6 Tips For A Successful Instagram Marketing Strategy

Andrew Jeffers | February 14, 2018

Do you have a carefully thought-out marketing strategy for Instagram?

Here are my top tips on how to create a successful Instagram marketing strategy that will not only increase your brand’s online visibility but it will also save a lot of your time.

1. Set specific objectives for your Instagram marketing strategy

The key to every effective plan starts with identifying your main goals.

What do you want your Instagram marketing strategy to accomplish?

Once you know your what, you’ve identified your objectives. Here are a few you might want to consider:

advertise your products or services
find your community/tribe
increase your brand awareness
promote your brand’s core values and culture
share company news and updates
increase brand loyalty

2. Switch to a business profile and start optimising it

First thing’s first, if you haven’t switched to a business profile yet, now’s the time to do it.

Why?

it’s free
it provides insightful information on your posts’ performance
allows you to optimise your profile and promote your posts easily

You’re two taps away from a business profile. Here’s how to make the switch right now:

Go to your profile, tap on Options (those three vertical dots on the top right of your screen)
Scroll down, you should find the option to Switch to Business Profile

Tip: Once you’ve made the switch to a business profile, it’s time to optimise your profile picture, your bio and add a link to your website.

3. Identify your target audience

You can’t move on to creating your content before identifying your target audience. First, you need to know who you’re talking to in order to create targeted content.

Start by identifying your audience personas based on your data so far. Once you’ve made the switch to business profile, it’s easier to identify your target audience.

All you have to do is go to your profile and tap on the Insights button (top right corner):

Scroll down and take a look at your audience’s age range, their location and top accessed posts. Once you have a clear picture of your audience and their preferences, you can move on to the next step.

4. Create your content strategy

Here’s the part where you can let your creative juices flow.

Creating a content strategy for your brand’s Instagram profile allows you decide what types of post you want to experiment with. This way it will be easy to keep track of what types of posts work for you and which to ditch.

Instagram offers you a few content options, such as:

Photos (of course!). Since Instagram is a photo sharing platform at its core this one was a no-brainer. Feel free to use your own creations or stock photos. As long as you add a bit of your personality and spice into the creative mix, your content should perform great.

Tip: Have you experimented with photo albums? Instagram introduced a new featured some time ago allowing you to upload multiple pictures to a single post. Should work ah-mah-zing if you’re looking for a creative way to share a story.

Videos are a great way to engage with your audience. You can upload 60-seconds videos to Instagram. It may seem like you can’t really do much in 60 seconds. I disagree!

Tip: It should work perfectly as a sneak-peek of a full-length video you’ve just posted on your website 60 seconds can be just enough to entice your audience, it can drive traffic back to your website. Try it!

Boomerang and Hyperlapse are two fun Instagram tools that can help you share animated GIF style photos. They’re more relatable than traditional Instagram filtered photos because they seem more authentic and less put-together. See for yourself!
Stories have become a fun Instagram feature used by over 300 million people. Even though stories have a limited “lifespan”, they can be an amazing tool for businesses to:

promote their content in a fun and interactive way
offer behind-the-scenes sneak-peaks with their team members
host Instagram takeovers
test out different types of content

Find out How To Create Your Digital Marketing Strategy? A Step-By-Step Guide

5. Don’t forget about hashtags

Hashtags are a must! They can help your business differentiate itself from competitors, engage effectively with potential customers and establish a trustworthy brand.
Before we go any further, take a few minutes to check out my article on hashtags; a must-read if you want to know how they work and why your posts need them.

6. Be consistent with your posting schedule

Yes, consistency is key!

Once you’ve created your Instagram marketing strategy it’s easier to become consistent with your posting schedule.

You’ll also need to consider the best times to post on Instagram and adapt your posting schedule accordingly.

You might also be interested in: Digital Marketing Trends In 2018 You Can’t Miss Out On

Is your Instagram marketing strategy in need of a makeover?

I can help you give your marketing strategy a makeover. Here’s a good rule of thumb when it comes to brands and online businesses: there’s no such thing as a generic solution. Each brand has its own vision and style. I can help you find and emphasise yours. I’d love to get in touch to discuss specifics!