Fundamentals of Instagram Marketing for Your Business

Instagram has grown enormously since it was first launched in 2010, but only after Facebook bought it in 2011, people learned about the app. By 2012, they saw a huge increase in profiles where users started treating Instagram like a digital scrapbook. Since then, Instagram has evolved and introduced many different features such as direct messages, Instagram Stories, IGTV and a live video feature. In the last decade, Instagram has been a valuable channel for businesses to promote their products and services with visual focused content.

Why should your business be on Instagram?

Many businesses are under the impression that Instagram marketing is limited to only food, fashion or travel industries. This is a misconception – the truth is any business can drive results through Instagram. The real question is how, and this blog will guide you through the basic marketing tactics.

90% of people are following at least one brand on Instagram and 60% of these users have discovered new products and services through the platform

Here are some interesting stats:

Instagram has 9+ million monthly active Australian users, and 1+ million monthly active New Zealand users
1/3 of the most viewed stories are from businesses
In 2020, users will spend 28 minutes per day on the platform

What content works on Instagram?

Before you start setting up your business profile, decide on your brand tone and personality. Tell a story about your offerings and ensure that your content aligns with your brand. E.g. Set a colour tone and formatting style, use authentic and compelling captions, create a visually strong gallery and most importantly, be consistent with posting content.

Photos and videos of your product and services
Showcase your company culture
Industry-relevant images
Run giveaways, offers and promotions

Best practices for businesses posting on Instagram

Instagram offers tons of features which give you endless creative possibilities. From regular video stories, to boomerang, to hyperlapse, which you can use in different ways to create captivating content to tell your story.

Here are some of our top recommendations: 

Create fun stories by adding gifs, emojis and one-line captions to stand out
Try out Instagram Reels
Start a poll to start a conversation with your followers: “Do you prefer a red or yellow car?”
Run a contest to generate more followers
Add appropriate hashtags! Our best advice is to add no more than 8-11 hashtags.  
Engage your audience by running giveaways, uploading photos and tagging your company handle and hashtag
Ensure you respond to your direct messages and comments promptly. It is crucial to interact with your followers! Stalk your competitor’s pages to know what they are doing, what’s working and what’s not working for them
Don’t forget to add information about your company such as business hours, location and phone number. You can also add a link to your most relevant landing page in the description box

Measuring success on Instagram

Instagram has its own analytics tool that provides real-time metrics to see how well your stories and posts are performing.

You can easily measure the:

Total number of profile visits
Total number of website clicks
Total reach (the number of unique accounts who saw your posts)
Total impressions (the total number of times your posts were viewed)
Performance of every post, including engagement and impressions
Total number of views on your Stories
Age and gender breakdown of your audience

Instagram is a great way to tap into an audience which is actively engaging with new content every day. As a business, you need to fully embrace the features of Instagram and include it as part of your marketing strategy. Note: you might not see a high volume of interaction instantly, but as long as your content is connecting with the audience and you are posting it regularly, you will see results.