Rock Your Instagram Marketing
Now that you know how to get started on Instagram, let’s discuss how to succeed on the popular social channel. Where should we start? Your profile, of course.
Why does your profile matter?
Simply put: Because it’s the first thing people see when they find you through a search. And usually, when you add a comment, others can tap your username and go right to it. So you need to put your best business face forward.
“Your profile should include keywords in a succinct sentence, telling people exactly what you do,” says Brooklyn Calloway, who sells arts and craft items through her website, Brookielynn’s Bungalow.
Calloway’s Instagram profile reads, “I create custom wooden workshop kits for paint manufacturers and retailers. Let’s collaborate.”
Dance instructor, health advocate and author Emeroy Bernardo uses Instagram to drive his target market to his sales funnel, where they become leads for his online courses.
He says your profile should:
1. Tell your audience who you are immediately. If you’re a stylist and a business trainer, make sure to mention that. For instance, you could post: Fashion stylist, biz coach.
2. Include personal quotes, likes and interests. Building on the previous example, your profile could morph into: Fashion stylist, biz coach. Live free, live passionately.
3. Include a strong image. “If you’re a company, a logo should do just fine. If you’re an individual brand, a head shot is the way to go,” he notes.
Post videos that wow
As you know, videos are much more captivating than photos and since Instagram increased the length of videos allowed to 60 seconds, “brands have a lot more time to play with their video creation,” says Mallory Musante, Co-founder of Bold & Pop, a collective of social media design pros. Instagram also announced it’s adding video counts “as the first of many ways you’ll see video get better on Instagram.”
Just make sure you have enough lighting, Musante advises. “This will provide cleaner, more professional-looking videos that your audience will be more likely to engage with,” she says.
What should your videos focus on? The sky’s the limit: interviews with you or your staff, a tour of your facility, a product demo, etc.
Grow your following everywhere
“Use your other media outlets to promote your Instagram page,” advises Ashley Baxter of Modern Marketing School. “Include a ‘follow me on Instagram’ call to action on your blog posts, website pages, Facebook/Twitter posts, and so on. Use the audience you have in other places to drive engagement on Instagram.”
Bernardo also suggests running contests and providing snippets or teasers.
“For example, if you’re on Instagram and you want people to subscribe to your YouTube channel, you could tell them that you’re doing a contest,” he explains. “In order to be entered, they need to go to your latest video (which they can access on your Instagram link). They can then leave a comment and subscribe to your YouTube channel.”
Bernardo says he’s promoted his Snapchat on Instagram by showing snippets of behind-the-scenes footage of workouts, super shakes he makes, rehearsals and talking about events he’s going to. “Then I tell them to follow my Snapchat to see more behind-the-scenes stuff,” he adds.
We hope this series has inspired you to give Instagram marketing a try if you haven’t already and that you now you feel prepared.
