15 Instagram Tips that Will Catapult Your Business to Success

May 4, 2014

Instagram provides you with a wealth of opportunities to send out a message to your audience and generate leads, whether you are Instagram marketing for small business or a large organisation. As lots of people are on Instagram and many people connect their Instagram accounts to various other social media platforms, you can successfully spread your brand name across Instagram with ease. However, when it comes to posting your images on Instagram, you’re limited to little square pictures. Contained within each square, you must come up with content that’s catchy, memorable and relevant to your brand.

If you’re running out ideas about what to post on your business’ Instagram account, here are some Instagram marketing tips that will outshine all of your previous Instagram marketing campaigns:

1. Show your products. If you’re selling something, posting an image of it on Instagram can easily tie the audience’s idea of your brand to that product. You can even get a conversation going by asking your audience if they prefer one colour or pattern over another.

2. Showcase your service equipment. If you provide, for instance, cleaning services, home spa services and the like, you can post images of the equipment you use, such as special cleaners, oils and other supplementary items.

3. Show your process. Give the audience a glimpse of the action by showing how your product is made or how your service is carried out.

4. Post about alternative uses. A new trick for using a product can open your audience’s eyes to a number of possibilities. For example, a fashion brand can share four different uses for one of their popular scarves. You can also do this with restaurant businesses by giving tips such as mentioning the secret menu if you have one.

5. Do behind the scenes posts. It’s like giving your audience a backstage pass into what goes on behind the counter or inside the factory. Whether you’re showing employees having some fun in their desks or a backstage peek at makeup artists using your products on models, your employees would definitely love to be featured on the Instagram page.

6. Show a demo. It’s a subtle marketing tool that also helps the audience see what your product or service can do for them. For example, if you’re in the bag repair business, showing pictures of before and after repairs can show your audience how competent your business is.

7. Reach out to your followers. Make your Instagram followers feel special by holding a contest exclusively for them. For instance, the first few people who repost or comment on a post will get a discount coupon or a special prize. You can also do photo contest wherein you’d ask your followers to post pictures of themselves using your product. The one who comes up with the most creative photo wins the prize.

8. Cuteness goes a long way. Lovable creatures are always welcome on social media. You can make use of this by posting images of employees’ pets or animals interacting with your product. For example, you can show a photo of a tiny kitten falling asleep on your packaging or a puppy enjoying a meal that features one of your products.

9. Post about celebrity sightings. When you’re attending an event for your product, you’ll probably run into a few celebrities. Snap a photo and upload it onto Instagram to grab the attention of fans. And don’t forget to hashtag or tag the celebrity in the photo!

10. Go with the trends. One of the most popular Instagram hashtags is #throwbackthursday where every Thursday, people post a picture from the past. You can do this by showing images of how your brand started out or what it was up to ten years ago. There’s also the #mancrushmonday where you can post a picture of an eligible bachelor from your office. You can even go with the current sporting or entertainment trends by posting about them in relevance to your product. For example, if your business released a new energy drink flavor, you can mention it with a screenshot of a popular athlete looking tired. Try to link these with current events such as the Oscars, the Olympics and other big sporting events.

11. Share an experience. Out of office events are always post-worthy enough to be featured in your branding pursuit. If you’re attending one for your business, don’t forget to post pictures. If it’s a particularly popular event, you can also do live posts every time something interesting is happening.

12. Ask the audience. Sometimes, the best source of insight is your followers. They’re filled with varying opinions that open your eyes and make you know your audience better. In this case, ask your audience for their opinion about something relevant to your brand. For instance, you can ask them about what they think of the latest drink your restaurant released or what they thought of the event your business held a few days ago.

13. Inspire your audience. Every once in a while, it can also help to create a typography quote specifically for your brand. Inspirational or uplifting posts always get its fair share of interaction. It can also leave an impression on your audience since this inspirational message will be associated with your brand. In fine print at the bottom, remember to include your website or any relevant hashtags.

14. Do a perspective shift. This works best for brands that have an international audience. You can show how different people from all over the world experience the something related to your brand. Ask your global audience to take a picture of themselves with the product in a way that represents their country. For example, if you’re promoting kitchen appliances, ask users to photograph a traditional meal made using those products.

15. Sometimes it’s all about the visuals. Many brands post interesting photos of their products from a different perspective. For instance, coffee beans arranged in the shape of your logo can make for a great post and also a great profile photo. You can also take a photo of one of your products from a strange angle and ask your audience to guess which one of your products it is. If you don’t think your brand can’t pull those off, a shot of your logo or your office with some nice lighting and complementary filter would do!

Your Instagram marketing strategy is important for garnering rapport and support from your online audience and transforming them into high-quality leads that you can nurture later with marketing automation. Keep these Instagram tips in mind the next time you’re looking for something to post!