Instagram developers have packed the app with marketing friendly features. It is not possible for all users to stay on top of the most recent algorithm changes and feature changes that determine the future of marketing and promotions on the platform. Nonetheless, it is the duty of every marketer interested in the powers and perks of Instagram Captions marketing to keep a tab on the new features that can fuel their campaigns.
Keep your friends close, keep your followers closer
Before we get deep down into the marketing nitty-gritty, let us talk about your followers a bit. Do you know your followers? Who are these people who love your posts and share your photos? Are they old or are they young? Are the men or women? Do they live in a particular locality or are they cosmopolitan? Do they have a specific purchasing capacity? These are a few basic questions you need to ask yourself and your marketing team before you design a campaign to reach your buyers. Characterizing your potential buyers with the help of buyer psychology and user habits is one of the better ways you can target your campaign.
Know ‘em and Tag ‘em
Once you know who they are, you can target your content towards them. Branded hashtags and community hashtags are the most popular among all businesses on Instagram. The branded hashtags help people find a company they know about. For example – brands like Maybelline New York use patent hashtags like #mny or #mnyitlook. With over 6.4 million active followers, this leading US makeup brand surely knows how to user branded hashtags for maximum effect. Community hashtags aim at unifying like-minded users by habits, hobbies, likes, and activities. For example – #snow, #carrides and #party are popular community hashtags that work on Instagram.
Most brands use a fine blend of both the kinds of hashtags. The community interested in the specific hashtags can find your brand, and your existing followers can keep a tab on your latest posts. You can try some hashtag generating tools. These often help marketers by providing the latest hashtags, high volume tags and unique tags that bring filtered crowds interested in the product and services.
Find a way to tell your “Story.”
In case you want to interact more informally with your followers, try the Stories feature. Instagram has recently added a few modifications to the old Stories feature. You can now save your stories forever even after the initial 24 hours are over. It is a great opportunity for brands to share their story and their journey. You can now share the best of your stories using your Instagram Stories Highlights feature.
Instagram is introducing new features and modifying existing ones to help you grow your audience. You can engage your target user group with your brand by updating your posts several times a day. The idea behind this practice is to stay visible and on top of your followers’ feeds multiple times a day even after you buy Instagram likes twice a month. This kind of a plan needs several noticeable calls to actions (CTAs) that will take people to more photos, videos or a direct buying page on your site.
Live Videos Seal the Deal
Blogs are alright, but people love themselves a good show especially when it is live. Recent stats show that over 80% of the Instagram users prefer live video content. Therefore, no matter where you are and what you are doing, do not forget to populate your feed with live videos once in a while. This works amazingly for pet grooming and pet care brands. They share live videos of pooches playing, during grooming or naptime. This usually does the trick! Nothing works better than cure floofs when it comes to captivating the audience using live videos.
More dedicated marketers often engage in live video shares with a select group of followers on Instagram. We usually see this in leading fashion brands and makeup brands. They have their dedicated followership, and they rely on their shares and likes to spread the word! Instagram gives you a choice to deliver your content to one or a few or as many people as you wish, at the same time.
It’s Time to give Insta Ads a Second Thought
You can also spend a little on Instagram ads. They are unique right now. They are in line with the rest of the content, and they even look like genuine content. The motive is to keep the user experience (UX) seamless for the target users. As long as these ads do not interrupt their smooth Instagram feed browsing experience, they are going to pay the same level of attention to your ads as they are going to pay to the regular feed content.
Ads on Instagram have a certain sophisticated and sleek quality. Shock value is something that has not yet sold well on this photo blogging site. Instagram advertising does depend on a payment mechanism similar to Facebook and Google. Nonetheless, the ROI of sponsored ads on this platform is much higher than any other contemporary social media platform for marketers out there.
One of the better ways to plan your ad campaign is by introducing the concept of social media influencer. Over 82% of all Instagram users follow at least one brand or social media influencer. People can choose to follow a celeb because of shared interest, social activism, charitable acts or because of brand influence. Your objective should be to find out which social media celeb your target user group(s) follow and convince them to endorse your brand. Once you manage to accomplish this, you can easily build your dedicated group of followers.
Marketing on Instagram will not bring you instant success. You will need to invest time, effort and resources in building the right strategies for capturing the attention of people in an already saturated environment. Instagram brings all brands a sea of possibilities, just waiting for new products and sellers. You need to find out exactly whom to approach, how to approach and when to approach to make the best of your situation.
Author bio:
Harris is a leading blog writer and content marketing professional. His work involves the evolution of companies that allow Instagram users to buy Instagram likes for more traffic and their effect on the brand marketing scenario.