Is Your Business IG-Ready? Tips on How to Market on Instagram
Since its birth in 2010, Instagram has become a social media giant that influences over 1 billion users worldwide. And while it started as a simple website for sharing personal photos and videos, it has evolved into something bigger. It has become a website where people are able to get entertainment, find inspiration, share advice, and more importantly as far as this article is concerned, do business.
Instagram is a prime business space for ecommerce, especially for business marketing. It has a huge engaged audience that easily translates to ecommerce interest.
Here are some facts:
- 61.6% of Instagram users are aged between 18 to 34 years old (Statista, 2022). This is a market with significant buying power and a modern mindset that’s primed for ecommerce. Composed of Millennials and the Gen Z, they are often receptive to visual marketing and content that can be consumed in a short amount of time
- It has a wide reach. Per Instagram’s claims, 90% of Instagram users follow a business account. It’s definitely a gold mine for a social media marketer.
- It is a prime location for influencers who can market your products. From big name influencers like Chiara Ferragni, Jamie Oliver, and Lilly Singh, to smaller micro-influencers like alibrownofficial and kennymanalad, all can be found on Instagram. It is a great place to kickstart your influencer marketing campaigns to boost your overall social media marketing strategy.
- It has online business tools to boost digital marketing campaigns. When you switch from a personal Instagram account to an Instagram business account, you can use Instagram Shopping, Instagram ads, Instagram insights, and other tools that boost impressions, widen reach, and improve engagement and sales.
- It is a widely used and widely trusted platform that integrates smoothly with Facebook, the social media platform with the most monthly active users (Statista, 2022).
With the ecommerce landscape today, one cannot deny the importance of social media marketing. And more so the use of Instagram, especially when you’re talking about social media marketing for small businesses.
But before posting on Instagram, or having your social media manager do so, let’s first go over some essential Instagram business marketing tips so you can plan for a successful social media strategy.
Instagram marketing tips for business
If you search online for the best marketing tips for Instagram, you’ll be led to various articles, each sharing a different set of techniques that promise successful social media campaigns on the platform. There are Instagram marketing tips for small businesses that want to use Instagram as their main ecommerce platform, and there are tips for those who simply want to use it to complement their existing ecommerce websites.
What we’ve done here is compile the essential, best, and most effective tips that will help you develop a great Instagram marketing strategy.
Here’s a quick list! (Learn more about each tip by clicking the link.)
- Create an optimized Instagram bio
- Curate and design your feed using on-brand aesthetics
- Study your target market and post regularly when most of them are online
- Optimize your captions
- Tag products featured in your posts, stories, and reels
- Increase your followers by engaging with relevant IG accounts and communities
- Feature UGC
- Try influencer marketing
- Reels, reels, reels!
- Create an Instagram business account to access ecommerce business tools
1. Create an optimized Instagram bio
Your Instagram bio is where it all begins. It may be a no-brainer to prominently display your brand name and to use your logo for your profile picture, but that’s not all there is to it.
One common mistake of business owners is to use a less recognizable Instagram handle. Often, it’s because the preferred handle — the actual brand name — is no longer available upon account creation.
But your IG handle is important since it’s often used by customers to tag you and communicate with you, making it a great tool for improving brand awareness.
Users that tag you on their content also introduce you to their followers and connections. Losing the potential to be recognized as a brand and build your name is a great loss for your online business. It is also a failure for your content marketing, with UGC or user-generated content affecting the purchase decision of about 79% of online shoppers (Stackla, 2020).
So if you have to choose an alternative handle, make sure it still clearly states your brand. Perhaps add the phrase ‘theofficial’ before your brand name, or add your industry after it such as ‘brandname_fashionbrand’.
Other important elements to include are your website link (if you have one), your contact information, whether it be your email address, phone number, or office address, a direct yet engaging business description, as well as a CTA or call to action. All these make it easier to transact with your online business, leading to more leads and conversions.
See how Discover MNL does it so well! Its brand name is so well represented in its Instagram name, handle, and description. Not only that but it shares a brand hashtag together with a clear summary of what its business is all about. Lastly, it gives its contact information, a call to action, and a link to where you can shop its products.
2. Curate and design your feed using on-brand aesthetics
Instagram, as you might expect, is BIG on visuals. It’s at the core of the platform, and should also be at the core of any social media marketing campaign done on the platform.
