It is easy to think that Instagram is not the right social media platform to market your products. It is quite different from Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus in that you cannot post words unless they come in the form of a meme. Using Instagram, however, can help you get the attention of the world with such impressive ease. Now that there is Instagram for Business, you should be able to benefit from using this platform immensely. However, even with the ‘regular’Instagram, you can take your brand to the next level.
Where to Start
Admittedly, Instagram can be a little bit taunting when you are starting out. If it’s a brand that you would like to take to another level on Instagram, you need to start out like all other users of the platform. The first thing that you need to do is to create community. Building a community sounds like such a complicated activity but Nike pulled it off with such ease. They created an actionable hashtag which got them the engagements that they needed to bring popularity to their brand.
Building a community is not something you start today and expect that you will be done with it a month. It is an on-going process that will run as long as you are using Instagram. This is because you will continue to get followers on Instagram and you will also continue to follow more people whom you meet online. Once you build a substantial following on Instagram, you can proceed to do postings concerning your brand.
What to Post
This is usually the trickiest part. Getting followers is not a problem, you can capture them quite fast. However, keeping them engaged will be a challenge and a half. This is where you summon all your creative powers and come up with an awesome posting strategy. Here are some tips for posting content on Instagram:
- Post at the right time
When you post at midnight, few people will get to see it and if they manage to, they actually did scroll through their visual feed. The best time to post is between 6 and 9 in the morning, around lunch time and between 4 and 9 in the evening. These are the times when people are to be found online.
- Have a posting schedule and stick to it
Since you already have a community of followers, you want them to stay engaged with you. To do this, they must be able to anticipate when they will get fresh content from you. You cannot afford to post once in a month and expect that your engagement is going to be over the roof. Set a posting schedule and abide by it.
- Lighten up every once in a while
This is just another way of saying that you should balance your business pictures with fun images. Avoid posting images of your product every hour. Share images that are going to capture the attention of the audience and then mix that with your business images as well.
- Mix up some content
Do not limit yourself to photographs. Post videos every once in a while and get memes to share with your audience.
- Get a good photographer
Never post low quality images on your Instagram feed. Quality content is of great importance.