You know you need to use Instagram for your business, but do you know how? Not how to post a picture, but what do I post? And when? And who cares?
Also known as a strategy.
Well, first of all, you should care. Instagram is a fantastic utility to connect with your customers and prospects, share your story, run campaigns, and increase brand engagement.
Types Of Photos To Post
Not all social media content is created equal. Nor should it be.
The posts you put on Instagram should not be the same as your other social platforms. This is a photo based platform, so steer clear of heavily computer generated graphics or photos with too many words on them. Photos should be fun and entertaining, giving insight to your company, sneak peeks of what’s to come and inspiration to your customers.
The top types of photos people love? Travel, animals and food. I mean seriously, who doesn’t love puppies?
If you are selling something besides sunsets or puppies, you will want to give an “insider look” into your company, highlight your culture, new clients, and exciting growth of your business. The more that you can have actual people the better. We love seeing faces!
Color is another thing to consider, when you can, stay on the “cool scale,” think blues and greens, these colors are linked with better engagement.
When To Post Photos
Think about this—When do you check your Instagram? Most likely it’s before work, during lunch and after you get off. Well, as it turns out, so does the rest of the world. Therefore the best times to post are 8am-9am, 12pm, and 5-6pm.
Posting around these time will get you the most likes/comments because this is the heaviest level of traffic.
Here’s a great article from Webtrends on when to post.
Add A CTA
A CTA is a “Call to action” in marketing speak.
The biggest mistake we see brands make is not an including a call to action on their social media posts. At Tytanium we ask ourselves, “What do we want the fans to do with this post?” Do you want them to click a link? Like a photo? Comment? You have to tell them. Get to the point and be clear.
Keep in mind that you can not have clickable link in a Instagram post. Using the call to action “Click the link in our bio” is a common way to help give your followers a clear indication of where to find the additional information about your post.
Include #Hashtags
A good rule of thumb to follow is check out hashtags you’ll be using in a post before you publish. You’d be amazed at things people post, so just be aware of the conversations you are hopping into.
Instagram has a feature where you can actually see how many people are using that hashtag. This will allow you to gauge which hashtags are the most popular and which variations you want to use for your post.
Don’t abuse the hashtag though. It looks spammy and can make brands look unauthentic. The ideal number? According to a Hubspot article is 11, but it’s different depending on your brand.
Don’t be focused on a specific number of hashtags, however—focus on the value you’re giving and what your trying to communicate.
Another thing to keep in mind are trending hashtags and obscure national holidays. There’s pretty much one for everything you can think of now, it’s possible your brand can benefit from these though. So go ahead, post a picture of your delicious ice cream sandwich for “National Ice Cream Sandwich Day,” it just might help you get customers with Instagram!
User Generated Content
I have three words for you, user generated content. Known as UGC in the marketing world, this is marketing gold. You are not only using content that you didn’t have to take the time to create, but more importantly you are increasing your customer engagement.
In today’s marketing world, this is what matters, customer-centric content creation. Your customers and clients have many options, and they take the time to do their research—Well, they Google it on their phones, at least! As a marketer your job is to find unique ways to stand out in the noise that can be social media. Instagram can help you do this.
Companies that are crushing the Instagram game: Nike, National Geographic, and Starbucks.
If you are interested in the B2B side of things also check out what Google, Facebook or Intel are doing.
Follow these Instagram engagement tricks and you’re well on your way to social media success! Questions about Instagram, or maybe something else about social media? Get in touch with us today!