Now if you already have a separate website running, this would be easier since you’ve already decided on your branding and just need to translate it into your IG feed.
But if you’re just starting, you might need more time to decide on your branding. This includes your color palette and theme, overall aesthetic, models, and product or service presentation, all based, of course, on your brand identity or how you see and understand your brand.
The photos and videos you upload should be consistent to avoid confusing your target audience about what you are all about. There’s less space for words on IG, so you have to communicate visually.
On that note, upload high-quality photos and videos. As the preferred media of younger buyers, they’re a great investment.
Use your highlights (i.e., pinned stories) strategically. Feature your most eye-catching products, best-selling items, and popular UGCs. Categorize your products and service information for easier browsing. Prominently show the instructions on how to avail of your featured products and include your pricing.
Show your products in real-life settings and in actual use as well to avoid looking like a catalog. It will help your audience realize where, when, how, and why they’d need your products.
Tiffany & Co. gets the assignment. Fresh, elegant, and inclusive, its feed is a sight to behold. It shares photos of its products, highlighted by their clean, stylized backgrounds and worn by models of different colors, races, and ages. Its pinned stories are categorized to highlight specific collections and to show how its products can enrich life events.
You can read our dedicated write-up on branding if you want to get more in-depth into the subject.
3. Study your target market and post regularly when most of them are online
Any business requires a study of its target market to succeed. The same goes when introducing your online business on Instagram. Who do you want to target? Men in their 20s have completely different preferences than, let’s say, women in their 30s. Where they are located and even their internet access affect how and when they use Instagram.
Once you know your target audience, use A/B testing to find out which marketing strategies are effective on them. You can also use this kind of testing to find out when they engage more with your posts. Do your (a) posts at 1 p.m. perform better than your (b) posts at 5 p.m.?
Once you figure out the best time to post, do so regularly. Don’t let your potential customers, especially those that have followed your page, forget your brand. This also ensures that you have enough content for new visitors. It’s easier to believe that a page is legitimate if it already has a lot of posts.
To help you keep up with a consistent schedule, try planning ahead by creating a content calendar.
4. Optimize your captions
Instagram is a visual platform. We cannot emphasize that enough. But that doesn’t mean that you get to be lazy on your captions.
Optimizing your captions lets the users know more about your products. It also helps them find your brand in the vast ocean of IG posts.
To optimize your captions, use Instagram hashtags to become more visible to your target market. You can use branded hashtags that will lead IG users to your various products. You can also use related category hashtags and trending hashtags to bring attention to your brand should IG users be looking for related posts.
Hashtags lead customers that already have a relevant interest to your IG page. They come with more intent to buy than ordinary visitors.
Instagram allows up to 30 hashtags, but also recommends using only 3 to 5 hashtags per post.
As for your actual content, digital marketing on social media often works better with short-form content. So you’ll be safer with one or two liners. But if you have the skills to make great long-form content fitting for your posts, go as long as you want!
Instagram lets you write a caption with up to 2,200 characters.
The Body Shop shows how it’s done. It uses an ideal number of relevant hashtags and shares why its product is a must-have in a convincing copy highlighted by emojis.
5. Tag products featured in your posts, stories, and reels
Product tags allow you to link your users to the product pages of the items featured in your posts, stories, and reels. Use them to shorten the checkout process and invite more customers to buy.
Note that you can boost the results of your Instagram stories, especially those with product tags, by pinning them to your IG profile.
6. Increase your followers by engaging with relevant IG accounts and communities
Develop a relationship with your target audience by interacting with them. To do this, you can start your own contests and UGC campaigns. Ask your audience for brand-related content like photos, videos, and Instagram stories and reels featuring your products and have them tag you. Then offer to feature the outputs with the most reactions, and maybe even offer prizes like free items or cash.
If you want a more budget-friendly approach, go ahead and search related hashtags for brand-related trends. You can also simply click the Instagram Explore tab for more general trends. Engage and talk with other IG users that may have an interest in your product or service. Answer questions that were thrown to the public if it’s relevant to your business. Try Instagram Live for real-time interaction with your followers. Get yourself out there!
Of course, don’t forget to respond to comments and queries on your page and DMs. People already on your page, after all, are already one step closer to a purchase.
