9 Ways Local Businesses Can Use Instagram To Attract New Customers
Instagram is a social media platform that allows you to share photos, videos and other content with your followers and friends. Instagram is a highly visual platform that focuses on videos and images rather than text-based posts. Since it’s owned by Facebook, Instagram users are more likely to engage with brands they know. However, many small businesses don’t take advantage of this useful marketing tool because they don’t have time or the resources to invest in an Instagram campaign. In this article we’ve outlined some of the most effective ways local businesses can use Instagram to attract new customers.
Create a strong profile
Include a professional bio, as well as what customers can expect from your business. Let people know what makes your business unique.
- Be sure your bio is clear and concise, with the link to your website or blog included in it. If you are targeting a local audience, make sure you include your location!
- Add a link in your bio. This is an easy way to direct people to where they can find out more about you and your business. Make sure the link is relevant and useful and change it often.
Get creative with videos and Instagram Stories
One of the best ways to connect with new customers is by creating videos and Instagram Stories. Videos can be an incredibly effective way to demonstrate your expertise, showcase a product or service, or engage with consumers in an entertaining, informative way.
When creating a video for your business, keep it short and sweet! The average attention span these days is 8 seconds so keep that in mind when creating videos for Instagram. Also try to make sure your message is clear and concise so that people won’t get bored before they finish watching the video.
Post user-generated content
User-generated content is a great way to attract new readers while also engaging your existing audience. Create a hashtag for your business and use the hashtag in the caption of your post, encouraging your followers to use it as well. When people share their photos with that tag, you can like and comment on them, which will make them feel valued and appreciated by you. Posting user-generated photos also helps build brand awareness for your company because people who don’t know about it will see how much fun other people are having at your establishment.
As much as possible, use humor in your posts. Humor is an excellent way to engage your audience, as it makes you more relatable and friendly.
It’s also a fantastic way to keep your followers engaged, as they will want to see what you post next. If you can use humor that doesn’t make fun of others, it will come across as more genuine and less forced.
Having good quality content and keeping your audience engaged
In order to attract new customers, you’ll need to have superior quality content. This means that your photos and videos must be high quality and not blurry or low-resolution. In addition, having a consistent theme or style will help keep users interested in following your account.
To maintain a well-rounded brand and engaging followers, include content that is not only about your company. This will bring more viewers and help keep the account from feeling too sales-y.
It’s also important that you engage with the community by interacting with other Instagram users, sharing their posts and commenting on pictures related to the industry that you’re in. When people see that others find value in what you’re doing by leaving comments on your work or replying to your posts themselves, this can create goodwill towards the business itself.
Post high-quality images
First, post high-quality images. High-quality photos are a must-have on Instagram, where users are accustomed to seeing beautiful and unique photos every day. Posting poor or uninspired images will make you blend into the crowd and detract from your brand’s professionalism. (If you have any doubt about whether an image is good enough for Instagram, try posting it on Facebook or Twitter first—these sites tend to emphasize beauty more than functionality.)
In addition to making sure that your picture quality is high, make sure your photo has a story behind it. Even if the subject of the photo isn’t related directly to your business in some way (for example: “My dog” instead of “Our dog grooming service”), it should be clear why this particular photo was chosen. Viewers can lose interest quickly when they don’t see any real connection between what they’re seeing and who they’re watching.
Finally, remember that relevance matters when posting images on any social media platforms.
Post often
Posting more often will increase your engagement, which is one of the most important metrics to watch when it comes to Instagram. If you’re posting a lot, people will see more of your content and start following you in hopes that they’ll get a chance to see more good stuff from you. Plus, the more content you have on Instagram, the better! It gives people a real reason to follow you—to get in on all those posts instead of just seeing one or two occasionally.
Use hashtags wisely
Understanding the way hashtags work on Instagram is critical to your success. Hashtags are a way of grouping content together and can be used in many ways by businesses. You can use hashtags as a search tool to find others who are posting about similar things, or even related topics that you may not have thought of yet. For example, if you’ve just opened an Etsy shop selling cute handmade cat sweaters then tagging #cute and #kittycat would be relevant because people searching for those words will see your posts in their feed. If you’re really committed to using hashtags, then try using them creatively by layering them over each other so that they form new meanings or create puns (e.g., “#Iwantthiswebsite”).
- Tag other businesses in your photos: When posting images from events hosted by other companies, tag them at the end of your post with @[insert business name here] or #[insert business name here].
- Add hashtags purposefully. When choosing hashtags, consider those that will be relevant to your posts. Using random hashtags can confuse readers and you won’t get the “following” you are working for.
Hashtags are searchable terms that help people find photos related to a specific topic or theme. For example, if you’re at a conference and want to share photos with other attendees, use the hashtag #conferencename. This way, people looking for pictures from that event can find you. If you’re posting a photo of your product or service, add relevant hashtags related to it as well.
Focus on visual storytelling in your posts
Instagram is meant to be visual! Share photos of your business instead of simply describing why it is great.
- Use a combination of photos and videos to tell the story.
- Make sure your content is relevant and useful to your audience.
- Make sure your content is engaging, whether you’re using text or images—or both! You can use hashtags or add captions to make it easier for people to find you online, but if your posts aren’t engaging enough, hashtags won’t help much either way.
With some careful planning, you can organically grow your business with Instagram
Instagram is a dynamic and ever-changing social media platform, which means it’s important to approach it with a plan. As Instagram continues to evolve and change, you’ll want to keep up with the trends and update your strategy accordingly.
One of the most effective strategies for Instagram is being consistent with your posting schedule. Your followers know what they can expect from you, so if you post regularly, then they will be more likely to engage with your content and follow along as well.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this article has given you some ideas on how to get started with Instagram. If you haven’t already done so, now is the perfect time to start your own account and start posting!
If you don’t have the time or the resources to do it yourself, you can always get in touch with a local marketing agency like DaDigitalSense Marketing