Information for this blog post was obtained from Neil Patel, Hootsuite, and Sprout Social.
You first come in contact with a brand or new product through social media. However, there was much behind-the-scenes work that went into marketing that product. There was a lot of intention behind identifying the target audience and crafting the social media strategy.
Instagram marketing, specifically, is significant when marketing a new product. Developing a deep understanding of your target audience and creating a strong content strategy is crucial. Posting regularly and having a plan will prove to be successful for your overall marketing plan for your new product.
There are also many social media marketing tools out there – both free and paid. Some of these tools include Hootsuite, Ads Manager, Canva, and Abode Lightroom. These tools help you track analytics and post ahead of time. Lastly, some other useful strategies for product promotion on social media include, partnering with influencers and utilizing Instagram stories, sponsored ads, and Instagram shops.
This blog post will dive deeper into how to effectively engage your target audience, use social media marketing tools, and strategies for promoting a new product on Instagram specifically.
Why is Instagram Marketing Important for a New Product?
Instagram is the third most popular social media app. According to Sprout Social, 59% of Instagram’s two billion users log into the app daily. 90% of these people on Instagram also follow a business. This organic interaction is high compared to other social media platforms. So many statistics point toward why your business should be on Instagram.
Whatever type of new product you are launching, your target market is going to be on this app. Although Instagram demographics lean more toward the younger generation, there are still high percentages of other age groups on the app.
According to Neil Patel, Instagram is the top platform for building relationships. If you have an authentic relationship with your followers, they will be more likely to trust your brand and look into your new product.
Understand and Engage Your Target Audience
Understand Your Audience
To be successful in Instagram marketing, you have to have a detailed understanding of your target audience. How will you know what kind of content to make if you don’t know who you are marketing to? Patel emphasizes the importance of a "clearly-defined audience," noting that this sharp focus increases the likelihood of reaching those most likely to respond to your posts.
Delving into the specifics, Hootsuite advises to consider not only demographics such as age and location but also online behaviors like preferred hashtags and community involvement. According to Sprout Social, this tailored approach ensures your content strategy targets people genuinely interested in your product or service, rather than broadcasting aimlessly and hoping for resonance. Clearly defining your audience will help you market a new product with efficiency.
Develop a Content Strategy
Crafting your content strategy requires thoughtful consideration of various elements. Sprout Social encourages diversifying your Instagram feed with eye-catching images, people-centered photos, and even memes or image macros to keep the content fresh and engaging. They also recommend crafting captions that include a call to action, personality, and relevant hashtags to increase reach and interaction. Keeping your content unique and consistent when marketing a new product is important.
Neil Patel suggests thinking carefully about what you post, when you post it, and how it looks. Your business's brand voice should be consistent, not just in the text but across color palettes, post types, and themes. Interaction is also vital; engaging directly with followers makes them feel heard and valued, fostering a sense of community and loyalty. People want to be heard and that goes for your Instagram followers too.
Schedule Content Regularly
Consistency is key in Instagram marketing. Using a content calendar helps you plan out your posts effectively, reducing last-minute rushes and potential errors, according to Hootsuite. Scheduling posts in advance ensures your content reaches your audience at optimal times without needing to manually post around the clock. Scheduling content saves you time in the long run and helps you stick to a social media strategy while marketing your new product.
Leverage Instagram’s Marketing Tools
Free Instagram Marketing Tools
When marketing a new product, you want to do everything you can—which includes using free and paid Instagram marketing tools. There are several free tools that are essential for understanding and enhancing your engagement, such as Content Ideas Generator and Instagram Hashtag Generator.
Neil Patel highlights how these tools can provide insights into follower demographics and behaviors, which is critical for refining your content and engagement strategies. By analyzing how users interact with your posts, you can adjust your approach to boost engagement, making these tools invaluable for marketers looking to optimize their presence on the platform.
Paid Marketing Tools
For those looking to expand their Instagram efforts, paid tools can offer more robust options. Sprout Social and Hootsuite mention several great options:
Curalate – this tool helps brands identify potential user-generated content for their schedules. Curated posts are put right in front of the brand so they can easily repost the images onto their own profiles.
