8 Practical Instagram Marketing Strategies to Kickstart Your Growth

Photo and video sharing is no longer a utilitarian feature of social networks, as you can now do it with style. Instagram, with 300 million monthly active users, is the leader of the pack in this regard. Not only can you post your media on the Instagram feed, you can sync your feed with other popular social networks like Twitter and Facebook for better exposure or publicity.

Photos and videos appeal to the viewers’ emotions in a way that text is unable to do. From a business perspective, visual media can reveal a personal side of your company, brand or business in a way that allows consumers to relate to your brand’s message, and with Instagram, you don’t have to invade their email inbox and jostle for their attention with other email marketers. You can engage customers in a fun way through contests and the use of hashtags. If you have not gotten a hang of how Instagram Marketing works, here are 8 feasible strategies for you to get started.

1. Share Staff Photos – Sharing staff photos and company events give followers an idea what is happening behind the scenes of the company. It also gives you a chance to introduce your talented staff (what they do that makes the wonderful customer experience possible) to the general public. It puts human faces on a brand that your followers would otherwise be unable to connect with. In a way, this humanizes your brand and makes it more accessible to your followers. When you’re promoting upcoming events, send those Instagram views to an RSVP landing page for them to reserve their spot via email.

Starbucks posts loads of events and customer-centric images on Instagram.

2. Showcase Your CSR Initiatives – Another way to humanize your brand is to take pictures of your company engaging in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Corporate Social Responsibility is one of the key strategic pillars that reflect the human side of modern businesses. Does your company volunteer at an elderly center every year? Post photos of your Chief Marketing Office serving food to the residents. Let the world see your humanity and consumers can connect and develop a favorable impression about you. If you are consistent with your CSR activities then it shouldn’t take long to draw interest and even support and loyalty from impressed audience.

3. Show off Your Products – Apart from sharing photos of staff members and CSR events, you should definitely use Instagram as a platform for showing off your actual products. After all, the whole reason you’re using Instagram in the first place is to get qualified sales leads. You will be doing yourself and your company a great disservice if you don’t use Instagram marketing to create and share interesting and educational pictures about your business.

4. Hold Giveaways/Contests – Hold special Instagram-only giveaways and contests to boost engagement. Make the user experience interactive. The Ice Bucket Challenge is a terrific example of an event that exponentially got more people involved with a do-able challenge. For some participants, throwing ice water over their heads has nothing to do with contributing to the ALS cause, but the campaign was successful because of its overwhelming user involvement and engagement.

   Likewise, you can promote your contest/giveaway/challenge on other social platforms as well; just make liking or commenting on a photo as a contest requirement. This tactic will not only increase engagement, it will also build upon your target audience and keep them coming back for more. If you attach your brand to a fun and engaging contest with a potential prize, you’re already helping your brand management.

5. Give Email-Gated Coupons – Everyone likes a good deal regardless of what social network they source it from. When you are promoting your email-gated coupons on Instagram, include an authentic image, preferably of a real customer enjoying the specified product.

6. Connect With Businesses Using Geo-Tags – Another way to promote your business or event through Instagram is to tag images of your business. This makes it easier for businesses in your locality to find you when they need your products or services, promote engagement with your locale, and drive more traffic to your email-gated events and landing pages.

7. Personalize Your Hashtags – The best and most effective marketing strategy in Instagram is to promote your brand or business using a hashtag (#). Don’t underestimate the power of personalized Instagram hashtags. They’re there to make your brand or profile more visible through search. It doesn’t matter whether you are using your business name or a targeted keyword; a hashtag gives you an opportunity to interact and monitor prospects and visitors who interact with your business on given issues. Do not use arbitrary phrases just because they are humorous or entertaining. Unless they are built around searchable keywords, they will not help your lead generation strategy at all. If used properly, I believe that a hashtag can be a great PR tool for Instagram marketing.

8. Tracking Your ROI – B2B marketers and savvy business people are always keen to track and quantify the returns on their Instagram marketing efforts. While ROI is a major concern, you should remember that your Instagram promotional efforts are more than numbers. To track your efforts better, you should use Instagram Analytics Tools which gives you an overview of your marketing strengths, weak points, and level of engagement.

By using high-quality visuals that truly help to attract and connect with your audience, Instagram Marketing has the potential to raise your profile, boost your B2B lead generation capabilities, increase engagement with your target audience and customers, increase overall visibility and immensely boost your brand value.

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