From a photo and video sharing platform to a dynamic promotional platform, who new Instagram would evolve this much! Therefore, brands are now moving towards Instagram marketing to connect to its audience. 

Till now, more than 25 million business profiles on Instagram where 90% users follow at least one business profiles with 83% of users discovered new products and services, Instagram Marketing has now become a top priority for all brands. 

So here are a step by step guide for you to kick start your business with Instagram.

Set up and Optimize your Business Profile

Creating a stunning profile that grabs attention is the first step for Instagram Marketing. As Instagram allows you to open a business account, it’ll be a one tap process for you to create your business profile. 

Align your Brand name and username with your brand, choose an attractive profile picture and create a short engaging bio using keywords and hashtags related to your brand to get things started.

You might also like to read: How Digital Marketing Can Aid Your Business to Grow?

Take Advantage of Instagram Features

When it comes to Instagram marketing, everyone is fond of the stunning features of Instagram which includes Stories, Highlights, IGTV and Instagram Live. 

Let’s take a deep dive, shall we?

Instagram Stories

Instagram Stories are fun and with only 24 hours of visibility, brands are getting thousands and millions of views on each of their contents that even their audiences are enjoying. 

To get the best out of those 24 hours you can try posting,

1. Daily offers to lure in customers
2. Service details to educate your audience
3. Giveaways and Contests to create a buzz and “want” amongst your customers
4. Polls for a quick survey on what your customers want from you.
5. Achievements of your Brand to create a TOMA within your audience.

Highlights

Highlights are similar to Instagram Stories but this stays permanently instead of 24 hours. You just need to decide what you want your customers to see every time they visit your profile? Here’s the answer.

1. Displaying Products/Services so your customers can find everything with a simple click. 
2. FAQ’s for a quick understanding
3. Tips and Tricks to retain customers
4. Events and Achievements to showcase your boldness in the market.

IGTV

IGTV allows you to post videos up to 60 minutes instead of 60 seconds which is cool enough. To get started to IGTV follow these 2 steps.

Step 1: Create an IGTV Channel by clicking on the IGTV logo which in on the top right. Next, you’ll see a gear button on the upper right side. Click it and create a channel.

Step 2: Post amazing contents like,

1. Video Tutorials of Product or Service.
2. Q&A videos to cover 90% of the most asked questions
3. Highlights of your successful event moments. 
4. Create a weekly show for your loyal customer base.

You might also like to read: 5 Useful Tips to Outrank Your Competitors in SEO

Instagram Live

Instagram Live is just another Live streaming feature. You can always go live on product launches, events and Product/Service reviews and later cut it short and post on IGTV. 

Instagram Marketing ways to Boost your Business

To make people aware of your brand and engage with them you need to come up with marketing materials like,

Hashtags

Using hashtags related to your brand to get more engagement. Try using industry related hashtags and Brand campaign related hashtags to get more visibility. 

One more thing, always use 9 different hashtags to get the most out of this feature.

 Influencer Marketing

Look for relevant influencers who can promote your brand with interest. Using the right Influencers will allow you to get a huge amount of reach and engagements. 

To boost your Instagram marketing strategy, launch a giveaway or a one-time offer aligning it with influencer marketing to create a buzz amongst customers. 

Create Branded Contents

Branded contents are simple and engaging. Customized videos, memes and photos that goes with your brand only.

To make positive impact you need to focus on image/video quality, relevance and post timing to get a 10 out of 10 success rates. 

Measure your Performance

To know where you stand in the market and how you can improve more you need to know your numbers.

Using an analytical tool, you’ll see how much engagement you’re getting, which contents are getting ignored that will help you to create a successful approach in the market. 

Conclusion

For a SME this step by step guide should be enough to bring in new customers within a month or two. So now it’s your turn to roll the dice in the game of Instagram Marketing.