What do I need to remember when using Instagram for Marketing? Instagram is one of the most influential platforms in social media right now. But just like any social media app, Instagram has its own culture and etiquette, so part of your initial marketing plan should be to figure out how your brand fits into that culture.

In the internet-driven age, it is almost a requirement for businesses to have an active social media profile if they wish to survive.

Instagram is currently one of the most powerful social media platforms, with over 800 million active users per month. That’s an astounding number of users, even by today’s digital standards.

By simply signing up for an Instagram account, you are opening your doors to the possibility of connecting even with just a portion of these users.

It’s worth noting, however, that signing up for an account is only the first step. If you seriously want to use Instagram as an effective marketing tool and drive traffic to your business, you need to know the right strategies to apply.

Here are a few pointers on how to develop your Instagram page and create your unique style:

1. Set specific goals for using Instagram.

Before you start on a project, you need to identify your goals first so that you’ll know how to set your objectives and follow them accordingly. The same goes for creating an Instagram account. You need to understand why you’re doing it to justify the time and effort you will be investing. So, what is it exactly that you want to do?

Bear in mind that there are no wrong or right answers here. You can have multiple goals or concentrate on a particular objective. What’s important is understanding your purpose so that you can better see your way forward.

In case you need guidance, the following are the most common reasons why marketers choose Instagram as their target platform:

• Increase brand awareness

• Get new leads

• Establish a brand as an industry leader

• Generate sales

There are many other possible reasons you would choose Instagram for marketing, so don’t feel pressured if you don’t find any of the above appealing.

2. Identify your target audience.

Before thinking about marketing on Instagram, you need to identify your target audience first.

Consider factors such as age, gender, location, income, motivations, and interests for starting points. You can also review your most popular posts and check who engages with and uses your hashtag the most. A little peek at their profiles will give you an idea of the type of market interested in your page.

Similarly, if you know a competitor who also uses Instagram, you can also check on their followers since you’ll most likely share the same audience.

Knowing who your audience is will make it easier for you to streamline your marketing efforts by using a more targeted approach.

3. Check out the competition.

It’s always a good idea to learn from a mistake, even if it wasn’t yours. Once you have determined your audience on Instagram, you’ll need to perform a competitive analysis of what other pages relevant to you are posting.

Start with your top competitors. Review their pages and audit which of their posts received the most engagement from users. Note the quality of the photographs used, the nature of the post, the hashtags and captions that were used, and how fast it took the post to grow popular. Use this information as pointers on what to do right for your own page. The numbers can also serve as a benchmark as you start to market your account.

At the same time, you also need to write down any missed opportunities or mistakes your competitors made. If you saw a post that didn’t get as much fanfare, try to analyze what went wrong with it. Identifying things that you shouldn’t do on your page is just as important as learning about useful pointers.

4. Create an editorial calendar.

A successful Instagram page wins on both quality and quantity when it comes to posting.

Brands post about six images a week on the platform, which is more than 24 per month, and over 300 in the span of a year. With that many posts, it can be quite challenging to remember what has already been posted or figure out what else can be posted.

To help keep track of your posts, it is recommended that you create an editorial calendar. Aside from logging your posts for recording purposes, you can also fill it with information regarding trending Instagram posts so you can better plan your next posts with more suitable captions and hashtags to get people’s attention.

You can also record critical events and highlights of your Instagram account on your calendar to ensure you don’t forget important details.

5. Make sure your brand is consistent.

By definition, branding means creating a name, product, or design that is easily identifiable as belonging to a specific business or person. If you want to build a brand that will stick out, you need to be consistent with how you portray the brand using your content.

The first thing to do is to make sure you already have a brand to maintain. How do you want your followers to identify you? What values should they associate with your brand? The answers to these questions will help lead you to realize what you want your brand to be.

Once you determine your brand, you need to refine your content to match it. People will get confused if you try to market yourself in one way but peddle out content that describes you differently.

Consistency is the key to keeping your followers and gaining new ones as well.

6. Increase your follower base.

Growing your follower base is one of the most challenging tasks in Instagram marketing, but it’s also among the most rewarding.

While there are businesses who choose to buy followers to avoid using up time and energy, it’s a bad practice for marketing because there isn’t any authentic connection, meaning there won’t be any actual engagement between the account and its followers.

Customer engagement should be your priority because it ensures your posts are being seen.

To build your follower base, you first need to make sure that they can follow your page. As obvious as that seems, many pages end up in obscurity because their usernames aren’t exactly recognizable, and if people can’t remember who you are, how can they follow you?

• Pick out a username that stands out and is easy to remember to increase people’s chances of following you.

• Next, it’s essential to optimize your page to keep those followers on your account. Fill out your bio to give your followers a better idea of who you are and what you do, and make sure to always post new high-quality content to foster engagement.

• Show appreciation for your followers by always responding to their comments on your posts. The higher the user engagement is on your post, the better its chances are of being seen by other users on the platform. The increased visibility can net you more followers by putting you on the virtual map.

You can also follow accounts that relate to your business or interests.

By making connections with other users who enjoy the same things you do, you build a network that can support you in certain situations. Following other users can also prompt them to follow you back, making it a win-win for both pages.

7. Convert your Instagram followers into customers.

Finally, once you have established a loyal follower base, you can convert them into customers for your business.

Making them your customers doesn’t necessarily mean asking them to buy your products right away, but it’s a process towards the same goal.

Here are a few strategies you can try:

• Offer promotions: Using promotional discounts, buy one-take one deals, and other added freebies are an excellent way to convince customers to make that first purchase. To make the offer more enticing, try to include bonuses that your followers wouldn’t be able to say no to. Set a deadline for promotions to create a sense of urgency and force customers to buy as soon as they can.

• Run Contests: People generally like free things, so offering free products as long as they win your contest is a good way to drive customer interest. To maximize the opportunity, run contests that require customers to do relevant actions that can help your business. For instance, you can hold a contest for most shares or most likes on specific posts from your page.

• Do Charity Work: A whopping 81% of millennials expect businesses to make a public commitment to charity. By doing this, you aren’t just helping others; you’re also helping your business by building an affinity for your brand, leading to more followers that support the same cause.

A Final Word on Instagram for Marketing

Instagram is easily one of the most important social channels around, beating fellow social media giants Facebook and Twitter when it comes to engagement rate. Any business that tries marketing without using Instagram is undoubtedly missing out on its ultra-wide range of potential customers.

It’s no secret that social media can strongly influence the purchasing decisions of a customer. By utilizing Instagram’s strengths to support your brand and business, you can definitely elevate your online presence and help your business grow to new heights.

(Sources: Hubspot, Iconosquare, and Quicksprout.)