15 Tips for Small Brands to Have a Big Presence on Instagram

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15 Tips for Small Brands to Have a Big Presence on Instagram

Alex Rossman • Sep 24, 2021

15 Tips for Small Brands to Have a Big Presence on Instagram

As a business, part of your job is to grow your online audience. And with Instagram having over 500 million users, it’s the perfect space to connect with new consumers and generate brand awareness.

Many brands think that their business doesn’t offer anything “post-worthy” but we are here to tell you that there is a place for any type of brand, large and small, on Instagram.

With 40% of consumers preferring to consume content visually over reading it, Instagram can do big things for small businesses.

Compared to all other social platforms, Instagram has the highest engagement rate. And don’t forget, consumers like to do their own research before aligning with a brand and they often consult social media profiles in their search. So, your Instagram account should be polished and engaging. Ready to power your Instagram strategy? Let’s dive in!

Tip #1: Consult Your Buyer Personas

Your buyer personas contain crucial information about your target consumers including channels they’re active on, topics they’re interested in, pain points they encounter, and more.

Consult your buyer personas before growing your Instagram strategy because these personas will shape your Instagram content.

Use your buyer personas to dictate your content, determine who you follow, and to set up your bio. Starting off so strategically will allow you to make a big splash with your Instagram strategy.

Tip #2: Experiment With Content Types

Change up the formatting of the content you post on Instagram.

Keep in mind that you want a variety, but you also want your feed to feel cohesive. So, hone in on colors and filters and apply your thematic elements to all of your Instagram posts.

Here are some posts to try on your business’s Instagram channel:

Inspirational quotes
Behind the scenes photos and videos
Employee spotlights
Blog post images
Industry data

Tip #3: Keep it Light Hearted

It’s important to note that Instagram is a very casual channel. You don’t need to come across as overly professional on this channel. In fact, Instagram users expect Instagram to be light hearted.

Instagram is a great place to showcase the fun side of your brand. Things like company culture, visually driven graphics, fun product photos and shining a light on your talent, do really well on this channel.

Tip #4: Use Linktree to Optimize Your Bio

You can only have one link in your Instagram bio. Because it’s a good idea to share resources like blog posts on Instagram, you need to be able to provide a link to such resources. But, how do you do that if you only get 1 link in your bio? The answer is Linktree.

Linktree allows you to create 1 link for your Instagram bio and that 1 link points to a page with a list of all the links you want your Instagram users to have access to. So, posting about blog posts just became a lot more strategic!

Tip #5: Offer Exclusive Discounts

People like to feel that they are a part of your brand. Offering exclusive discounts for followers will make them feel special. It will also incentivise others to follow your brand on Instagram as well.

Tip #6: Use Canva to Create Professional Graphics

Does posting on Instagram make you a little hesitant since you’re not a graphic designer? Don’t fret, there are tools out there that make it easy to create Instagram posts that look like a professional created them.

Our favorite tool to create images for social media is Canva. It’s easy to use because they have great templates and drag and drop features.

Tip #7: Identify the Right Hashtags

A good rule of thumb is to use 5-7 hashtags per post. Your posts will look cleaner if you put the hashtags in the comment section of your posts, not the actual post.

Identifying hashtags and implementing a variety of them can be a little tedious. That’s why we like tools like Hashtagify that suggest hashtags you should use in your posts.

You can also look at hashtags your competitors are using and tap into those.

No matter how you go about it, it’s a good idea to keep a running list of hashtags saved on your computer so that you can utilize a variety of them and make note of the ones that got more engagement.

Tip #8: Create a Business Account

A business account as opposed to a personal account on Instagram looks a lot more professional. Consumers check out brand’s social channels when they are vetting them so your social media channels, including Instagram, need to come across as legitimate and this won't’ be the case unless you create a business account for Instagram for your brand.

If you’ve already created an Instagram account and have it set as personal instead of business, it’s easy to fix! Check out this post to learn how to make the switch.

Tip #9: Embrace Instagram Stories

With stories, you have more features at your fingertips and they don’t clutter your followers’ feeds so you can post multiple stories a day. Another bonus about stories is that you can include a hyperlink.

Tip #10: Be Mindful of Your Posting Cadence

When planning your Instagram content, keep in mind a delicate balance of posting too much and annoying your followers and posting enough to keep up engagement.

A good Instagram posting goal is 5 posts per week.

Tip #11: Boost Your Best Posts

Advertising on Instagram is a good use of budget. When you post something you find especially engaging or you think it will convert your followers, put a little spending behind it and boost it.

Advertising on Instagram is valuable because you get to pick characteristics of your target audience and show your boosted post only to them. You also can set your budget and experiment with different boosted posts.

Tip #12: Engage Like Crazy

To grow followers and become a trusted social media source, you can’t just post great content--you also need to engage with other users, brands and posts. This includes things like:

Tag people/brands in your posts
Read your followers’ posts and “like” and comment on them
Send DMs to potential consumers citing something they posted

Tip #13: Be Responsive

Don’t just post and then consider your job finished. Respond to comments on your posts in real-time to show your followers you care about what they have to say.

In order to stay responsive and keep a pulse on your Instagram channel, you can do this by turning notifications on in your phone or by using a social media management tool like HootSuite.

Tip #14: Collaborate With Influencers

Influencers post authentically about their experience with your brand to their large following. Finding a way to collaborate with influencers on Instagram will get new eyes on your brand and increase your followers. Want to learn more about influencers on social media? Check out this post.

Tip #15: Host a Giveaway

Giveaways are a great way to increase followers and engagement rates. You can pick something to giveaway from your brand or even a gift card. Then, you can use a tool like Rafflectopter to run your giveaway. Entries to win the prize can include things like following your brand, entering their email address, liking a post, inviting friends to follow your brand, etc.

Do you have any tips when it comes to using Instagram for business? We’d love to hear all about it in the comments below!

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