Instagram is currently one of the most effective advertising tools for businesses. Over one billion people log into the app every month, and many of these people use the app to search for new businesses and brands.
But it isn’t enough to just post the occasional picture; if you really want to succeed, you need to create interesting, varied content that gives potential customers the chance to engage with you. Thankfully we can help you with that!
Here are six business Instagram tips to boost your engagement.
1. Business Instagram Tips: Choose One Filter And Stick With It
Instagram is a very visual app, so we suggest choosing one filter to use on all of your images. This will give a sense of unity to your account, and it will also help to project a professional, appealing image to potential customers who find your account. Studies have found that Clarendon is the most popular filter globally, but you should find a filter that best suits the personality of your business.
2. Tag Others
If you occasionally mention other brands, businesses or people in your posts, be sure to tag them. This means that the tagged person will get a notification about the post, and they will also have the option to re-share your post on their own story. This is a great way to reach new people, especially if the business/person has a similar target audience to you.
3. Use Questions And Polls To Engage With Your Audience
You can also use polls and questions as free market research. Simply post a poll (this could be about a new product, or it could be about opening times) to see what your customers think about your new idea. This is a great way to find out more about your target audience, so in the future it will be even easier to create products that suit their needs. It also allows your audience to develop a stronger relationship with you, so this really is a win-win situation!
4. Understand Follower Fatigue
Have you heard of the term ‘follower fatigue’? Nowadays people are bombarded with advertisements and content, and over time this can become cumbersome and frustrating. So don’t feel pressured to post content every single day; instead post occasionally, and make sure every post has some value to your followers. This will reduce the number of people who unfollow or unsubscribe (so your account can actually grow, rather than just maintain followers).
5. Use The Video Feature
Many businesses avoid creating video content as they think it is intimidating and time consuming, but this could be a big mistake. A recent survey found that the average customer spends around 84 minutes every day watching video content, so video content is perhaps the most popular form of content.
If you want to start making video content, don’t worry about creating a long video; one or two minutes should be enough. Just make sure the video will entertain or provide use to your customers, and it should do well!
6. Post Stories Frequently
Finally it can be beneficial to post Instagram stories frequently. Story posts only stay up for 24 hours, which can be off-putting – but they can significantly increase your engagement. This is because when you post a story your account will appear on the Story bar, so you will reach significantly more customers that day. You can also post more varied content on your stories (such as polls or questionnaires), which can make your content feel less repetitive.
If you are too busy to do this, you can hire a great virtual assistant to schedule posts for you. This means you don’t have to spend as much time on social media, but your account will continue to grow and pull in new customers.
