Instagram Social Media Marketing
In the age of technology, social media is pretty much inescapable. We are constantly exposed to social media, whether it be on our own phones, from our children, or even in the workplace. And marketers are nothing if not opportunists… so we capitalise on this plethora of media coverage in our campaign strategies.
Learn why Social Star believes social media marketing is so important, and how we achieve this with our clients.
Instagram is one of the fastest growing social media platforms, with an extremely wide demographic of users, so it’s no surprise that successful marketers use its diverse audience and variety of features to their advantage. Although Instagram started out with a younger crowd on the app, since its launch in 2010, the platform is now populated by successful influencers and businesses across all ages, with a reach of over 1.39 billion active monthly users. Instagram generally has a more casual and personal tone than other platforms such as LinkedIn, as many use it for non-business purposes as well. Yet over the years, Instagram has introduced more and more features for posting and interacting with content on the app, and its current software contains an abundance of features perfect for building your brand and marketing your product. Each of these features can be utilised by digital marketers to achieve different goals.
I WANT TO INCREASE MY REACH…
Did someone say REELS? Since its first appearance on the platform in mid-2020, reels have become the go-to way to dramatically increase post views, and by extension, your profile’s traffic. Reels are short videos of up to 60 seconds in length, which are posted to your profile, but discoverable to a wider audience when the account is public. Key elements to consider including into your reels to increase their views are songs used in the background, effects and hashtags. All of these make your post more likely to feature on the Discover page, or be found through related pages such as the #digitalmarketing hashtag. Reels are fun and easy to make, and are a sure-fire way to increase the reach of your brand with engaging and personable content.
I WANT TO BUILD MY BRAND PROFILE AND PRODUCE ENGAGING CONTENT…
When a potential or existing member of your market visits your Instagram profile, they want to know quickly and easily what your brand has been up to. This means that your profile needs to be kept up-to-date at all times, with a focus on visual appeal. There are two key elements to maintaining a dynamic profile; regular photo posts and enabling the business profile feature. Ensuring that your account’s “feed” is cohesive and eye-catching shows that you are proactively exercising digital marketing. For example, using the same filter, colour scheme or logo banner across your photos will help unify the content and establish strong and recognisable branding. It is also helpful to set your brand’s profile to a business account. Not only does this display clearly to viewers the type of product you are offering and efficient ways to get in contact, Instagram provides statistics for business profile users on their post engagement and the demographics they are reaching, helping you to tailor your content to your audiences in the future.
I WANT TO CONNECT DIRECTLY WITH MY AUDIENCE…
Like many other platforms, Instagram offers the capability of live streaming from your account to your followers, or if the account is public, whoever is interested in watching. Lives are a great way to connect on a personal level with your audience, as they are able to interact with the video by making comments and asking questions in real time. Lives are also a good way to authentically showcase your product, whether this be demonstrating a tutorial, or giving a sneak peak into some of the advice you are offering.
It provides a more personal aspect to your brand, reminding your audience that there are people behind the screen and behind the brand. Your followers are notified when you begin a live, and the lives are listed in front of stories, meaning that they will be very accessible and visible to followers. They aren’t for everyone - but if you have the courage to be a spokesperson for your brand, unfiltered and impromptu, it is worth giving live streams a shot.
I WANT TO ADVERTISE MY PRODUCT…
Instagram allows business accounts to promote their posts, which appear in your preferred demographic’s feed, with a “sponsored” subheading at the top and a link to visit their profile. This feature allows your brand to increase their reach by being shown to users who do not necessarily follow you. These sponsored posts are often triggered by the activity of the users, which consequently puts them into a demographic that you’ve selected to target. For example, if someone has been shopping online at a liquor store, other alcohol brands may choose to target this individual to promote their products too, because it is more likely that this person, compared to someone that doesn’t buy alcohol online, will be interested in their product… leading to targeted digital marketing. This is one of the most effective ways of directing new traffic to your account, and is crucial in building your brand on Instagram.
Instagram is full of benefits for digital marketers, with a variety of ways to increase the reach and consumer participation of your brand. With a diverse range of users, it's highly likely that promoting your business through Instagram will successfully reach your target audience. Whatever your business growth goals are, Instagram has a feature which can help you achieve this. Maintaining a strong social media presence has never been more imperative than it is today… Social media marketing is the future of digital marketing success, and Instagram is the strategy you need to employ to accomplish this.
To learn more about how we are using social media, and specifically Instagram to create successful marketing strategies for our clients, contact us today for a consultation.