Small Business Social: Instagram Tips

We have been focused on web design on the blog so far in 2023, but this week we’re going to begin a shift in focus. Social media can be a helpful tool for businesses, especially for small businesses such as ourselves. There are so many benefits available for businesses using social media effectively like increasing brand awareness, creating connections with customers/potential customers, and generating leads. We could go on and on about the different potential benefits of social media, but instead, we want to tackle a different platform for each new blog and discuss tips that will hopefully help you to engage more on social media. 

Let’s begin with Instagram, a free social media platform that focuses on photo and video content. It launched in 2010, and over the past thirteen years, there’s been quite a few changes to the platform. Since its launch, they’ve added the options for stories, reels, live videos, and they’ve added the option for business pages that allow more detailed analytics about your followers and engagement. In the United States, Instagram tends to skew toward younger audiences (approximately 57.6% are under 35) than a platform like Facebook, but it is becoming more varied in its users’ ages. 

Here are some best practices to keep in mind when utilizing Instagram for your business: 

1. Post Quality Content That Fits Your Brand

We probably all know the golden rule of social media at this point: post consistently. However, this tips takes it a bit further. While you want to post at a frequency that allows for good engagement and keeps you in people’s feeds, you also want your posts to align with your brand. It really is about quality over quantity, so before posting, think about how something relates to your brand and what purpose it serves for your business.

2. Be Visually Consistent

Much like the advice above, your visuals also need to match your brand. So, utilize all the tools in your branding toolbox and create a cohesive look. Also, most users tend to gravitate toward organic content, so choose a tone for your posts and stick with it. 

3. Hashtags Are Key

Hashtags can help make your page and content more discoverable, so you want to be utilizing them. Try to avoid overly broad hashtags (i.e. #love or #fashion) because they’ll get lost in the great, big world of Instagram with the abundance of competition. Instead, try to use brand and industry specific hashtags. It’s recommended to use three to five hashtags on a post, but we do believe there’s some wiggle room on that. Maybe just don’t utilize all 30 hashtags that Instagram will allow you to use on a post.

4. Utilize Stories for Lighter, Personal Content

Stories live on Instagram for 24 hours, so it’s the perfect conduit for lighter content. It’s a good way to show off some personal tidbits about your business and some of the day-to-day moments that happen there. You can use photos or videos in stories and have fun adding stickers, text, GIFs, and music to them. These can help build some emotional connections with your online audience.

5. Explore Reels and Make More of Them

Instagram has really been leaning into video over the past couple of years, and Reels are a huge part of that. They account for 20% of time spent on the platform, and they have a much higher level of engagement than regular posts. Also, the algorithm loves them.

To get even higher levels of engagement on reels, here are a few more things to keep in mind. Reels that show a person have a 25% higher clickthrough. About a fifth of reel views happen with the sound turned off, so be sure to add text to them. Lastly, don’t be afraid to use interactive stickers, trending audio, or a template. These are all great ways to connect with your audience and boost engagement. 

6. Pin Your Best Posts

You can now pin the first three spots on your Instagram grid profile, so be sure to take advantage of that. Pin your most popular posts or the ones that are most timely to what’s happening within your company at the moment. You can change them at any time, but be sure to make those first three slots work for you. 

7. Analyze Your Results

There’s always some level of experimentation when it comes to utilizing social media for your business. You need time to figure out what does and doesn’t work for you in terms of content and timing. So, utilize your Instagram analytics (and other types of analytics if you’re utilizing a tool like Hootsuite) and adjust your social media strategy as needed. 

8. Engage in the Comments

Social media at its core is about connection, so take advantage of it and don’t merely use your page as a broadcasting service. Respond to comments and DMs left on your own page. Also, don’t hesitate to leave comments and messages for those you are following.  

We know there are a ton of tips that we could have included here, but we hope this list helps you to get started. As always, if you are looking for assistance on your social media strategy, we encourage you to check out our services here. We’ll be back in two weeks to focus on another popular social media platform.