Every company today has formulated and adopted a marketing strategy for Facebook. No doubt, it’s a leading platform for businesses to come in and showcase their brand.

But, as the digital world keeps evolving, Instagram has also emerged as a leading social platform. In fact, many newer brands have cracked how to use Instagram for marketing and now Instagram has become their major focus for a majority of brands.

With 1 billion+ monthly active users in just 9 years of launch, Instagram might defeat Facebook sooner than we think.
Even though Instagram started as a photo-sharing app, it has now become a conversation-based community for like-minded individuals. Therefore, Instagram is the best platform for outreaching along with customer engagement.

That is why more and more businesses today are trying to emphasize Instagram Marketing as a part of their overall marketing effort and you should do it too!

But, how does Instagram Marketing work?

Like any other channel used for marketing, Instagram is also a channel which marketers use to connect with their target audience.

Brands talk about what they have to offer and focus on spreading brand awareness. Instagram as a platform has many unique features.

The exclusive USPs of Instagram is the reason why people flock to this app.

These include in-app editing of photos, push notifications for favourite accounts, IGTV, and Instagram stories. An Instagram marketing strategy is now a crucial element of any comprehensive social media marketing strategy.

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Why is Instagram One of the Most Popular Marketing Platforms Today?

Even though Instagram was launched in 2010, its popularity has risen rapidly in the past few years. You might be thinking what’s so different and unique about Instagram that it is gaining so many users every day. Well, here you go-

1. Millennials Love Instagram
Understanding the demographics behind each platform can make strategic planning easier. And, in case of Instagram, nearly two out of every three adults aged 18-29 use Instagram.

So, if your product or brand is meant for a younger audience, an Instagram account is a must.

Many brands that target the youth prefer going for an Insta-first marketing approach. These products include cosmetics, fitness and food items.

2. Instagram Has Fantastic Engagement Rates
A whopping 57% of Instagram users access the platform every day and 35% check it multiple times.

In fact, engagement rates on Instagram are 15 times higher than Twitter and 20 times higher than Facebook.

This wide gap is good enough proof of why you should include Instagram marketing today.

Consumers around the globe receive messages, emails and calls from the end number of companies. This has made people switch their brain off to most forms of promotional content.

Hence, brands keep looking for newer and more unique of engaging with the users. So, Instagram is the right way to go.

3. Instagram Works Really Well For E-Commerce Brands
Instagram has been committed for quite some time to make itself more e-commerce friendly. The app has launched an in-app check-out feature for limited brands but is likely to extend it to other advertisers as well.

Additionally, Instagram users are also commonly avid online shoppers.

In fact, 72% of Instagram users said that they have made a purchase after looking at something they liked on Instagram.

Moreover, it’s easy for online brands to display their products on Instagram in a visually appealing manner. It allows them to post multiple photos or videos of a product.

Users love Instagram because it combines ease of scrolling with visually pleasing videos and images.

Lastly, the Instagram audience has high-intent and converts quickly makes it the dearest for e-commerce brands.

This is especially true for categories like makeup, jewellery, clothes, and accessories.

4. Instagram Has Many Exciting Marketing Tools
For many years, Instagram chose to focus on its product and keep advertisers at a distance. But quite recently, they have introduced many exciting business-facing Instagram Analytics Tools.

These tools make it a lot easier for brands to promote their products in innovative ways. These include links in Instagram stories and ready to shop Instagram posts. These tools help you understand how to market your product/service on Instagram.

5. Instagram Is the Go-To Platform For Influencer Marketing
Influencers are people who have unique and creative content on their social media profile. Instagram makes influencer marketing easier but you need to determine the goals you want to achieve from your campaigns first.

On the basis of that, shortlist a number of influencers on the basis of the niche, fan base and voice you want for your brand.

Influencer marketing refers to promoting your brand by collaborating with influencers who have the same audience as you.

In a survey of 2500 micro-influencers, 60% said Instagram was the best platform for influencer marketing. Facebook came a distant second with just 18%.

How to Market On Instagram

While Instagram marketing should definitely be a part of your marketing strategy, it’s important to know how to do it right. It is important to have your goals in mind from the start. Different types of businesses will have different goals. For instance, a restaurant will want to focus on building up their reputation and increasing word of mouth. Smaller professional firms like optometrists and general practitioners will want to focus on driving traffic through their door.

With over 25 million businesses struggling for more customer attention, getting the basics right is essential to move ahead in the game. Here are some important tips on how to use Instagram for marketing.

