy their best strategies with your own unique spin.
#9: Showcase beautiful experiences relevant to your brand
According to the Instagram blog, “Show how your company sees the world and make it meaningful to people.” Not a photographer? Not all of us can be Annie Leibovitz. Instead start a hashtag campaign (see tip #1) and post photographs that your fans capture. We often catch a stellar sunset at the WordStream office in Boston
#10: Interact with others to grow your Instagram following
I’ve talked a lot about promoting your Instagram account, posting engaging, quality images, using hashtags# to create buzz, and gaining inspiration from others, but another critical step in the process is interacting with your followers and the people you want to follow you.
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