Instagram marketing hacks
Instagram continues to be one of the most useful online marketing tools around the world. So it’s important that you’re using it as effectively as possible to reach both your existing and potential leads. Here are some hacks to help you navigate the app effectively.
Manage multiple accounts from the same device
If you’ve already got a personal Instagram account but you’re also in charge of managing the company’s account, you can add and manage them from the same device. From your profile, tap the gear icon. Scroll to the very bottom and tap “Add Account.” Add your other account using the username and password. To switch between both profiles, hold down your profile picture in the navigation bar to view all connected accounts.
Schedule posts in advance
While Instagram is a mobile app, you can also schedule them from your computer for a set day and time in the future. To do this, you’ll need to use a social media scheduling tool, such as Hootsuite. Scheduling in advance means you can stick to your social media posting schedule more easily.
Appear in the Explore tab
Your friends, family, and coworkers might be your first group of Instagram followers, but growing your audience takes more. One key way to do this is to get your profile to appear on Instagram’s Explore page. The Explore page, accessible using the magnifying glass icon on the app, is a browsing page that recommends content to the Instagram community by topic and keyword. By hashtagging your posts, you can expose your content to the people browsing these topics. You can also use hashtags in your Instagram name and bio to promote your profile on the Explore page.
Enhance your Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories is a feature that allows you to post photos separate from your profile and only last 24 hours. Stories have become quite creative since they were first introduced, and it takes more than a pretty filter to stand out to your audience. “Type Mode,” works similarly to Snapchat and gives you the ability to caption your Stories.
Create stories highlights
Your Stories will only last 24 hours but if you have a story that deserves to last longer on your profile, you can save it to what’s called a Highlight. Stories Highlights allows you to save stories together in the same space on your profile page. Just hit the “New” button with the “+” below your profile image to create a Highlight album. You’ll then be given the option to choose which stories you’d like to feature in this Highlight.
Upload video content on IGTV
IGTV is one of the biggest new features added to Instagram in a while. This acronym stands for “Instagram TV,” and works as an Explore page for solely video content. IGTV allows you to upload videos more than 60 seconds long. You can also create your own channel with a video series that can be broadcast across other video platforms like YouTube.
Drive traffic to an external website
One of the biggest frustrations people have with marketing on Instagram is that clickable URLs are only allowed in your bio. Including a URL in a photo caption will only work as plain text, leaving your followers to have to copy and paste the URL into their browser. Instead, you can use your photo captions to encourage people to visit your profile to then click on the link in your bio. Just remember that you might need to update that URL frequently to point to your latest blog content, YouTube video, product, or offer.
Sell using Shoppable Posts
Instagram allows you to tag more than just the location and people in a photo. You can also tag products, and direct followers to view the products they saw in your post. For this, you’ll need to make sure your account is a Business Account. You can change your account by selecting “Edit Profile” on your Instagram profile and tapping “Try Instagram Business Tools.” Once you’ve launched an Instagram Business account, you’ll need to enable product tags to use them. With product tags enabled, you can upload new posts and tag your photo with the products you find from your product catalogue.
Add another Instagram account to your bio
If your company has more than one Instagram account for different aspects of your brand, you can still reference them and tag them in your bio. Much like including hashtags in your bio, you simply need to edit your bio and include the @ before the name or handle of your other accounts.
Create auto-complete replies for commenting
Responding to user comments and questions is timely, but you can streamline the process and make it more efficient. This will only work if you have an Instagram Business account. To create your auto-complete replies, you need to click “Business” in your Settings, and then “Quick Replies.” Then, add a shortcut you can enter for the response. For example, you might use “returnpolicy” as the shortcut for a longer response that explains the returns policy in detail.
How to get verified on Instagram
A verified badge is the blue tick beside a celebrity or brand account name. It tells followers that you’re an authentic brand or entity. To request a verified badge, you must be a public figure, celebrity, or brand and meet certain requirements. You can request a badge by going to your “Settings” > “Account” > “Request Verification.” You’ll then be prompted to fill out the form. It’s important to note that you won’t necessarily receive a verified badge if you request one.
It’s time to spice up your approach to Instagram and start using it as a valuable tool in your overall online marketing strategy.
