Instagram 101

Social Media has become one of the most powerful tools to market your business, connect with your customers in a creative way, share products and the values of your business. 

Harnessing the power of social media is crucial in building your business, so we have put together a quick Instagram snapshot to help you utilise this tool to grow and develop your business.

Instagram

Instagram is a photo and video sharing app and social network that allows you to reach a large audience of people that want to engage with your brand. You can create content that connects with your target audience, and set your business tone of voice. 

This platform is visual storytelling at its best! You can relate to your customers and not just sell product but sell a lifestyle too, by using creative and engaging content that will grow your following and increase your sales.

Know your audience, talk to your audience and be creative! Instagram can speak volumes about your business and in turn, create a stronger connection with your customers or potential new customers.

Some questions to ask yourself when creating content are:

• Is it relevant and authentic?
• Is it visually appealing?
• Is it consistent?
• Is it adding value?
• Is it representing me and my business?

Regardless of your direction in using this platform, there are a number of features that will help to build your presence and get your name out there.

Hashtags

Hashtags allow people to find your images without actually having to follow you. They can help you reach a wider audience and when used correctly reach new viewers, followers and potential customers. 

Instagram allows a maximum of 30 hashtags but experts suggest a maximum of 5 per post. It’s all about experimenting, testing and reviewing. A simple way to determine which hashtags are relevant, is to do a search of words you had in mind and evaluate their popularity and reach.

A great way to use this feature is to create a business branded hashtag that allows customers to generate content for you and encourage them to submit photos that are hash tagged with your brand name. 

Instagram stories

The algorithms that have come into play in the last year have changed the way we use Instagram and reach our audience. Instagram Stories are a great way to ensure your content is continued to be enjoyed.

Instagram Stories are 1-15 second images, videos or animations that appear for 24 hours at the top of your Instagram feed. If you are not posting to Instagram stories, you’re not reaching all the customers and followers you could be. 

Four tips to consider when posting an Instagram Story:

1. Think of Instagram stories as an extension of your profile
2. Drive people to view your stories
3. Be entertaining, valuable and creative
4. Be consistent

Highlights

The Highlights feature combines multiple Instagram stories into long term content that your audience can discover at their convenience. It permanently sits at the top of your profile and is a place where you can bookmark content for current and new followers to see.

Be conscious of the chronological order of the stories, as you cannot swap around the order once posted. You can add story content to more than one highlight and add archived stories to your highlights too. It is important to consider each highlights image and title. You can create your own or find already made icons online.

Have fun with this feature! You can showcase product, share blog updates, promote other social media channels, create a tutorial or how-to video, show your audience behind the scenes footage and reshare customer photos. 

Don’t get left behind! Take the time to learn, use and enjoy all the many benefits of social media, your following and business will love you for it.