5 Tips to Mastering Instagram as a Small Business
As a small business, one of the best ways to reach your audience is through social media. You don’t need a huge budget or a team of staff members to promote your business and get your name out there. There are many platforms out that could be useful to your business, each with their own qualities and benefits. So what does Instagram offer your business that Facebook or Twitter might not?
For one, Instagram is driven by aesthetics. There’s far more emphasis on captivating images and visual style than any other platform. With a little bit of planning and curating, you can build a feed that attracts and interests your target market. Secondly, Instagram’s audience leans towards young adults – 65% of Instagram users are between the age of 18 and 34. This means that, depending on your target market, you can leverage your business’s Instagram presence into real and meaningful connections with your intended audience.
So, you’re keen to use Instagram for your business. Where do you start? Read below our 5 Tips for Mastering Instagram as a Small Business
Think about your grid.
With a little bit of planning (and some handy third-party tools) you can create an appealing and coherent aesthetic that’s in line with your brand. What are your brand’s colours? What’s the tone and style of your business? These are all things to consider when planning your content. Don’t get stale! Mix things up when you need to and make sure you include a variety of posts in your feed to keep audiences interested.
Don’t ignore your analytics.
As a business page on Instagram, you have access to your audience analytics. This means you can see the most popular days and times that your audience is online, where they’re from, and what they’re like. Keeping an eye on your analytics is key to connecting with your audience. Have a look at which of your posts has the most reach or got the most ‘saves’. Gather clues on how to make your content better for your followers and potential customers.
A boosted post can go a long way.
Unfortunately, the Instagram algorithm can be a fickle beast. The algorithm tries to determine what it thinks users want to see on their feeds. This means that sometimes your audience might not always see what you post. There are many things that can affect who is seeing your content (small things that you can do to improve your ranking on the algorithm is replying to comments on posts quickly, not posting things too soon after each other, and driving views through your Instagram stories). But the best way to get more eyes on your content and more leads for your brand is a boosted post.
Take advantage of Instagram’s opportunities.
Instagram’s functionality is always growing – from stories to highlights, interactive tools and more, Instagram is adding more to their arsenal every day. While some of these tools may be hit and miss depending on your business’s unique needs, don’t squander the many opportunities the platform offers you. Take full advantage of what Instagram can do, and always be on the lookout for more ways to connect with your audience.
Be authentic.
You may be a business, and your audience may be your potential customers – but at the end of the day, people use social media to connect with the people and the things that they love. If there’s one thing that audiences appreciate on Instagram, it’s content creators’ ability to be authentic and real with them. Having a bad day at work? Don’t be ashamed to share with your audience about it. Loadshedding getting your business down? You don’t need to pretend everything’s hunky-dory. While Instagram is an incredibly beneficial business tool, at the end of the day it’s just the same as any other social media platform: a way to connect with the world around us.