Information in this blog post was obtained from HubSpot Blog, The Social Media Examiner, and Sprout Social.
Introduction: Understanding Instagram
As many of you already know, Instagram has become a key element of marketing for a lot of companies. While this can present new challenges, it can also offer an abundance of opportunities. Understanding how to get the most out of Instagram is vital, as it has very impressive statistics. Here are just a few:
1 billion active monthly users
140 million users in the U.S
71% of businesses use Instagram
500 million daily Instagram stories
With statistics like this, it is clear that Instagram is a great place to focus your social media marketing efforts. Instagram has three main forms of content that you will need to focus on in order to have success, reels, stories, and original posts. In this blog, we will break down the three and explain how each content type plays a role in successful Instagram marketing.
Instagram Reels
Short-form video content has grown dramatically in popularity, with reels now becoming a key piece of content on Instagram. Reels allow you to showcase your company's voice in ways that a simple post cannot, giving the audience a more personal form of content. There are several key steps in making quality short-form video content for your audience.
Understanding your audience: Understanding your target audience and ensuring the content you are creating is tailored to them is crucial, and will make or break your success with Instagram Reels.
Creative Content: Everyone is using short-form video content. The key to having success is to provide creative, quality content in a short video.
Time: Instagram reels are designed, much like TikTok, to be short. Creating videos that are longer than forty-five seconds will make your path to success a lot harder than it needs to be.
Make Adjustments: Instagram offers many ways to monitor the success of your reels. If your reels are not performing well, you will be able to check at the click of a button. This allows you to be creative and find what works for you.
Use trends: Like TikTok, Instagram uses "sounds", or audio that can be played over your video. Different sounds trend each month, which is a perfect example of how to use trends in your Instagram reels. Staying up to date with current trends and hashtags is very important on Instagram. You will need to stay up to date and adjust your content strategies accordingly.
Consistency: Instagram's Algorithm tends to favor accounts that post routinely. Creating a content schedule on Instagram will put you on the right path to growing your account.
Reels are here to stay, regardless of which social media site you choose to use. It is very important to understand not only how to create reels but how to optimize your reels to find success on Instagram.
Instagram Stories: Instagram Stories allow you to share content with your audience that will disappear in 24 hours. This feature is a great way to post more frequently than you would with a typical post. This can be used to keep your brand on your audience's page daily. Here are 5 tips to help you utilize Instagram Stories.
Engage with your audience: Instagram offers an abundance of ways to interact with your audience through stories. Polls and questions are frequently used, and implementing them in your Instagram campaign can be vital. Using these features gives your audience a way to not only directly ask you questions, but also interact with new products and ideas.
Authenticity: Instagram Stories are a great way to show your audience more authentic parts of your brand. Using stories to showcase how your brand in a way that feels more authentic and personal is a great way to boost your audience's experience. This can be updates on new products, behind-the-scenes content, or anything that will feel more genuine to the audience.
Promotional content: Stories are a great way for you to advertise sales or promotions, utilizing the 24-hour time frame to your advantage.
Highlight stories: Instagram offers the highlight feature, which allows you to save a story to your page. A highlighted post will not disappear after 24 hours. Many companies have utilized this feature to create a more visual Instagram page, so many that this is expected of a professional Instagram page. There are many ways for you to utilize the highlight feature, but remember your highlights will potentially be the first thing a consumer sees when they view your page.
Instagram Posts
With all of the new features social media sites offer, it is easy to forget about the original post. It can be easy to push posts to the side and focus on other features, but regardless of the latest trends with stories and reels, it is still very important that your posts are well-made. Posts will be one of the first things your audience is drawn to when viewing your account, so ensuring they are done correctly is still very important. Here are a few ways to make quality Instagram posts.
Quality over quantity: When it comes to original Instagram posts it is very important to focus on quality over quantity. Filling your Instagram page with high-quality pictures and visuals will help ensure you have success.
Have a schedule: While stories and reel schedules can be a little less strict, it is important to keep a well-monitored schedule when creating posts.
Use analytics: Using analytics is important for every aspect of Instagram. Analytics will help you create a schedule as well as understand what type of content your audience enjoys.
Use Ads: Instagram has a great advertising system. Spending some of your marketing budget to boost your posts, especially if you are new to Instagram is a great way to quickly grow your audience, as well as find your target audience.
For more information regarding Instagram marketing, be sure to check out my colleague John's post here.
Resources
HubSpot. (n.d.). Instagram marketing: The ultimate guide. https://www.hubspot.com/instagram-marketing
By. (n.d.). Instagram reel strategy: How to connect, engage, and sell. Social Media Examiner. https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/instagram-reel-strategy-how-to-connect-engage-and-sell/
By. (n.d.-a). Creating a sustainable Instagram strategy in five easy steps. Social Media Examiner. https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/creating-a-sustainable-instagram-strategy-in-five-easy-steps/
Sheikh, M. (2024, September 10). Top 16 influencer marketing platforms for your 2024 campaigns. Sprout Social. https://sproutsocial.com/insights/influencer-marketing-platforms/
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