According to Business.com “engagement rates are high” on Instagram, making it an ideal solution for building brand awareness. Here are some tips on doing it right: Spend some time engaging with the community – Like with other social media platforms, you don’t want to simply spam advertisements. Check out what kind of content, photos and hashtags are attracting all of the attention for some ideas on what YOU can do to garner attention. You can also repost quality, relevant images from your own followers. If you interact properly with the right people, your brand will begin to spread. Make sure people are aware of your Instagram handle – One way to increase attention to your Instagram profile is to make sure visitors to your site and blog are aware of its existence. Don’t forget to put the link to Instagram on every post on your blog and every page on the site. If you give out business cards in real life, have your Instagram handle printed on it. Take great pictures – Don’t just share photos – take them. Doing so will make you seem more authentic. Instagram is all about the visuals, after all. All you need is a good camera that will take sharp, focused photos. Acquire the services of a photographer if you need to. This post on SmartInsights.com explains the importance of consistency with photos. If you use filters for instance, make sure to use those same filters for every photo. Don’t go overboard with the hashtags – While you will want to use specific hashtags that are relevant to your industry, you don’t want to use too many of them. From a consumer’s standpoint, that would make you come off as obnoxious and desperate. Use a combination of popular keywords, obscure keywords, and longtail keywords. Ideally, keep the number of hashtags between five and ten. Stay active with your engagements – A rule of thumb is to try posting at least once a day to keep things fresh and current. It’s also a great way to keep your followers in the loop of what is going on. However, like with the hashtags, you don’t want to post TOO much. Keep the number of posts between one and three a day. Run promotions or giveaways – People love contests and freebies, so why not give them what they want? It’s as simple as posting an image advertising the contest and asking users to repost the image with a certain hashtag to enter. When the contest is over, you can search the hashtag to see which users reposted it and select a winner. Just make sure you give them their prize as promised ASAP. Be authentic – Perhaps the most important rule of all when it comes to Instagram marketing to be authentic. Don’t share, repost or like something just for the sake of sharing, reposting or liking. People can tell when you are forcing it. You don’t have to have a huge budget to make Instagram and other social media advertising work for you. In fact, you don’t need much money at all if you know what you’re doing. You might also want to learn more about bartering options with organizations such as Sherwood Integrated Solutions.
