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Lisa Orrell, The Promote U Guru 
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Tips for Using Instragram to Grow Your Small BusinessMarch 04th, 2014Hi All! With social media ruling the roost in business promotion, it’s hard to ignore any social networking platform these days, and Instagram is no exception. What started as an iPhone only app has expanded into one of the fastest growing and most vibrant social media networks; Instagram for business is a great marketing tool, especially those targeting younger audiences. With over 150 million users already, Instagram is the ultimate visual marketing tool to showcase to your prospective customers your social and human side. Instagram is all about pictures and videos, and thus is a great marketing tool for your business. After all, pictures directly appeal to emotions, increase interaction rate, and strike a chord with prospects, thus making your brand visible to a larger audience. Here are a few tips for using Instagram for building your brand, increasing sales, and growing your small business: Introduce your employees You may not know but most of your followers are keen on knowing the people associated with your brand, especially those who keep your company going. By introducing your team through Instagram photos, you humanize your brand, thus building a connection with prospects and customers while enhancing their experience. Cultivate a following It’s easier than ever to increase your following on Instagram for business by linking it with your Facebook account. Connect specific brand images to your Facebook business page with a relevant, popular hashtag that aligns with your brand image or marketing campaign. This is a necessary step to show to your Facebook fans that you’re on Instagram. Use relevant hashtags (#yourbrandhere) to increase your brand exposure and reach out to a wider audience for leads while helping people find your account. Be polite to follow Do not forget to follow your followers on Instagram. It’s a good idea to follow other brands that relate to your specific brand so as to create strategic relationships on the platform. Give your followers a sneak peek into an upcoming event or a news feature often can help keep them hooked to your page. Not only this, make your loyal followers feel special by sending them updates about an upcoming product, the latest launch, or new releases. This is one of the easiest tips for using Instagram for business – helping build anticipation in prospects and keeping them coming back for more. Don’t be content with static As a multimedia platform, Instagram now allows you to upload 15 second video clips. So why remain static when you can use the visual feature to upload behind-the-scenes peeks at different business activities. A few businesses even use this video feature for customer testimonials and product demos, helping prospects see your human side. Further, you may wish to embed Instagram video in your website or blog to reach a larger community and boost your business exposure. Share positive emotion more often When using Instagram for business, carefully curate your photos considering the likes and dislikes of your target audience. Figure out what kind of photos they would be more interested in. It is human nature to like smiling faces more than sad ones. You may use a serious post occasionally to make an impact, but prefer to share positive emotion more often. Let the powerful imagery in the images evoke emotions that words often fail to express. Encourage followers to share their story with you to build a relationship and show them that you care, unlike most other businesses that merely focus on self promotion.  Leave a Reply |
