Solopreneurs have been using social media significantly in recent years. However, Instagram is largely untapped compared to many popular social media networks, and this makes it an ideal place for solopreneurs to promote their businesses. However, the format of the site that prominently features photos makes marketing on Instagram a bit different from advertising on other social media sites like Facebook that can rely more on text. [tweet_box inject=”via @DonnaAmos”]There are a number of things that solopreneurs can do to ensure that they get the most possible out of their Instagram marketing effort.[/tweet_box]
How to Improve Marketing Results with Instagram
• Add Videos
While photos have been a mainstay of what people post on Instagram for a long time, it is now possible to add videos that promote products, services or brands. In fact, this may be one of the best opportunities to gain recognition as there are currently no real leaders in the video section. This makes it significantly easier for brands to get noticed for specific keywords.
• Hashtags
Hashtags are very important in the way that people market on Instagram. Luckily, their character count is not limited like they are on some other sites like Twitter. It is generally best to include at least a few hashtags in every post that people put on the site. However, using an excessive amount of them can have a negative impact. Solopreneurs should be sure to use brand hashtags in their posts and monitor them to see what kind of response they get. More general hashtags are also a good idea as these will often attract users who are browsing photos related to the hashtag. It is also helpful to research hashtags that are both relevant and popular and group together similar photos to help users find what you are marketing. People can use the explore tab to get a good idea of the hashtags that are popular in their industry. It is also possible to put hashtags in replies to comments that users make on photos.
Begin your search by brainstorming 10 words that you believe are important for your industry by using: location-based hashtags, product-based hashtags and descriptive hashtags. Place a pound symbol (#) in front of the word, and pick HASHTAG as what you are searching for below the text box.
Consider a custom hashtag. A custom hashtag is a hashtag that is specific to your business, that you and your follows can include in your posts to curate a specific conversation. #solopreneurs
• Stay Engaged and Active
The best way to get attention for your business on Instagram is to always be engaged and active. This starts with making an effort to be interested in the photos that other people post. Successful Instagram marketers stay engaged on the site by liking and commenting on posts frequently. Being active helps users feel like they are included, and this makes them much more likely to buy what people are selling or tell others about it. It also gives people a way to connect, interact with posts and start communication. However, it is best for people to post only once per day and make sure that they choose the best photo they have available each time. This will keep the account updated without flooding users’ news feeds in addition to giving them a reason to stop and have a look at the post.
• Avoidable Mistakes
Solopreneurs should make sure that every image that they post on Instagram is relevant to their brand and business in addition to the message that they want to be sent. It is very easy to fall into the trap of choosing random images, and this can lead users to become confused about what the company has to offer. Solopreneurs who are wondering how to improve marketing results with Instagram should also make sure that they are using high quality photos that are in focus. In addition, it is essential to scale and crop any photos that are added to the account correctly and remove any parts of images that take away from the marketing message.