Using Instagram Effectively

Technology Trends

We all know Instagram is used for sharing photos and videos that you think your friends and customers will love. That said, there is a vast opportunity for small businesses to use Instagram to generate humanness to the brand. Instagram is a great way to promote your brand, connect the physical world with the online world and start a new product or service.

Remember, using this platform requires you to find the ideal customers, connect with them and do much more. Just uploading photos and videos on Instagram will not give you the desired result and you want to get more of your Instagram visuals that will lead to business.

To promote your business, the following quick tips can be used:

Share more photos and videos regularly

In using Instagram, visuals (photos and videos) are the main currency and you must have compelling visuals that your followers can not find somewhere. Thinking about the kind of visuals you can upload, think about the following business opportunities to take photos with mobile devices and upload immediately to Instagram. Also, whenever the business team is involved in community services, get visual of those outings and encourage the workforce to take appropriate photos or videos that can be used on Instagram.

Engage on other Instagram profiles

As you continue to upload photos and videos on your Instagram business' profile, you can engage other Instagram profiles with the hope that the right customers would be fan of your profile.

In using this tool, do not just like a photo but comment on these users’s latest content. This will give you the best exposure that you need instead of just liking the visual.

Use Hashtag frequently

A hashtag provides an uncomplicated way to search comparable topics for people who are interested in what you are posting. This works the same way like Facebook or Twitter and you can use a hashtag on Instagram that will assist you attract new followers each day. As a business user/owner, it’s better to use hashtags that are practically always trending on Instagram. You need to familiarize yourself with a small number of broad popular hashtags and use them when posting visuals. Some popular hashtags are #love, #TBT or #throwbackthursday, #selfie, #photooftheday, etc.

Add your website link to your profile

It is obvious that most users on Instagram do not update their profile and leave it blank most of the time. As you engage people via Instagram, ensure the right business name, profile picture and links to the business website on the profile. In addition, this will allows prospective customers to visit your website and see other product and services.

Use Twitter, Facebook, etc for Sharing

For most users, their Instagram visuals only exist on Instagram. Your customers can know more about your business using different platforms including Instagram. You can get more followers to your Instagram account from other social network accounts by adding Instagram app to your Facebook Page, Tumblr and additional network so as to enable you share the latest content across multiple networks at the same time.

Business users can access Instagram on a daily basis to share the latest visuals with customers while seeking for new ones.  Also, Instagram has a lot of third party tools (Iconosquare,sumall) that allow users to get additional insight into their Instagram activity. These tools can help you plan and gives you the opportunity to know if Instagram is actually affecting your sales.

This blog's content is intended solely for informational purposes. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy, completeness, and relevance, the information may not be current or applicable in all situations. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views of any organization they may be affiliated with.