It can be all too easy to look at Instagram marketing and think ‘I can do that.’ Whilst social media marketing (SMM) isn’t an exact rocket science, it certainly isn’t a walk in the park either.
At VerriBerri, SMM is what we do best. Our portfolio covers organisations from all over the world, namely, the UK, US, Europe and Asia – it’s broad to say the least! Our team have direct, hands on experience creating content that appeals to a range of different markets and demographics. No matter what your brand does or who you’re targeting, we will build the perfect strategy for you!
Who Does Instagram Marketing Work Best For?
Instagram has an incredibly broad audience, making it a great place to market most products and services. In terms of demographics, this app is definitely a leading platform among the younger generations. That’s not to say, however, that older people aren’t utilising this site too.
For those of you who don’t know, Instagram is a video and photo sharing platform. It’s for this very reason that brands with a tangible product perform best here. Having said this, most businesses still have a lot to gain from this site, providing it aligns with their consumers.
Not sure if Instagram marketing is the right for direction for your brand? When you work alongside our elite content team, we will help you pinpoint the right platforms for you!
Understanding Instagram’s Algorithm
Instagram have one mission – to keep people scrolling for as long as possible. The longer people are making use of their platform, the more advertisement they are exposed to. Of course, the more ads an individual sees the more profit the brand is able to rake in.
The Instagram algorithm was designed to help the platform reach this goal. Every time you like something, follow a new account, or leave a comment, this data gets collected. Over time the algorithm is able to make judgements on what you might like based on their understanding of your behaviour. In order to keep your screen time up, they show you more of what they think you will enjoy.
Why Is Engagement So Important?
In addition to the above, Instagram’s algorithm also plays a huge part in the distribution of your posts among your audience. When you share content on your profile, this is released to a small number of your followers at first. If people choose to engage, your post is then pushed out to the rest of your admirers. If individuals scroll past your content, however, the algorithm is unlikely to push this even further. Should a particular post be performing well, there is a chance that your content may be included on the Explore Page.
For those of you who don’t know, this section of Instagram is available to every user, however the content featured is directly tailored to suit each individual. Someone who likes equestrian is likely to see a lot of posts surrounding this hobby and so on. If you are able to rank in this area, this could be big news for your brand. This is an incredible opportunity to reach new audiences.
How to Boost Your Engagement
So, now you understand why engagement is so integral, lets discuss steps you can take to improve it. Grabbing people’s attention is no easy feat, especially with so many brands competing for the same thing. A good engagement rate is possible; however, we promise!
Removing Inactive Followers
To reiterate what we said earlier, content is distributed based purely on engagement. In addition, your posts reach a smaller audience, before being shared with everybody. Imagine that the first group of people who see your content are all inactive. This will, of course, limit who your post is sent out to next. In order to keep your engagement high, it’s important you aren’t afraid to remove idle followers.
Staying Relatable, Not Salesy
When it comes to Instagram marketing, it’s vital that you take a more relatable approach rather than being salesy. People go online to escape, not to be sold too. If your content hasn’t been performing too well, this could be why.
Lots of people fall into the trap of thinking marketing and advertisement are the same thing, just because they have similar end goals. In actual fact, these two approaches are very different. Marketing is made to be more subtle for a reason. Utilise your online presence for building a sense of community. This is how you build customer loyalty.
Making Use of the Tools Available to You
Where a lot of businesses go wrong is in not making use of the tools that are made available to them. When marketing yourself on Instagram, hashtags are a great way to boost the reach of your content. All too often, however, we see organisations neglecting this area. This platform gives you the opportunity to use 30 tags for a reason. Use them! In addition, you also need to be tracking your analytics too. Insights are available on most social media platforms and should be used as a way to improve your performance. Utilise these statistics to better understand what you audience want to see and when they want to see it.
Sharing High Quality Imagery
On average, social media users spend a total of 145 minutes scrolling each day. That’s a lot of content. If you want to stand out from the crowd, you need to be sharing high quality media that is captivating. Nobody wants to stare at a grainy image of your products. Instead, take your time and invest in some good camera equipment.
Still struggling? Our team can also help with photography and creating videos too! What can I say? We’re multi-skilled.
Looking For Further Guidance?
As you can see, there is a lot more that goes into social media marketing than at first meets the eye. All in all, this can be an incredibly taxing task and not one you want to be juggling on top of running your own business.
Looking for further guidance on Instagram marketing? Our team would love to help! To get in touch with one of our experts, just click here!