6 Killer Instagram Tactics for Small Business Owners

small biz instagram tactics

marketing planIncrease your following and social media engagement with these Instagram tactics that can benefit any small business on Instagram

If you haven’t channeled your online business marketing strategy to Instagram yet, think again. The latest Instagram statistics has revealed how it has become a business powerhouse:

  • 8 million registered companies have Instagram business accounts.
  • From 200,000 ad users last March 2016, the active monthly advertisers of Instagram have peaked to 1 million.
  • The same filter is used by 60% of the biggest Instagram brands.
  • Last March 2017, 120 Instagram users learned and interacted with a business through an Instagram ad.
  • 100 million users watch or use the Instagram Stories feature every day.

This broad audience reach and daily engagement by users is a goldmine for business owners. The question is, do you know how to use it to your advantage? When formulating your strategy, remember that as a small company, your needs and objectives are different to bigger ones.

Here are 6 killer Instagram tactics for small business owners:

1. Find and Build Your Ideal Followers.

There was a time when business owners bought social media followers to make their pages look more credible. Sadly, thousands of followers who didn’t follow your page on their own accord won’t get you anywhere. You want followers who interact with you and respond to your posts.

instagram followers

If you have a website or other social profiles, you can announce or share your Instagram username there so your readers or followers will know how to find you in the photo-sharing app.

Showcasing your username in your store’s posters, business cards, or newsletters are other ways to spread the word. You can also check out other businesses in Instagram with a similar niche and follow their fans or followers. Be sure to reply to comments and messages to build up your ideal Instagram followers through active correspondence.

2. Be Creative – and fun!

Don’t get too business-like when you’re on Instagram. If people want to read long descriptions of your products, they will visit your website. Don’t limit images of your products either. Instagram gained a massive following because of the users’ creativity in capturing snippets of daily life and enjoying them in still images.

If you are launching a new product or hosting an event, post behind-the-scenes to build up your customers’ excitement and intrigue. You can also show them how your products can brighten an otherwise ordinary day.

3. Remember: Timing is Everything.

You want to catch your audience when they are active online. You wouldn’t want your captivating photos posted at a time when your followers are busy working or doing something else.

Experts reveal that the best time to post on Instagram are:

  • Weekdays between 11am to 1pm and 7 to 9 pm
  • Weekends prove to be a hit-and-miss, with Sunday consistently showing as the lowest-engagement day

Although several studies have been made to come up with this information, you must do your own research for your company. Don’t be afraid to post on different times of the day to determine what hours work best for you.

4. Don’t Scrimp on Videos.

Instagram may be famed for photo-sharing but the past several months has made it a haven for videos too. Its Stories feature alone garner millions of users every day to record and watch disappearing videos.

Videos are a great platform if you want to educate or instruct people about your product. People are more open to receiving and absorbing information by watching a video than by looking at an image or reading a post.

5. Be Wise with Your Hashtags

Hashtags come in handy for organizing and search. Hashtags is to Instagram what keywords are to Google search. Help users find you by using accurate and relevant hashtags and help your followers browse through your posts through the proper and consistent use of these Instagram tools.

Do you post cooking tips and recipes? Hashtag your posts by classifying the dishes. It will be easier to find #snacks, #desserts, or #soups if people can just click on them and pull up results.

6. Use Different Apps to Boost Your Postings

Don’t limit your resources to Instagram’s built-in filters and editing tools.

If you want your posts to stand out, use different Instagram-boosting apps to improve your posts and even your entire feed. There are apps that will help you search for the best tags and keywords to use on your captions, apps that will help you organize how your feed looks, and apps that will help you schedule your postings.

Knowing the different techniques to leverage the marketing powerhouse that is Instagram may seem like too much work. That’s why you need a Social Media VA (Virtual Assistant) to make sure you’re on top of things. With an online assistant and these 6 killer Instagram tactics for small business owners, you are sure to build a strong Instagram following.

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Editorial Staff

This article was written by SBMarketingTools.com editorial staff.