6 Easy Instagram Tips For Your Business

Need some easy Instagram tips for your business through COVID to keep up your business’s momentum? It seems like our economy has been downstream, depending on your business. It may seem like things are not going to improve anytime soon, so what can you do? What changes can you make to keep up with our changing times?

Many restaurants and shops have been promoting and updating their customers through the use of Instagram. This platform is a visual platform that brings together all kinds of communities. You can even follow other local businesses and create connections and networks! Many successful businesses in this day and age have become popular due to online success.

The best part about creating an online presence is that it’s relatively free and easy to use. Most of these Instagram tips and methods are also free, so there’s no cost to you for advertising and promoting your business. 

The best way to gain a following and create a name for yourself online is to create a plan for what you want your business to look like, what you want to be known for, and how to market it. The first step, of course, is to get yourself acquainted with social media outlets and decide which is the best for you. Instagram is a great and easy way to promote your business. If you want to know how to get started, keep reading.

Here are 6 easy, helpful Instagram tips for promoting your business on this social platform:

Instagram tip 1: Create a theme or look for your brand

Instagram is a visual platform with photos and videos. Most profiles that are verified or popular have distinct color schemes, high-quality photos, or funny captions. This is why most Instagram tips focus so heavily on the visual aspect of your account. 

First, do your research and check out other accounts that may be similar to yours. Do you have a restaurant? Check out how different brands and accounts market themselves.

Do they focus on clear, high-quality photos? Do they make their content and create posters? Do they focus on videos and fun posts? All of this research will help you develop a look and vision for your account.

Secondly, if you need some creative ideas, check out other accounts and gather tips, ideas, colors, and content. Check out popular videos, and notice how businesses use videos or photos to promote their business. Learn camera angles and how to portray your products best.

It is also crucial to create a consistent look or tone to your account to bring in followers. There are so many Instagram tips in articles online that can show you how to get started and what apps to use to get started.

There are also tons of videos online that can show you how to do things, and remember all of these resources are free!  Remember that your goal is to grow your business, and social media is a great way to do so; therefore, this effort will be worth it! 

Instagram tip 2: Plan your grid look!

The largest part of Instagram is the visual capabilities of the app. As an account, you want to determine your vision early and ahead of time. There are so many creative ways to formulate a grid look for you and your brand. The main Instagram tip we can give you is to make it visually captivating. 

Many accounts get super creative and create a brand look for themselves. There are even apps that help you build your layout out before you post so that you can see what it will look like. This pre-planning step is helpful because you can plan weeks or even months ahead!

This step would be up to you and would determine how often you post, and what you post. We advise you to research and look at different accounts to see what speaks to you and your brand. (Bonus Instagram tip: Learn to look for: colors, style, product placement, and photo quality.)

Below is an example of a brand that has a consistent style. They use this Instagram grid to their advantage to create a distinct look for their profile. As you can see, their photos take up a total of 3 squares, meaning that they post 3 times to finish one row. The color scheme is consistent, and if they decide to change the color, they plan accordingly.

These Instagram tips can help you create a look and feel that is reflective of your brand, business, and vision. So after you do all this work, how can you be sure anyone actually sees it? The answer is in our next Instagram tip.

 Instagram tip 3: Use Hashtags!

Many Instagram accounts often do not take advantage of hashtags. These tags allow other users to see or find your account. On Instagram, there is a search box that users can use to look up accounts or hashtags. 

These hashtags are clicked on and used by users and help potential customers and followers find your account. Use these hashtags in every post to boost your chances of being discovered and followed!

So how should you know what hashtags to use? First, you want to determine what sums up your business. For example, if you are a restaurant in Anaheim, California,  you could use these hashtags: #anaheimfood #anaheimeats #anaheimrestaurant #socalfood #oceats #ocfood

Clearly, this business is a restaurant and are predetermining how they can be found if someone is looking for them. Let’s say that you are a photographer in Northern California, and you mainly take wedding photos.

Here is how you could use hashtags: #weddingphotography #weddingphotos #norcal #norcalphotographer #portraits #sanfranphotos #norcalbusiness

Your main goal is to have folks who are looking up those hashtags, to see your work and your account. This can bring in a stream of new followers, and hopefully a larger customer base.  For some, this Instagram tip may seem overdone or basic, but never underestimate the power of a hashtag!

Secondly, another smart thing to do is to create your unique hashtag so that customers can also start using it. For example, if you are a clothing business in Phoenix, create your hashtag. Example: PhxShop  

This hashtag can be original to your shop and can be something fun you and your customers can use. By creating a brand and hashtag, you can create a sense of community. Users and followers will be excited to use this hashtag.

If you want to see this marketing strategy in action, simply look up the hashtag: #teampixel or #iphone12 

Clearly, this Instagram tip is legitimate. Apple and Google now have millions and millions of free advertisements and posts all due to their brand name becoming a popular hashtag.

One pro-tip is to post a photo with fun or catchy caption. Try to post your hashtags further down in the caption space and try to use as many relevant hashtags as you can. Of course, try not to go overboard and use so many that it gets distracting. Find a good balance, and use the most relevant hashtags that you can. 

However, you do want to use them to your advantage in the hopes that you will be found. This Instagram tip should not be overlooked! It is the key to being found among millions of other accounts. Once you have a growing base, how else can you gain followers?

Instagram tip 4: Host giveaways or special offers for online customers!

Many accounts gain more followers by hosting give-aways that require your followers to tag other followers or friends. This creates exposure for your brand and can bring you more followers. You can also reward loyal followers by giving them offer codes or discounts to your business!

This Instagram tip works like this: Let’s say you are giving away a $100 gift card to your business through IG. There have to be rules for the giveaway, so it’s essential to be clear. 

