3 easy ways to use Instagram for business

If Instagram isn’t already part of your social media strategy, it might be worth checking out Instagram for business. It’s currently the fastest growing social network – having gone from 600 million to 800 million active users in the last year. On top of that, 80% of registered users follow at least one brand on Instagram, making it a powerful marketing tool. The rise in attention has brought more competition from other brands into your competitive landscape. Implement these three smart tactics into your Instagram for business strategy.

Use relevant hashtags

Relevant hashtags are an important piece to your Instagram business strategy. They can help you reach your target audience and increase engagement. Instagram posts with at least one hashtag averages 12.6% more engagement than a post with no hashtags. However, don’t get hashtag crazy. Using them too frequently or without a strategy in place will make them pointless. You can technically have up to 30 hashtags, but the optimal number is 11. This past December, Instagram added the ability to follow specific hashtags so you are able to keep tabs on relevant conversations going on that might be related to your brand.

Share Instagram Stories with video

Millions of active users use Instagram stories each day, so why not incorporate video into your stories? Since this content only lasts 24 hours, it will also drive a sense of urgency in your audience to watch it. Experiment with different video. Share the people behind your products and services, showing how that person contributes to getting the product to the customer. Show your products in action so users get a sneak peak of how it might be used. Stories are supposed to be more in-the-moment so make sure your videos are unscripted. You can also invite an influencer to take over your stories, which would tap into their followers and grow awareness of your brand.

If you’re looking for inspiration check out this Instagram Story from TJ Maxx.

Use your bio to drive traffic

There are two ways to drive traffic on Instagram; through your bio link and call-to-action (CTA) posts. There may not be as many options as on Facebook, but it is simpler to figure out! With the number of followers visiting Instagram on a daily basis, it is another great way to drive traffic back to your site.

Add your company website link in your bio and direct users to it from your Instagram posts. Also, make sure your bio includes a call to action to visit your website to help drive traffic. Don’t forget to track your CTA link with a UTM, which is a way for Google to track your unique URLS and stands for urchin tracking module, so you can see if it is working through Google Analytics. Call-to-action posts are a departure from typical Instagram content because their main purpose is to get followers to take an action, rather than just see a pretty or interesting image.

There are two types of CTA posts. One is to pique your followers interest and lead them to the website content with a link. The other way, is to provide a call to action with a question and ask them to comment or like. A good option is to use a text overlay on your image of your CTA. Instagram doesn’t have the same restrictions as Facebook with text on images. Whether your CTA is on your image on in your post copy, tell your followers exactly what you want them to do. As much as you want to drive engagement and traffic to your site, don’t post only CTA posts or you will exhaust your followers. Aim to have at least 75% of your content on Instagram as normal content sharing beautiful images.

Instagram continues to make changes and add features to their platform, but it is important to keep in mind that it is still a visual channel. Images remain key in your Instagram social strategy. Make sure you stay up -to- date on image best practices in order to stand out in the crowd. Instagram continues to grow and so will your followers if you put a great social strategy in place.