1. Set up an Instagram Business Account
Firstly, you need to start by setting up a business account. Use your business email id or Facebook account to do the same and not any personal email id.

Once you’ve started making the account, enter your business name in the full name column. This becomes your username.

People usually search the username to find a business to make sure there are no errors. And in case your username is taken, mention it in the details section.

Pick a username that stands out and recognizable and easy to find. Then, in the display picture, either add your logo or a picture that is in sync with your brand.

Going to your Instagram bio, it should give a concise summary of what you represent and why people should follow you. Remember, bios have a 150-character limit.

Your bio is also the only place where you can have a link to an external site so choose which link to put carefully.

Lastly, make sure you switch to a business profile. This allows you to promote content, get in-depth insights, and make it easy for people to reach out to you.

2. Use Influencer Marketing
Influencer Marketing is arguably the most effective Instagram marketing strategy. For those of you who are still wondering about how to use Instagram for marketing, the first step can be to look for influencers.

From celebrity influencers with millions of followers to micro-influencers (less than 10 thousand followers), Instagram has many options.

Micro-influencers can also help you in massive ways and they are usually recommended for brands with a lower budget. But, the important thing is to know which influencer is the right one for you.

Many brands have had successful campaigns using influencers who had only a few thousand followers also. So, the tip is to make sure the influencer’s followers are engaged with your brand and the voice resonates with the influencer.

A good example of how to use Instagram for marketing is the successful Instagram Influencer Marketing campaign- Fiji Water. They collaborated with influencer Danielle Bernstein who featured in 8-minute workout videos with trainer Eric Johnson.

They videos subtly emphasized on Fiji Water by talking about why hydration is important in fitness and using the product in the videos.

3. Track Important Metrics
Data Analytics are essential for every platform where you market your product.

It’s important to track the right metrics to really get a grip on how your Instagram marketing is going. For instance, the total number of followers is a vanity metric and doesn’t indicate how your current efforts are going.

Your follower growth rate, on the other hand, is a metric that shows you if people actually like your content. Out of the many tools available at our disposal, a tool called Influencer Dashboard can help you keep tabs on your follower growth rate.

Another metric you need to track obsessively is your engagement rate. Engagement on your posts is nothing but the likes and comments.

You need to capture both the average engagement percentage of your total followers and the average engagement rate on every post.

This will help you get clarity on how your page is doing and how you can improve depending on which posts created greater engagement.

4. Leverage Different Types Of Instagram Posts

Instagram’s strength lies in the unique variety of things it provides. From different content formats and in-app editing to posts with different goals. Here are the different types of Instagram posts and how you can use them effectively:

(i) Images
Instagram started as an application meant for photos and hence, they are the most common format. While using high-resolution images and impressive filters is great, it’s important to be authentic. Customers are looking for content that connects with them, and images that are boring or too promotional might backfire.

(ii) Videos
To add to the visual appeal, videos are available in different time formats on Instagram. And, they see very high rates of engagement. With 64% of marketers saying that video will be the focus of their marketing strategy going forward, this is one form of content you just can’t ignore.

(iii) Instagram Stories
Instagram stories have many advantages in the case of marketing. There are so many advantages to using Instagram stories for marketing. For instance, you can add discounts and offers valid for one day. Since they disappear after 24 hours, you don’t need to worry too much about aesthetics and high-quality. You can experiment with interesting formats like GIFs, boomerangs, behind-the-scenes videos, and live videos. Then, you can take feedback on what works and what does not for you. Moreover, you can tag influencers on stories and even add links to your product in the stories.

Here are some great ideas for Instagram marketing posts using different content formats.

(a) Lifestyle Posts
Instead of just focusing on images and videos of your product, try to define your brand personality and design lifestyle posts around that.

(b) Behind-The-Scenes Posts
Behind-the-scenes images are also a great idea. They give people a glimpse into the inner workings of your business which people can connect with.

(c) Reposting Employee Posts
Reposting relevant content from your employees’ Instagram pages is a great way to get content that is authentic. It also helps humanize your brand for your followers.

(d) User-Generated Content
Curating content from your users and followers and crafting your Instagram marketing strategy around it is a great idea. It helps build credibility and authenticity for your brand. You can also create an additional buzz by starting contests to encourage users to create brand-related content.

Conclusion

Over a short span of time, Instagram Marketing has become one of the most important components of Digital Marketing. It has a monthly user base of 1 billion & so advertisers should not at all ignore this platform. However, learning Digital Marketing can help you to implement the best social media strategies.

Beginner’s Guide to Instagram Marketing
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