Since its launch in 2010, Instagram has taken the world by passion. It seems like everyone and their pet is on the platform. You may have also noticed the increase in brands who’ve developed a presence on Instagram. But is Instagram worth their time, and should your business also be on this platform? The answer is 100% yes, and here’s why:
- Instagram recognizes over one billion active monthly users.
- 70% of adults online use Instagram.
- There are 40 million business profiles on Instagram.
- 85% of Instagram users follow at least one business, and 75% of users say they’ve purchased a product they’ve seen on this platform.
Instagram isn’t just for personal use anymore whether for you or your pet. It’s now a global platform that allows brands to refine their content, recruit new talent, showcase products, and inspire their audience.
Here are 5 ways to leverage Instagram marketing for business (that work) that you can use to extract the popular platform for all that it’s worth.
First, you need to switch to a business profile.
1. Switch to a business profile.
Before you start considering your Instagram marketing plan, be sure that you have an Instagram Business Account. It’s easy to switch your personal or current profile to a business account. Just go to your settings and click on “Switch to Business Profile” to get started.
There are some clear benefits to having a business profile:-
- followers can click on your contact button to get in touch with you right from your Instagram business account just like they would from your website.
- A business account allows you to create and publish Instagram sponsored ads.
- You can also access Instagram analytics tools, called Insights, that provide stats about the audience and reach of your posts.
2. Create sponsored ads
Instagram ads have become commonplace on Instagram. The best part? You can decide how much you want to spend on ads by setting an ad budget. You can showcase one sponsored ad or multiple ads.
This gives brands the ability to target their audience in a whole new way. Before the sponsored posts feature launched, only users following your account could see your updates and photos.
There are many different types of sponsored ads that you can post, mentioned below:
- Photo
- Video
- Carousel/Dynamic Ads
- Stories
- Stories Canvas
3. Use Instagram Stories
If you want to leverage your business revenue, Instagram Stories are here to help.
Instagram stories different from normal Instagram posts because they come in a “slideshow” format. They’re only live for 24 hours.
Rather than appearing in the news feed, Instagram Stories appear smaller area. You can also tag other brands in Stories, which is great if you’re collaborating with another brand or influencer.
4. Partner with influencers for a wider reach
If you want to reach your potential customers on Instagram, the fastest way to do that is through big influencers who have already built an audience with a large following.
More and more people are buying services or products based on what they see in their Insta feed from the influential people they follow. They trust and admire them.
If you partner with your industry influencer, you can get your brand, product, and services out in front of those users. The first step is to try and identify a few big influencers that have an audience that is relevant to your brand, product, or services.
5. Post at the right times and don’t overpost
Over-posting on Instagram is a sure way to turn off your existing followers.
If all they see is your brand on their news feed, again and again, they’re probably going to unfollow you as fast as possible. But you want to post on a consistent basis so that you stay in their news feed consistently.
One of the best ways to do this is to only post during peak days and hours when your audience is online. According to Simply Measured, the worst days to post on Instagram are Wednesdays and Sundays, while Mondays and Thursdays are the best days to post. And according to research from CoSchedule, the best times of day to post are between 8:00 AM and 9:00 AM, as well as 2:00 AM.
Advertising on Instagram
What about advertising on Instagram? While Instagram was delayed to deliver advertising opportunities to all, nowadays as long as you have a business profile you can run ads on Instagram. Instagram took its time to deliver advertising to all. An earlier blog post describes why: “We try to get any advertisements you see appears easy to Instagram as photos and videos many of you previously experience from your approved brands.” And in fact, it is the state that native-looking ads lead to work best on the floor.
Advertisers now have 5 ads options including:
- Photo ads – your regular Instagram post form
- Video ads – the identical as above, but with a video in the position of a photo
- Carousel ads – a slideshow ad, which provides for various images
- Stories ads – these are Instagram’s story of Snapchat ads seen at the tip of the feed
- Collection ads – a catalog ad that takes users through your merchandise gifts
Why You Should Invest in Instagram Ads
According to Instagram, 70% of people say they find new results on the platform, and 30% of users visit a company profile every single day. Plus, 44% of the most popular Instagram Stories are given by businesses like yours. Similar to Facebook ads, losing some money behind a post will lead to more publicity for your brand, as well as more power over who can see your post.
What advertisers should lock onto is the fact that Instagram does Facebook’s demographic data to follow up ads to the relevant parties. This makes the tool super helpful for advertisers looking to target a niche audience because Facebook already has a common history and thorough demographic targeting opportunities.
If you need a more reliable check out Instagram’s doing stories page where you can order by project, purpose, result, country, and group size to find stories around how related businesses are viewing success with advertisements.
Cost of Instagram Advertising
But how much do these Instagram ads cost?
The type used is based on CPM’s (cost per impressions). While Instagram ads on common receive much higher engagement than Facebook ads, it does come at a price. According to Keith Baumwald, founder of Leverage Consulting Instagram ads costs are somewhat more expensive than Facebook ads. Braunwald claims that since the ads are so extremely targeted you could end up spending as high as $6 a CPM.
Other ways to control your Instagram ad spend include setting your ad schedule (for instance, you can designate certain hours of the day you want your ads to run), setting your ad delivery system (there are three options à link clicks, ideas, and daily unique reach), as well as setting your bid price.
Conclusion
Instagram users recognize high-quality content. Create infographics or visuals that provide your audience with interesting information or showcase your brand in a new, unique way. consider your content by writing entertaining captions that engage.
Contact Instagram marketing agency in Delhi Ncr and get inspired to make the most out of your Instagram marketing strategy.
What Instagram marketing methods work best for you and your brand?