7. Feature UGC
UGC remains one of the most convincing marketing tools for conversions. More than brand-created ads, people trust real people with real experiences of your products and services. Their reviews are seen as more honest and authentic. Based on a Stackla survey, 59% of consumers consider UGC as the most authentic compared to any other type of content.
So save space for UGC on your Instagram feed, stories, reels, and highlights. Encourage users to create them through contests and compensation. And of course, show appreciation by acknowledging them and tagging content-creators back, which will help their own marketing efforts.
Check out Starbucks Coffee’s ‘Tagged’ tab for a great example of how to feature UGCs on your Instagram business account. Aesthetic photos from their customers not only result in a gorgeous feed but also showcase the satisfying experiences of Starbucks customers.
8. Try influencer marketing
Influencers are people who have gained a significant following on a certain platform and have established influence over their followers. Partnering with them is a great move to gain access to their thousands or millions of followers.
Instagram is well-known to be the home of a huge number of influencers with followers ranging from a thousand to millions.
While big-name influencers or macro-influencers seem to be the best choice given their millions of followers, they are often seen more as advertisers. And given the number of their followers, it’s harder for them to create authentic connections with them, lessening their ability to convince them to buy your product.
On the other hand, micro-influencers with 1000 to 10,000 followers are able to build a better relationship with their smaller audience, increasing the chances of conversion when they promote a brand.
If you want to learn more about influencer marketing, you can read our article here.
9. Reels, reels, reels!
The younger generation has a short attention span. Gen Z, in particular, has a very short 8-second attention span during which you need to gain their interest to keep them where you want them.
That’s probably why short-form videos like those found on Instagram reels take up 20% of time spent on the platform, per Meta’s report.
10. Create an Instagram business account to access ecommerce business tools
An Instagram business account lets you maximize the platform for online shopping. But even if you don’t plan on setting up your main store on Instagram, you can still use it for marketing and insights.
With an Instagram business account, you can show up on the Instagram shopping tab where users can discover your online store. Note, however, that Instagram Shopping is only available in select countries and locations.
It also lets you access the paid advertisement service that will lead to a wider, more targeted reach.
Moreover, you can monitor your Instagram marketing campaign better since you’ll have access to data analytics that provides Instagram insights.
A business account lets you integrate your Instagram account with your online store website on Cafe24 as well. In doing so, your sales channels will be easier to manage since you can keep track of your online store website and Instagram shop all in one dashboard.
Instagram trends to watch out for
Per the recent Instagram trends report for 2022, the following are what Instagram users are currently into:
- Maximalist fashion that translates to bold, colorful, and unrestrained style
- Minimalist beauty, specifically, ethical, sustainable, ‘clean’ beauty products
- Holistic wellness including workouts and creative hobbies that serve as emotional and mental outlets
- Music via short-form video and dance challenges
Trends are the results of current events that impact the lives of people. As they affect people’s habits and preferences, they also affect the way they purchase. Keep an eye out for them to launch marketing campaigns that are relevant and effective.
Integrate your IG account with your online store website for seamless online business management
Instagram is a great place to market your products and grow your business, but it’s not a replacement for having your own online store website.
Having an ecommerce website for your brand remains the best choice for online entrepreneurs given how much more flexible it is when it comes to business strategy and branding.
It allows you to build customer experience from your layout, to your navigation, buttons, links, promotions, and media. The code is all yours to customize, and any promotion can be as unique and shocking as you want without restrictions from social media platforms.
Not only that, but it also allows you more room to communicate with your market using web pages. You can feature your brand story, blogs, and other essential information, and present them anywhere on your website for easy access.
And most importantly, an ecommerce platform is also geared with more ecommerce apps that improve online business management, allowing for more customization and on-brand features.
Yet, it can be quite troublesome to handle another business account on Instagram when you’re already running your own website.
We know.
This is why Cafe24 offers the Facebook Channel app, a free application that lets you integrate your Facebook and Instagram business accounts to your Cafe24 online store for streamlined online business management. Keep track of all the happenings in your various sales channels on Cafe24’s admin dashboard.
You can also feature your IG feed anywhere on your online store website with the Instagram Widget. That’s double the exposure and better marketing.
So go ahead and explore the world of Instagram marketing with Cafe24.
