200 million active users every month, on average about 60 million new publications every day, 8.5 thousand new photos every second - the statistics speak for themselves: Instagram is the unrivaled emperor of social networks for image sharing. Any entrepreneur knows that you need to be where your client is located, so we present to you several proven ways to use Instagram to promote your business.
Definition of target audience (Ideal Customer Profile)
In marketing, there is the term "ideal customer profile" in English Ideal Customer Profille (ICP). ICP is the de facto target audience of your product. This is a category of people targeting the products or services that you offer. On Instagram, an “ideal customer profile” is an ideal follower profile.
If you specify the ICP correctly, then guaranteedly any content you produce will find a response from readers.
For example: if your ICP is women who love jewelry and good wine, who dream of a luxurious life, beautiful cars, and spend their vacations in five-star hotels, then the content of your profile should be very different from the content for people who prefer to spend free time outdoors, do yoga, they are fond of meditation, and holidays are spent in a tent or fishing.
Post content regularly
Not once a month, not once a week, but at least several times a week you need to publish content in your Instagram feed. If you do not regularly publish fresh content, then you will quickly be forgotten and marketing relationships will quickly cease.
Plan and edit your Instagram posts a week in advance using free apps like Planonly or PLANN.
At the same time, one should not deviate from the main topics of publications with which the brand and offer are associated, even if it seems to you that this will attract a new audience. For example, you should not create content about kittens in your profile for selling online courses just because kittens are popular on Instagram: this will only cause confusion. On the contrary, you need to post materials that directly fall into your target audience.
People love to walk around shopping malls and watch storefronts. They will love it even more if they don’t have to go anywhere - just open the brand page on Instagram.
Profile Optimization
Heard about the five second rule? That is how much time a potential subscriber (client) on Instagram needs to evaluate the interest of your content and how suitable you are as a potential object for observation. If during these 5 seconds a person does not have a full understanding of what you offer and what advantages you have, then you will already lose the chance to establish contact, and hence sales.
When optimizing your profile, pay attention to the following questions:
- Does your profile biography express exactly what you offer?
- Does your profile picture reflect what your brand is doing?
- Does your username or account name reflect what your business is?
First of all, make sure your Instagram profile is easily searched for Instagram keywords. It is easy to do, search algorithms allow it. For example, someone is looking for an English tutor: if you use the keywords "English lessons" in your username or account name, then this will increase the chance that a potential client will find you using the search.
Hashtags
Instagram is largely based on hashtags.Thanks to them, you will achieve much greater success in promoting your account by the number of subscribers. Remember, however, that they are clearly related to your industry and promote the values that your brand represents. Also, use hashtags that have become trending and that have reached millions of users.
Networking
Instagram is also a great platform that you can use to cross promote. Make friends with other brands in your industry that reach the same customer but are not your direct competitors. To find out if a company has an Instagram profile, use the Iconosquare.com service.
Social Media Advertising
Get your existing followers from other social networks to subscribe to your Instagram profile. Try to advertise your profile wherever you can.
Discounts and coupons
The reality is that an impressive percentage of users can track a specific profile only because it offers a variety of discount offers, contests and coupons. Such offers consistently attract traffic, which means they increase sales.
Communication, active interaction with the audience
If the followers are simply followers, nothing will come of selling. Then your Instagram activity can be compared simply with an expensive hobby. Your task is to immerse them in the product, get them out of read only state, and for this you need to actively engage the audience through communication and interaction.
Follow the profiles of other insta bloggers. Like and comment on their photos. Show that you approach each individually. Respond to the messages of your followers commenting on your product: start by talking in the comments below the post, and then move to private messages. This is where the magic of sales through Instagram takes place.
All this makes users more attached to your brand, makes them more willing to look into your profile, feel special and appreciated.
In addition, communication with each client individually allows you to better understand what he needs, and therefore increases the chance of a sale. With Instagram features such as voice messaging and video messaging, chatting with the client becomes even easier. So, with the help of a short video you can answer all customer questions or show your own proposal without spending a lot of time.
Conclusion
This may sound paradoxical, but to achieve sales, treat Instagram primarily as a means of inspiration and communication with your customers. If you approach the use of this tool, focusing mainly on money, you most likely will not achieve the desired results.