Instagram has emerged as an attractive marketing platform for most businesses, mainly because of its high engagement rates than any other social networking platform.
Though you might have to struggle to find your footing at first on Instagram, after a series of trial-and-error process, you’ll be able to get your message across without hassles.
If you want to endorse your local business on Instagram, you have to engage your followers with relevant and striking image posts because Instagram is all about the visuals. Let us tell you about 8 ways in which you can successfully promote your business on that platform.
- Post regularly and stay visible
The first step involves drawing attention to your account. You need to make regular posts in order to stay visible. While posting at least once a day is mandatory, publishing multiple times throughout the day would be perfect. Chalk out a steady schedule so that you don’t miss out on the posts and determine the peak hours when your audience is most active. This will help you target more efficiently.
- Optimize your profile
Always remember that your first impression makes a lot of difference to your audience. Take a look at your profile page and determine whether it speaks for your brand. Check your profile picture because it represents your business and is important to your audience. Write a concise but informative bio. Finally, ensure that your posts are visually striking.
- Join the communities and socialize
The fact most businesses forget it that Instagram is a place to socialize and connect with people. Engage with your audience in meaningful ways. Follow them, like their posts and leave comments when necessary. When you display sincere interest in their posts, you can expect them to do the same for you. Ask questions and conduct polls. Instagram users usually like to share their opinions with you.
- Utilize the power of hashtags
Like Twitter, hashtags can work wonders for your Instagram posts. Hashtags make you easy to discover on Instagram. They can be pre-existing hashtags or you can come up with your own hashtags. Use hashtags particularly when you’re running a campaign as it can help you expand your reach.
- Share local content
When you re-post the content shared by local followers, it helps build your business reputation on Instagram as well as the local communities. You can share the content published by local celebrities as well.
- Avoid blanket posting
‘Blanket posting’ refers to the use of same message and content across all social media channels. If your customers follow you across all your social media channels, they are likely to be annoyed of seeing the same message repeatedly on their timeline. Try to keep the content different for the social media posts for each channel. Use blanket posting only if you’re running a local campaign or introducing new offers.
- Follow the trends
Keep an eye out for the trending topics. Use the popular relevant subject and create your content around it. Humor is a great tool to utilize the trends. For example, many businesses are now using memes to promote their brand. Do a thorough research on the trending topic and build your Instagram post around it.
- Join hands with local influencers
Influencers are crucial for any brand’s social media strategy. Find appropriate local influencers or celebrities for your brand and ask them to review your products or services. This will create a great impact on your followers.