Hootsuite – has comprehensive capabilities. It can schedule your posts, you can reply to comments on the website, boost organic posts, and track your results in real-time.
Ads Manager – shared by Facebook and Instagram, and allows for detailed campaign management and targeting across both platforms. Through Ads Manager, the amount spent and cost per result sections are there to help you gauge the effectiveness of the money you spend.
Canva and Adobe Lightroom – crucial for creating visually appealing content that stands out in a crowded feed.
Boosting top-performing posts is another strategy recommended by Hootsuite which involves setting a budget to enhance the visibility and reach of your best content, and therefore, maximizing its impact. Boosting a well-performing post could be the reason someone finds out about your brand or new product.
Advanced Strategies for Product Promotion
Partner with Influencers
Influencer marketing is particularly effective on Instagram. Patel notes that with its visual format and engaged community, Instagram is an ideal platform for influencer campaigns. He suggests identifying influencers whose audience matches your target demographic and fostering strong relationships with them.
With each relationship built with an influencer, comes lasting brand awareness with a new audience. People trust influencers, and if an influencer indorses your product, they will be more likely the purchase it. Sprout Social adds that tools like TapInfluence can help in finding the right influencers by analyzing their effectiveness and alignment with your brand's values and goals.
Utilize Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories present a unique opportunity for real-time engagement. As Patel points out, they are prominently displayed at the top of follower timelines and offer various creative formats, including photos, short videos, and live broadcasts. He also mentions that 50% of Instagram users follow through to websites after seeing products or services featured in Stories.
Utilizing tools like InVideo, you can create compelling content that leverages this feature's temporary yet impactful nature to attract attention and drive action. Stories on Instagram have become very popular and can be used powerfully to market a new product.
Use Sponsored Ads
How many times have you bought a product based on an Instagram ad? Likely all of us have once. Sponsored ads extend your reach beyond your immediate followers and can be highly targeted to specific audiences. Patel explains that this feature allows brands to reach potential customers who might not otherwise encounter their content. With a variety of ad formats available, including photos, video, reels, and stories, sponsored ads are a flexible tool for increasing visibility and engagement.
Instagram Shops and Product Tags
Setting up an Instagram Shop and tagging products in your posts streamline the shopping experience by allowing users to purchase directly through the app. Hootsuite describes this feature as transforming your profile into a “customizable digital storefront” where customers can easily browse and buy products. Product tags add further convenience by providing immediate access to product details, simplifying the path from discovery to purchase. Your new product can basically be sold on Instagram!
Conclusion
Successful Instagram marketing isn’t just about posting every day, it’s about making each post count by really understanding who your audience is and using the right tools to reach them. There’s a lot you can do to up your product promotion game on Instagram, including utilizing Instagram stories, sponsored ads, and Instagram shops. Partnering with influencers can help broaden your reach and increase followers. Lastly, using paid and unpaid tools can help Instagram marketers save time when making and scheduling posts and learning from analytics.
In conclusion, remember that the key to success in marketing a new product on Instagram lies not only in what you post but how you connect with your audience. Build authentic relationships with your customers through your social media and they will be sure to trust your new product.
Disclaimer: No AI was injured in the production of this content. AI (ChatGPT) was used as a tool to supplement, enhance, and make suggestions in writing this blog post.
For more information about Instagram marketing, check out my colleague Faith's post here.
Resources
McLachlan, S. (2023, November 28). Instagram Strategy Marketing Guide: Tips for 2024. https://blog.hootsuite.com/instagram-marketing/.
OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT (3.5) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com
Patel, N. Instagram Marketing Guide: 12 Tips that Actually Work. https://neilpatel.com/blog/instagram-marketing-tips/.
Sprout Social. (2023, January 17). Instagram Marketing: 6 Ways to Update Your Strategy. https://sproutsocial.com/insights/instagram-marketing-strategy/.
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