Instagram Marketing 101: Why You Need to “Fit In” to Win on Instagram

Most businesses have no freaking idea what they’re doing on Instagram.

They understand that Instagram can be a great marketing tool, but they’re playing by the old rules.We live in a noisy social world.

More than ever before in human history consumers have a choice over how they spend their leisure time.

Yes, it’s mostly on their phones.

And yes, most of the time on their phones is spent on some form of social media.

So it’s obvious that in order to reach the most people online, brands need to be on social media, and for the most part they are.

The mistake they make, however, is that they refuse to “fit in” on social media.

If you’re not interesting on Instagram; if you repost the same pictures from your website, or the same banner ad from 2005, or your crappy TV commercial; if you don’t humanize your brand, really, to the point where the pictures and videos you’re sharing actually delight your followers in the same way that those sappy baby pics on your Facebook feed delight you, then you will lose.

We don’t want you to lose.

So we wrote this article to teach you how to “fit in” so you can win on Instagram.

CONSISTENCY IS KEY

Instagram is a visual platform. The look of your page needs to be consistent with your brand as well as the other content on Instagram. This isn’t your website. This isn’t your Facebook page. It’s ok to repurpose some of the same images from your website or Facebook, but dress them up for Instagram. Use a filter. Use more hashtags. Spend time browsing the app to understand the unique visual language people use on Instagram, and mimic it. Actually making the effort to understand the platform will make all the difference.

YOUR BIO IS PRIME REAL ESTATE

Make sure you have a strong bio that represents your brand, but please don’t repeat the same tagline from your website!  Use phrases instead of sentences. Include lots of emojis. Keep it consistent with the rest of your page.Definitely include a call to action in the form of a phone number or website link.

Pro Tip: Use Bitly to shorten your website URL. It looks cleaner, and let’s you track the click-through rate of your page.

Play Hard to Get

Over-selling is toxic on Instagram. When a picture just looks like an ad people don’t engage and just scroll to the next post. Instagram automatically compresses your caption if it gets past a certain length, so be sure to keep that in mind – the more direct the better, but don’t let it get choppy or unclear. If your post seems at all desperate, back off.

Leaving something to the imagination means that your viewer has to look deeper for the information they want, making them more likely to visit your page and hit that ‘follow’ button.

Keep Em’ Guessing

Another good tactic is to offer a wide variety of content on your page.

Keeping things fresh (while cohesive) is a surefire way to grow on Social Media.

Showing different aspects of your business keeps IG’ers interested and makes your page more likely to succeed.

Having contests or giveaways is a great option as well! Not only does it spread your photo farther out across the web, but also gives followers incentive to stay connected with your business. And who doesn’t like to win free things?

MAKE IT “INSTAGRAM”

There’s a reason Instagram has all of those different buttons and fancy features…

It’s so that you’ll use them!

Posts that include geotags receive 79% more engagement than those without, and pairing that with a few well-selected hashtags can be a killer combination.

It boils down to making yourself as visible as possible, and geotags/hashtags are an effective and easy way to cast your net a little wider.

Some hashtags are more popular than others, and choosing a hashtag that gets thousands of hits a day could mean that your post gets lost in the shuffle. Try to pick hashtags that apply to your brand specifically- that will help channel people directly to your page.

Plus, if they’re looking at a hashtag that applies to your brand, you already know that they’re interested in your product! It’s a win-win situation.

In Social Media Marketing and on Instagram especially, it’s the little things that set you apart from other businesses.

Showing that you have put effort into your Insta-feed reflects commitment, professionalism, and also a good understanding of modern technology that makes your company more relatable.

Follow these rules and you will be ahead of the curve and on your way winning on Instagram and winning in business.