Instagram has been around for a while but most businesses haven’t yet figured out how to best utilize the platform.
Here 5 actionable Instagram marketing ideas for you to start with!
1. Invest in Instagram Ads
This tip is contributed by Janette Speyer (Partner at Web Success Team and Hot Ice Media)
Follow @websuccess
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We run a small agency in Los Angeles specializing in consumer goods. Many of our clients are in the food industry. As we all know, Instagram is a powerful visual messenger. It did not take long to convince everyone to try it out.
Our Facebook rep showed us how to navigate Power Editor. (Power Editor is a 3rd party app that Facebook uses for ad placement.) Although I am used to working on many ad platforms, this one does take a little getting used to.
The strategy
Once we found our way around the app, we were ready to think strategy. The holiday season is a perfect time to start promoting any product. So we built a concept around the time of year when shoppers are looking for new ideas.
We debated if it was best to show the product in the imagery or just stick to a single picture that would convey the brand’s qualities.
It is often difficult for our clients to omit their packaging pics in the message. We opted to indulge them and let it run to see what came back to us.
Targeting the right audience
The benefit of using Instagram on the Ad Manager is that you can use the same parameters that you use in other Facebook ads. Our target markets are already defined and it is a good starting point for our first campaigns. We can always tweak later as the results come in.
Results
We are happy with our initial findings. Although far more expensive than regular Facebook ads, Instagram ads are worth the money. Even more so if you are if you are in the consumer goods business. Prices range from about $1.50 an impression to $3.50 on the higher side as opposed to Facebook that ranges at $.10 to $.60.
What about B2B?
We did a personal test for our business to see what kind of engagement we would get. B2B is not as appealing as a good piece of pumpkin pie or a turkey. Surprisingly, we got lots of positive feedback.
Here is a sample of the ad we ran
So a few takeaways
It is a visual vehicle so this is a great opportunity for “show and tell”
You can use videos to tell the story
It is not widely used yet. So now is the time before the noise level gets too high
80% of traffic these days comes from mobile
You can use your budget for both Facebook and Instagram at the same time for more exposure. (Facebook will show that same ad on both platforms)
Paid reach is a necessity for most business. We have a unique opportunity with these low-cost platforms. Take advantage of this now before those prices go up. I was around in the days of traditional advertising and the price was prohibitive.
If you have experience in Instagram advertising, please also help SEOchat forum member in this thread.
2. Re-Market Your Creatives
This tip is contributed by Martini Fisher (Author of “History, Prehistory and Biological Evolution” and many others)
Follow @martinifisher
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I started on Instagram about two weeks ago. It was only about a week before my last book came out. I used Instagram to show my face. People respond to faces and they don’t get to see my face in my books, of course, so Instagram is good for that. I also used it to put a few snippets of little paragraphs and dialogs from my upcoming book, as well as some visual triggers I used.
In my research I took a lot of pictures – so I chose some good ones and uploaded them on Instagram. And I put some photos of random daily activities there.
It works for me. The photos involve my readers in my writing process, and they get a sort of “backstage pass” to what I look like and what I do on a daily basis. The dialogs I put in there give them little teasers of my upcoming book, and I met a couple of bloggers, reviewers, and fellow writers through Instagram as well.
3. Build Your Personal Brand
This tip is contributed by Sunita Biddu (Social Media Strategist & Blogging Coach )
Follow @chillingbreeze
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I have started taking Instagram seriously just recently. I haven’t marketed any project yet but personal brand marketing has worked very well. Well enough that it got me one big collaboration and two high paying clients. Played with this FAST social networks and figured out three most important things.
RIGHT Instagram Hashtags Matter. I could clearly see the difference in response for posts with hashtags, without hashtags and posts with right hashtags. There are some key hashtags such as “awesome”, “amazing”, “instagrammers”, “instadaily” etc. that flood your posts with response when used. Plus the most relevant and popular hashtags about your posts.
Right Timing: A post made at 9pm received 85 responses within 5 seconds of posting. A post of similar quality posted at 2pm receives hardly 6 responses. You can imagine the power of timing.
Your Bio Counts. Once you attract your audience, they would like to know more about you and that’s where you bio would make the difference.
4. Build Loyalty
This tip is contributed by Lukasz Zelezny (Head of Organic Acquisition)
Follow @LukaszZelezny
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My personal experience with the platform differs in many ways from the potential that it offers many different brands. Any brand that wants to maximize organic reach will definitely be able to extract plenty of value from Instagram. Personally, I have not yet used Instagram for marketing in any formal capacity and I personally believe it will be difficult to use it in my specific case for selling anything in the near future.
However, there are brands that will be able to utilize the platform for marketing, and it is in some ways better than Facebook. I’ve read studies which show that Facebook users are far more likely to turn away from brands than Instagram users; in fact, Instagram users are actually receptive to following up with brands and engaging with them in a proactive fashion.
Instagram isn’t as crowded when it comes to marketing. Virtually all marketers today use Facebook to promote products and services, but less than half report using Instagram. Because of this, I would definitely recommend that brands take a look at Instagram to see whether their business model is compatible with marketing in Instagram broader community.
It’s also worth noting that Instagram doesn’t filter out organic reach in order to force brands into paid marketing. Facebook used to offer a similar approach, but then limited organic page reach to boost marketing revenue. Instagram theoretically allows 100 percent of followers to see each post. Because of this, it’s hard to deny that Instagram has marketing potential.
Instagram – at least for some brands – can be a great way to boost reach and fulfill marketing objectives. Its effectiveness will vary by industry and niche, but it’s definitely worth looking into.
5. Extend Your Connections, Increase Your Interactions
This tip is contributed by Doyan Wilfred (Growth-hacker and content marketer)
Follow @ThinkDoyan
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Just like on all the other social media platforms out there, visibility is key.
In order to be successful on Instagram, begin with interacting. You should publish less and be actively engaging with other users.
Comments are more powerful than likes. Comment a lot!
Here’s how to manage your Instagram comments and likes.
Bonus Ideas and Resources
Create an Instagram-based service. For example, this site lets you print our Instagram photos easily
Integrate Instagram into your current site content to co-promote your Instagram channel and visual content using site. There’s a wealth of WordPress plugins for that (Here’s a handy guide on how to install WordPress plugins)
Partner with a charity. Instagram is full of active non-profit startup that enjoy huge engagement. Support one of them to both do something good and build visibility on Instagram
Are there more Instagram marketing ideas? Please share in the comments!
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