Instagram Marketing 101
Marketing is a broad category. There’s digital marketing, search engine marketing, content marketing — just to name a few — so it can be daunting when it comes down to choosing one (or several) options. But social media marketing is quickly becoming a very effective and popular marketing strategy, and something not to be overlooked.
For many people, social media can be overwhelming. Instagram has over 1 billion active monthly users, with just over 17 million in Canada alone.
But this doesn’t have to be overwhelming. In fact, it can be an advantage.
With such a large potential audience, there are limitless ways to grow your business. And, since 45% of Instagram users are between the ages of 18 and 44, you are guaranteed to be tapping into a market that is ready to buy.
So, what exactly is an Instagram marketing campaign?
Instagram marketing uses Instagram to promote a business of service. This is primarily done through compelling photos, videos, and interactive posts, such as on polls on Instagram stories.
The great thing about Instagram is that the users aren’t just plentiful, they’re fully engaged. About 51% of users visit Instagram daily and these potential customers spend an average of 28 minutes on the platform per day.
How to get started
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Social media marketing strategy
First, you’ll need a social media marketing strategy. Our marketing team at Creative Coco’Nuts can help you develop a plan that is perfect for your business and one that will turn customers’ heads.
And whether this is your first or 21st time trying out an Instagram marketing campaign, we’ll give you all the tips and tricks to help you along.
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Goal setting
Next, we’ll help you set some goals. It’s important to go into a marketing campaign with benchmarks to meet along the way. Otherwise, there are too many ways to get distracted and lose focus. What are you hoping to accomplish? What sort of content (user-generated, product images, motivational quotes, etc.) do you want to share?
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Target audience
Then we’ll determine your target audience. With more than 1 billion people on Instagram, it’s impossible to create content that will appeal to absolutely everyone. Instead of dumping random content into the depths of Instagram, we’ll help you focus your stream to a smaller, but much more reliable audience.
Stuck on where to start? We’ll monitor hashtags and events related to your business to find an audience that is interested in your products and service.
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Check in with the competition
Chances are, your competition is also on Instagram. It’s important to check in and see what strategies they are using so you can do it better.
Which of their posts have the most engagement? What captions do they use? Do they post everyday? Once a week?
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Craft a compelling bio
Your Instagram bio is short — 150 characters or less — and you still have to convey what makes your brand special, what you offer that is different from the competition, and why Instagram users should care about (and actually follow) your account.
Our team will help you create a bio that accurately reflects your brand personality while still providing customers the information they need.
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Profile photo
On a visual platform on Instagram, photos matter, especially your profile photo.
If you have a logo, you can easily incorporate it into your profile photo, but the trick is making it fit in the little circle you have available while still ensuring the quality is good.
Our team will make sure your profile photo fits in with your branding and looks high quality.
Stay organized
Now that the basics of your account are set up, you can get to posting! But there’s just one more step first: Set up a calendar so you can stick to a consistent posting schedule.
This lets you plan captions, photo galleries, and hashtags ahead of time so you’re not scrambling. It is also much easier to coordinate your photos with holidays, special events, and product launches if you start early.
Our team can create posts for you to use, or get you started with your own calendar so you can create your own posts.
Post, post, post!
Your account is set up, you have a calendar to stick to… now all that’s left to do is post that content.
There are so many different ways to post content and engage your audience on Instagram.
You can create posts that are text based and feature inspirational or brand related quotes, include videos, behind-the-scenes pictures, and more.
And if you’re looking to up your audience engagement, you can run Instagram contests, make use of Reels section, post new products on your story, and even add an Instagram Shopping section to your profile.
