The number of Instagram users is projected to hit 1.4 billion globally by the end of 2024. This figure indicates the immense potential of this platform wherein you can tap a wide audience and build brand loyalty. However, shifts in trends and consistent updates on Instagram make it tough for small businesses to keep up with the competition. 

Worry not! To help you leverage the full potential of this platform and get strong results, we will introduce you to the best Instagram marketing strategies. Let’s get started!

Instagram is a dominant platform that helps businesses reach innumerable prospective customers. Businesses irrespective of the size and niche have already started leveraging this platform and successfully expanding their customer base. Currently, more than 200000 million businesses use Instagram to promote their offerings and build a strong online presence. 

The catch is that this platform is immensely competitive which is why 20% of small businesses fail in the initial year and 50% vanish after 5 years.

As countless businesses use Instagram to promote their product and services, many get lost in the crowd and some become clueless which leads to a waste of huge resources and money. Plus, new features and trends are introduced each month which makes it quite tough for businesses to stay aligned. 

To help you get results, we have dug out some of the workable Instagram strategies specifically designed for small businesses. Learn them and start getting paid for your efforts!

Let’s dive in!

6 Best Instagram Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses That Drive Strong Results!

Renowned for its massive user base, Instagram is counted among those impactful platforms that have the potential to expand the reach of small businesses. Many surveys say that 90% of Instagram users follow at least one business account and 54% have bought products and services after discovering them on this platform. 

Whether you are kick-starting your journey with the most profitable business idea or have an already established organization looking to expand your customer base, let’s explore the best Instagram marketing strategies that drive strong results.

1. Understand Your Audience

Before using Instagram for marketing, you need to understand your target market. If you want your Instagram marketing campaign to be fruitful, you thoroughly research whom you are talking to. You can follow the below-mentioned steps to identify your ideal audience on Instagram.

• Demographics: Outline your ideal customer location, age, interest, preference, and profession. Once you have all this data, you can tailor your content and promotional activities which match your target audience’s interest.
• Prospects Behavior: Research and find out what type of account your target audience is following, what type of hashtags they mostly use, and identify whether they comment, like, or save the content they find interesting. You can understand their online behavior by exploring competitor profiles and exploring relevant hashtags.
• Unmet Expectations: Figure out what type of challenges your ideal customer is facing and what expectations are unmet. Once you identify it, define how your products and services will solve it or help them attain their objectives.
• Competitor Research: Identify your top competitors and check what type of content they are posting on their profiles, the format of feed posts, stories, and reels, and how your ideal audience is interacting with their content. Spot the gap in their content and see how you can fill it differently. 

2. Instagram Trends and Demographics 

You need to understand the trends and demographics of Instagram. Without detailed research and knowledge on this part, you won’t be able to craft a marketing strategy that clicks to your target audience. You need to keep abreast with the Instagram user base. For that, understand the range of age, locations, interests, likings, etc. of the most active users on the platform.

Keep track of emerging trends such as new formats, features, and user behavior because these are some aspects that evolve constantly. Explore live shopping, AR (augmented reality) filters, reels, etc., and utilize the one that aligns with your brand and customer liking. 

Leverage in-built Instagram tools that provide vital data on your content performance and audience demographics. This way you can craft a compelling message and targeted content that matches your target audience on Instagram.

3. Highly-Engaging Content Resonating to Industry

Captivating content is the path to having a thriving Instagram presence. However, when you want to reach a maximum number of people on this platform, the quality of content matters a lot. Additionally, you need to know that every industry has a different type of audience with dissimilar or similar sets of interests and objectives, so a one-size-fits-all approach cannot be applied here. 

Each industry has different content requirements, for example:

• Retail and Fashion: Although retail and fashion is a trending industry, it is fiercely competitive. Therefore, they need to showcase their product uniquely to stand out and increase engagement. Posting behind-the-scenes glimpses, sharing styling tips, and UGC (user-generated content) featuring their customers wearing their outfits can help them stand out. 
• Services: Businesses offering a specialized service should consider posting videos that showcase their expertise or images of before and after results of a project, client testimonials, introduction of your team members, and more.
• B2B: This type of business can share educational content that resolves their client’s sales bottlenecks, employee spotlights, event announcements, and industry data with relevant pictures, infographics, etc.
• Food and Beverages: Businesses dealing with food and beverages can post delectable food and drink photos and videos, recipes, and tutorials for specific meal preparations, customer testimonials, stories of their chef, etc.

