Instagram for Brands: Doing it for the ‘gram, or is the ‘gram doing it for you?
When you think of Instagram, what comes to mind? Influencers posing with delectably designed food? Sunny beach scenes, nighttime cityscapes, and other wanderlust-inducing photos? Maybe even makeup tutorials, funny memes, and highly stylised fashion shoots.
These common tropes are only scratching the surface of the platform’s potential. Instagram today is a huge social media channel, with an estimated 1.074 billion monthly active users who are each looking for their own niche content to engage with. You can guarantee that your customers are following accounts they love on Instagram, and if you want your brand to be seen then you should be there, too.
There’s not one catch-all strategy for every type of business on Instagram – it’s more complex and nuanced than simply “grow your follower count,” and the platform’s algorithm for success is ever-evolving. A good strategy will help achieve real business outcomes like new revenue, and softer accomplishments that are intangible, but perhaps more valuable, like building a fanbase.
Identifying goals and creating a strategy
Your Instagram strategy should include specific ways to use the features of the platform to deliver a great experience. That will differ based on your industry, your objectives, and of course, your bandwidth. Are you trying to increase your brand visibility by driving followers to your company profile? Do you want to use Instagram for community building & connecting with existing customers? Is there a product or service you’re trying to sell through the platform?
Each of these goals requires a holistic approach to ensure success. Your first priority when setting up Instagram for your business should be to identify your goals for the platform. Set KPIs to track, and build a strategy to get you there. Then test, improve, and iterate until you come up with a repeatable way of achieving those goals month after month.
Engagement and followers
Any good social strategy will place a premium on engaging with your followers. That’s the secret sauce to social media: when a brand engages with its followers, it creates an itch for more content that users can’t scratch quickly enough.
As the creator of the content, you might be tempted to tailor your strategy to how your followers are attracted to you. While important, instead think about how anyone can find you on the platform.
Besides actively engaging through comments and likes, there are two places on Instagram your brand can be waiting for people to find you – the search bar and the Explore page
Search bar
Treat the Instagram search bar like you would any other search engine, like Google or YouTube. Set up your business profile accordingly with the right keywords in your handle, bio, and post content.
Assuming that people aren’t searching for your brand on Instagram directly, you can meet them in the Search bar by applying SEO principles to your Instagram profile
Explore
The Explore page is a big bright shining spotlight on some of the best algorithmically curated content on Instagram. If your brand can crack the Explore page within your niche, it’s akin to going viral. You’ll see a flood of impressions and post saves – and yes, probably a follower bump too.
While the Explore page is a great entry point for your brand to new fans, it shouldn’t be viewed as your main method for reaching new audiences. Getting on the Explore page in a crowded category like make-up tutorials or travel is tough. There’s a lot of competition, and they’re putting out excellent content too. On the other hand, you might make it onto the Explore page for superfans of an obscure micro-niche like knitted toe rings or Tamagotchis and be none the wiser.
If you aim to create incredible content, the Explore page will reward you as you achieve that goal. If you only aim to make the Explore page, you may never make content worthy of it. In short: shoot for excellence, not the Explore page.
Videos, videos, videos… Instagram today
Today’s Instagram is a very different animal from the platform Facebook bought back in 2012. In fact, it’s a different platform from what it was just a year or two ago. With all sorts of new features, buttons, and ad formats added, it’s clear that Instagram is going to keep evolving in the future. Today’s Instagram places a premium on video content.
This philosophy should inform your content creation strategy for Instagram. Entertainment can come from viewing something beautiful or funny, something incredible or educational. Your brand must figure out how to entertain your audiences while achieving your business goals. And of course, nothing online captivates people’s attention like video.