You want to create a post that will draw attention, and also is clear in instructions and rules. Remember to give a deadline of when the contest is done, and be sure to promote it ahead of time in order to give folk a chance to participate.

Here is an example of what your caption could look like:

“Hello, everyone! PhxShop is giving away a $100 gift card to our store! To participate in the giveaway, you MUST be following PhxShop and tag as many friends below in the comments! The winner will be chosen at random! The more friends you tag, the higher your chances will be! The contest ends THIS Friday at midnight. The WINNER will be announced Saturday morning!”

You can also create a package give-away with other businesses on Instagram. In order to enter the contest, the user would have to follow all business accounts and either tag or share your business on their own stories. These tactics are used a lot by Instagram businesses, so they are not anything new to users.

In order to do these kinds of contests, you should try to befriend and follow other fellow businesses. When you hold a giveaway or event like this on Instagram, your followers tag other folks, and eventually, you’ll be able to gather more exposure and more followers. The more businesses you befriend and network with, the more Instagram tips and tricks you can exchange!

Ultimately, the goal is to have your content shared, liked, and followed so that you can get folks in the door! Try to team up with other similar businesses or clients with lots of followers who enjoy your products. The point is to be creative and try different tactics to see what works for you.

Instagram tip 5: Use Videos or Reels!

As mentioned above, Instagram also has videos or short reels. Reels are short videos that can be easily edited with cuts, music, and effects.

Many businesses use these to their advantage and use funny videos or food videos to entice users. Also, videos can be shared so easily, so the more shares you get, the more exposure you get! Remember, most of these Instagram tips are here to gain you followers and to get your content out there!

Be creative, and have fun. This is one side of your business that can allow you to be creative, funny, shocking, or stylish. If photos aren’t your best skill, perhaps try out Reels, and even check some out to get some ideas going.

Afters, a popular ice cream shop in Southern California, has a huge following and has used social media to propel their small business! This video shows their ice cream becoming a delicious root beer float that looks both delicious and trendy. This is a great example of how to use videos to your advantage. Obviously, this will take some practice and skills, but be creative and try to make your productions as low cost as possible when you’re first starting out.

The video has the product being used creatively, with clean cuts and enticing music to make the video entertaining. Take these ideas and concepts and apply them to whatever your product or business is. Remember that Instagram is all about visuals, so if you have a good solid product, it shouldn’t take that much work to promote it. If you have a product that is a bit harder to promote visually, try to be funny or creative in your video approach.

Instagram tip 6: Be Consistent

The hardest thing about Instagram is that it needs to stay consistent and relevant. This cannot be a one week venture and that’s it. It is going to take some time for you to flesh out all of your ideas. It may take even more time for you to build a solid following. If you are going to leave with any Instagram tip today, it’s to stay consistent and patient. Good things happen in good time, and you cannot give up so easily. Stick to your vision, be yourself, and work towards your goals.

Post weekly, share videos or photos on your story and interact with your customers. Being a business owner takes time and dedication, so know ahead of time that social media also takes up chunks of your time. Create a schedule for yourself and check Instagram consistently throughout the day. No one wants to follow a business that never replies, or never posts. You want to stay ahead of the game and be part of someone’s day today. You can base your posts and interactions on the day of the week, holidays, or even any specials that you may have.

As of late, businesses have been updating their followers and base on Covid-19 updates. Social media is also a great way to update your bases and help you stay afloat during tough times. Since most people are staying home or ordering take-out, Instagram is a great way to offer specials and showcase your food or products. That way, customers can check out your food or products without even leaving the comfort of their home.

You may be wondering, how can you be expected to do all this alone? One of the main Instagram tips out there is work smarter, not harder. There are sites that can help you schedule posts so that you don’t physically have to do it every day or every week. Sites like Hootsuite can help you post on multiple social media sites all at the same time. You can work ahead and plan everything so you need not worry!

To the right is an example of what the Hootsuite dashboard looks like. (There are other sites, but we are using this one for today’s example.) As pictures, there are tabs for Twitter and other websites. You can use this platform to schedule your posts and captions. (yes, even hashtags) You can see your analytics and best of all, you can see all of this on one page. Instead of jumping between social media platforms, you can see everything here in one easy place. On top of that, Hootsuite also gives out their own social media or Instagram tips to better help you out.

If your business is growing and you no longer have the time, hire someone who does. Many companies now hire communications managers, or social media interns/assistants to keep up your brands consistency. As long as you hire someone qualified and skilled, you can show them your vision and plans for your account.

These folks can post when you need them to. They can take quality photos, and help you come up with creative photos and videos. You may want to even hire a company that can do all this work for you, but obviously, that’ll come at a price. Regardless of how big your business is, this work can be done by you and at a low cost. As long as you apply all of these Instagram tips, and learn more about how to use social media to your advantage, you are on the path to success.

Conclusion:

We hope that these Instagram tips have helped you brainstorm some ideas.  Remember to do your research, and anything is possible if you look into it and create a plan ahead of time.

Take your time planning your look, style, photos, videos, and promos. Your business matters and can succeed and do better with the help of social media. It’s a free platform that can help boost your following, push you outside of your box, and help boost your demand. To sum up, plan ahead, create a vision, use hashtags, network on Instagram, and have fun. 

As mentioned before, many local businesses have soared, thanks to the help of social media. Keep your posts interesting, fun, and make sure to use these tips to maximize your business. We urge you to try out social platforms like Instagram because of how many users it has and how easy it is to use.

If Instagram isn’t for you, there is always TikTok, Facebook, and even Etsy. If you have any questions, please follow us online and ask us anything regarding your small business.