4. Strategies to Grow Presence Organically

Building a robust online presence organically takes a lot of effort and time. However, with the right set of strategies you can attract several people and create a prospering community around your small business. You can utilize the following Instagram strategies to grow your online presence organically.

• Hashtags: Hashtags are among the powerful tools on Instagram that can make your small business discoverable. However, you need to utilize them effectively to drive results. Identify prominent hashtags related to your niche and location with medium volume for optimal reach. Small businesses can also create a unique hashtag for their brand or campaign to increase brand awareness. 
• Instagram Stories: Using Instagram stories, you can connect with your audience in real time. You can start conversations and get insights into your target audience by using polls and asking questions. Hosting interactive sessions via Q&A stickers where people ask questions and you address their queries is another way to build engagement. You can also put story highlights on your Insta handle to showcase important information permanently on the top.
• Collaborations: You can collaborate with influencers on Instagram to boost your brand reach and increase its credibility. Identify worthy influencers whose audience matches your ideal customer demographics. Create campaigns showcasing your offerings fitting the influencer’s content style authentically. You can also choose micro-influencers with 10k to 50k followers to do collabs cost-effectively.
• Contest & Giveaways: Incentivizing and running interesting contests are another great way to attract new followers and build a strong presence on Instagram. Decide your goals before running contests and giveaways. Offer relevant incentives or prizes to your target audience. Ask participants to follow your account, like posts, or tag someone to encourage engagement.

5. Convert Visitors Into Followers

One of the major goals of creating an account on Instagram is to reach a new audience and increase the customer base. Fortunately, this platform offers tons of features and tools to maximize your reach. However, there is no point if your visitors don’t convert into followers as they will see your post once and forget about it.

You can utilize the following Instagram tactics to convert your visitors into followers.

• Profile Picture and Bio: You need to put a well-crafted bio on your Instagram profile because it tells your audience what you do and everything about your business. Choose your profile picture carefully, it should tell what you are all about. Your profile picture and bio act as a symbol that encourages people to follow your account or vice-versa.
• Stories Highlights: Stories highlights sit on the top of your Insta handle and give a quick sneak peek of your business account. You need to ensure that you put content that showcases your expertise, brand, and credibility. 
• Feed: Your profile feed displays all photos, videos, and reels that you have shared. People who visit your account can see your feed. Your feed post is the digital portfolio of your business, so make sure it reflects your expertise, unique brand, style, and credibility. 

6. Leverage Sales And Lead Generation

Instagram is not limited to sharing photos and videos, this platform offers powerful tools for sales and lead generation for small businesses. Here is the list of tools to generate leads and accelerate your marketing efforts on Instagram.

• Product Tags: You can add product tags on your Instagram posts and stories that take the users directly to the product pages of your site. This simplifies the buying process for your prospects.
• Stickers: Include product stickers within Insta stories to showcase your offerings and allow users to purchase from the app instantly. 
• Live Events: Hosting interactive live events to demonstrate your products, announce exclusive discounts, and answer viewers’ questions can help you in your marketing efforts.
• CTAs (Call to Action):  You can include compelling and clear CTAs in your post captions and stories. It can be a sign-up for your email list, downloading content, or visiting your site.
• Link in Bio: Optimize your bio link as you can include only one clickable link on your Insta profile.
• Promo Codes: Create promo codes specifically for your Instagram audience. You can even track the performance of these unique codes and measure their effectiveness.
• Track Results: Use Instagram insights to track and monitor key metrics such as website clicks, post reach, engagement through likes, comments, saves, etc., and profile visits. Based on your findings, you can optimize your strategy and drive more leads and sales. 

To Conclude

Instagram is a powerful platform that offers a range of tools to connect with your target audience and build brand awareness. 

By implementing all the aforementioned Instagram marketing strategies, you can grow your following organically and earn more customers.

Make sure you track your results, keep abreast with the latest developments, and always work towards increasing engagement in your Insta account. This way you can drive growth and build a robust online presence for your small business.