Business Stories constitute a third of the most viewed Stories on Instagram. This piece of information exemplifies the popularity of Instagram for business users who use the platform extensively for marketing.  Instagram marketing is one of the main components of any marketing setup, and for small businesses, it is often the only channel for marketing. Despite retaining the characteristics of a photo-sharing platform that it was exclusively at the beginning, with time, it has evolved into one of the most business-friendly social media platforms for marketing as well as brand promotion. Over the years, Instagram has become even more business-friendly by including new features to provide more options of conducting business online, including the opportunity of selling your products by setting up shop on Instagram.

Instagram has a massive user base of more than a billion active users, with most users (71%) within 35 years that constitute a lucrative audience for marketers looking for potential customers. With the baby boomers now a part of history, the young population dominates social media audience demographics, with a sizeable portion showing their allegiance to Instagram. Therefore, businesses that are keen to tap into the vast resource to strengthen their customer base for growing their business would find Instagram most attractive because of its ability to generate high engagement captured through views and likes. Likes are the most visible signs of popularity on Instagram. You must create a strategy for increasing the inventory of likes by following a healthy mix of garnering likes organically and periodic buying of likes from various companies.

The likes are precious for Instagram users as it demonstrates your popularity and the influence you wield across the platform. Likes define the popularity of photos, and views do the same for videos. Marketers can reach out to a broad section of the target audience and influencers on Instagram and develop a brand that gains easy recognition.  Besides aiming to engage with existing followers, you must target new followers to bring them under your fold. To launch a marketing campaign on Instagram, follow the steps discussed below.

Create a business account

Although you can use your personal Instagram account for your business, it is better to have an exclusive business account or convert your personal Instagram account into a business account. Instagram has a feature of ‘Switch to Business Profile’ to facilitate the process. Your followers can keep in touch with you by clicking the contact button on your Instagram page. By creating a business account on Instagram, you can publish ads straight away on the platform without using any advertising tools like you have to do on Facebook. By using the Instagram Analytics tool, you can track your campaign’s performance by measuring the outreach gained and the impressions that the posts receive. 

Upload product teasers

You can use Instagram for subtle marketing without being loud by using the feature of product teasers. It is a gentle way of prevailing upon your followers to buy your products. To take advantage of advertising on Instagram, you must acquire marketing skills without talking about selling, which encourages viewers to engage closely with your content. The advertisements on Instagram must have the flavor of stories that generate interest. Avoid being pushy instead of using other tools like discounts and special offers to tease prospective customers who enjoy the casual business approach without losing focus on the goals. 

Go for sponsored ads

Besides being an excellent place for advertising, Instagram allows users to control their advertising spending for better adherence to budgets. To target your audience in innovative ways, use the carousel feature to post single or several ads. Choose whatever serves your purpose best. For creating better engagement with specific audience groups, brands can reach out to individuals with content or photos created especially for them. The content of sponsored ads must be appropriate and appealing for the target audience according to the demographics. Simultaneous posting of several posts for different audience sections can create higher engagement across a large audience. 

Make the most from Instagram Stories 

Instagram Stories are compelling in lead generation. Instagram Stories are unique because you can present your content like a slideshow. The feature is identical to Snapchat Stories and remains live for 24 hours. However, the option of saving the Stories on your device allows you to re-use them later. Instagram Stories have a special place to appear above the newsfeed instead of appearing in the newsfeed itself.  If anyone clicks on your photo, a separate window pops up for displaying Stories. Stories garner maximum attention because it appears above the follower timelines; a spot that users look at daily and in the process can never ignore the Stories. You can capture behind the scenes photos for showcasing in Stories, which can generate engagement even with mediocre quality pictures. It is easier to create content for Stories as it does not need to align with the brand aesthetics.

Work together with influencers

Influencers crowd the Instagram platform, and you can build relationships with them to partner you in promoting your brand while gaining easy access to their fan base. You can use influencer marketing to expand your customer base by attracting new customers who are fans of the chosen influencers.  Influencer feedback about brands is becoming more critical when buyers make buying decisions. Connecting and partnering with the right influencer will help you take your business in front of a new audience that is ready to accept you based on the influencers’ recommendations. Identify some influencers in your industry niche who are familiar with your products or services.

Use branded hashtags

Brand hashtags are influential in creating instant engagement due to their interactive features and can pave the way for accessing user-generated content comprising photos and videos.  Access to user-generated content helps maintain a steady pipeline of the content without much effort as users keep posting their brand-related content. 

User-generated content gives you the opportunity of using attractive images from those posts on your page. Creating brand hashtags opens the doors of free advertising. 

Author’s Bio:

Walter Moore is a writer and notable management and digital marketing expert. He is an experienced digital marketer who has helped e-commerce businesses in all niches gain with his effective marketing strategies and guidance