In this post, we will dive into Instagram marketing and how to craft your marketing strategy for success. If you missed our last post, click here.

The Instagram Marketing Formula

It requires more than a few nice-looking images to be successful on Instagram. Businesses also need to have these elements:

• Clear vision and strategy
• Consistent frequency
• Familiarity with your audience
• Clear visual style

When you combine these ingredients, Instagram can deliver tremendous results for your business.

Understand Why Your Business Is Using Instagram

It’s essential to start with clear goals in mind, and businesses can start by answering these questions.

How can Instagram assist your business in achieving its overall marketing goals?

How much time or budget can your business commit to Instagram?

Setting goals will help your business define its strategy on Instagram, which allows creatives to work along your marketing team to create content that will achieve your business objectives.

Below is a simple exercise your business can answer to understand if your business is going in the right direction.

My business is on Instagram because __________________.

1. To Showcase out products and services
2. To Build our community
3. To Increase brand awareness
4. To Showcase our company culture and values
5. To Advertise to potential customers
6. To Increase brand loyalty
7. To share company news and updates

It’s best practice to choose one or two goals for your Instagram profile, either from the above list or a custom plan of your choosing. 

Crafting Your Instagram Profile

Step 1: Optimize Your Profile Page & SEO

When it comes to optimizing your page you have to keep 3 goals in mind.

1. ACCURATELY reflect what your page is about in the BIO.
2. MAKE it easy for people to find your username via search
3. CROSS PROMOTE and share your website or any other platform you would like your users to follow.

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Step 2: Create Authentic Content

Create authentic content that best represents your business. For instance, companies can showcase the behind the scenes of their work, events, promotions, business partnerships, announcements, the list goes on. So long as it stays authentic and it genuinely interests your viewers.

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Step 3: Use Hashtags Properly

Instagram hashtags can make or break your Instagram strategy. Use them correctly and you’ll get your posts seen by more people.

What are Instagram hashtags?

A hashtag is a combination of letters, numbers, and/or emoji preceded by the # symbol (e.g., #NoFilter). They are used to categorize content and make it more discoverable.

Hashtags are clickable. Anyone who clicks on an Instagram hashtag or conducts an Instagram hashtag search will see a page showing all the posts tagged with that hashtag.

Why use Instagram hashtags?

Hashtags are an important way to expand your Instagram audience. When you use a hashtag, your post will appear on the page for that hashtag. If you use a hashtag on your Story, it could be included in the relevant hashtag Story, which also appears on the hashtag page.

People can also choose to follow hashtags, which means they could see your hashtagged post in their feed even if they don’t follow you (yet).

Instagram hashtags can be a great way of building a community online so people are motivated to engage with your brand. 

Types of popular Instagram hashtags

• Product or service hashtags: These are basic keywords to describe your product or service, like #candles or #photography
• Niche hashtags: These get a little more specific, showing where you fit in the context of your industry, like #clothingcompany or #homemadecandlecompany
• Industry Instagram community hashtags: Communities exist on Instagram, and these hashtags help you find and join them. Think #candlesofinstagram
• Special event or seasonal hashtags: These can refer to real holidays or seasons, like #summerdays, or they can be used for all those National [Thing] Day holidays, like #nationalsiblingday or #nationaldogday

• Location hashtags: Even if you geotag your Instagram post, it can still be a good idea to include a hashtag that refers to your location, like #dmvwine or #marylandeats
• Acronym hashtags: Perhaps the best-known acronym hashtag is #TBT for Throwback Thursday. Other popular acronym hashtags include #OOTD for outfit of the day, #FBF for flashback Friday, and #YOLO for you only live once.

How many hashtags on Instagram Should I Use?

Businesses can include up to 30 hashtags on a regular post, and up to 10 hashtags on a Story. If you try to include more, your comment or caption won’t post.

However, just because businesses can use that many hashtags for Instagram do not mean that they should. There’s no right number of hashtags for every business, or even for every post by the same business.

The consensus is that about 11 hashtags is a good number to start with. But the most common number of hashtags to use on Instagram is between 1 and 3.

Companies need to do some testing to determine what works best for your particular business.

Resources

1. https://blog.hootsuite.com/instagram-hashtags/
2. https://www.skillshare.com/classes/Instagram-Marketing-How-to-Cash-in-on-Your-Passion/1687918135?via=search-layout-grid

Algorithmic Global works with clients in the restoration industry. We are here to generate more clients through an increased online presence by understanding and connecting with your clients who need work done on their homes.

If you want to reach more of these kinds of people, reach out via our contact page, and we’ll show you how.