With all the competition in the world of Online Advertising, Selling, and Marketing, it is important to have a simple and basic understanding of how Instagram works and how you can use it more effectively. If you are following us on Instagram you might have already seen our series on Marketing Tips & Tricks for Instagram. One thing is for certain… in the online universe, you need to constantly innovate, create, and above all consistently provide value.
Instagram offers its users added features when you switch over to a business account. These features include Post insights and analytics, Instagram Adverts, Instagram Shopping, and even direct call to action buttons so customers can contact you easier. If you are in the business of selling then switching over to a business account is imperative. Hop on over to your settings and switch over to a professional account. It’s as easy as that!
Work on that Instagram BIO! You only have 150 characters to set the tone, capture and compel the audience to follow you. But there are other ways you can make sure you get all your info across. Include your website handle and contact information. Perfect your Instagram Name and Username (AKA your handle) and make sure you have selected the correct category for your Instagram account. Set up your call-to-action buttons so people can contact you easily.
We have spoken in length in previous blogs and lives on the importance of creating a great, fun, resourceful Instagram Space for your followers to enjoy. Choosing an attractive grid flow, color pallet, and look will secure brand authenticity and recognition. Having consistency is key across all your platforms. Sticking with a color scheme helps, display your logo as much as you can and the most important is how are you providing value to your audience. We love to use Canva for our designs. Spending time and effort on creating content can be grueling but it is the key to capturing your audience and growing your brand.
Doing Instagram Adverts are a great way to grow your audience. But why is it useful? Did you know that 60% of people say they have discovered new businesses through sponsor posts. Furthermore 20% of users visit a new business Instagram account daily. There are various forms of paid advertising you can do including PHOTO or VIEDO adverts, CAROUSEL adverts, IG STORY adverts or COLLECTION adverts. What is the negative? Well IG adverts can cost more than FB adverts so make sure you have defined your demographics and get promoting!
Instagram is all about the visual so think clean, attractive, fun posts that attract the user. There is no need to invest in expensive photography equipment. You can grab loads of inspo from Google. Angles and lighting are the keys to taking a sharp photo, but more importantly, is your picture telling a STORY? Here are a few suggestions of post types. Viewers love behind-the-scenes photos so use that to your advantage. When using quotes and text-based visuals make sure the quality is clear and attractive. Instructional posts (similar to this one) teach the follower a skill or tool. These posts provide much value. Videos are a great way to share content. Remember IG only allows for a 60-second video unless you upload it to IGTV.
HAPPY CONTENT CREATING!
So what is a HASHTAG really? It is a sequence of letters, numbers, and even emojis with a # in front. The main purpose is to categorize content and make it easier to discover/find. We all know Instagram is known for its HASHTAG popularity. Even though you can use up to 30 hashtags in a post we highly discourage that. Sticking to 5 to 10 hashtags per post is more effective. Make sure the hashtag you are using is relevant to your post as well as your niche. Adding irrelevant Hashtags will only discourage followers and PLEASE don’t use #followme or #like4like. These come across as unprofessional and cheesy.
Instagram is certainly a fun space to be in. Grow your followers organically with these simple tricks. Organic growth is always more beneficial than buying “bots” to follow, like and comment. 
Article written by: Lauren Leigh van Rooyen Founder of MomBoss Brand Follow her on IG https://www.instagram.com/mombosslauren_/ Follow MomBoss MarketSpace on IG https://www.instagram.com/mombossmarket.space/ Visit our Website https://mombossmarket.space/
MomBoss Market Space enables business owners, employed professionals, contractors, and repairers to list their services all under one roof so that you can feel safer and at ease choosing any service from our directory, whilst helping women working in male-dominated trades to stand out
Thank you Lauren for these great tips
These are great and useful tips. Thank you Lauren.