The Five Major Keys for Using Instagram for Your Business

By Ken Merced, Social Media Practitioner (@kenmercedmedia) 

We live in the year 2016. Unfortunately, most businesses are marketing as though it’s 2014. Most businesses and business owner are becoming more and more aware of the need for maintaining their strategy for social media; but not everyone has the expertise to execute their strategy effectively. Most businesses jumped in to Facebook because “Everyone else is doing it” and “It’s just what you do if you are in business” instead of having social media strategy, being good or passionate about it.


Unfortunately, most businesses (even major corporations) don’t understand how to engage with their customers on social media. The fact is, consumers are more interested in a than your product or service.
Too many marketers find ease in posting the same content to Facebook, Instagram and Twitter hoping their consumers won’t notice the duplication in content. Not only are their followers vastly different from one platform to another, the way businesses communicate must differ as well.


From my experience, I have listed the five major keys for utilizing Instagram for business:

1. A picture is worth a thousand words. Unlike Facebook (where content must be likable, shareable and commendable), content on Instagram should contain pictures that are relatable and personal. Think of Instagram as the photo album of our day. If they say a picture is worth a thousand words, than Instagram is the dictionry of our time.


2. Think like a viewer. Don’t post substandard content. If you’re a photographer, you are very aware of the necessity for quality photos. Considering Instagram is primarily photo based, the photos need to stand out in a news feed.


3. Don’t be afraid of #hashtags. In 2016, we are at the whim of Instagram’s new algorithm. Hashtags are the driving force for followers to view your content. Spend a few minutes researching hashtags from the perspective of the person you want to see your pictures. Although it’s easy to get lost in newsfeeds when using the hashatgs in the million post club, don’t neglect the hashtags in the 100k club. Ideally, you want a nice mix of both. Keep in mind that Instagram currently only allows the use of 30 hashtags per post so choose wisely.


4. Post regularly with the time of day in mind. Believe it or not, the two best times to post daily is 2am and 5pm. What?? Yes, that means unless you have hired someone to post for you, you will need to be up at 2am posting your content. Other then that, post during times your viewers will be checking their feed (i.e. breakfast, lunch time and dinner).


5. Be patient. Don’t use all your content all at once. Spend time once or twice a week stocking up on photos and content. Don’t use them all at once. Spread your content out throughout the week. Also, if your expect to see results after few months of posting regularly, you might be in for a surprise. It takes time and persistence in ordeer to see the results you desire.

​When it comes to marketing, the less crowded the room, the more your voice is heard. While Facebook is still an extremely valuable medium of being seen and heard. Since Facebook purchased Instagram, the way to communicate on these platforms are similar yet vastly different. Don’t even get me started on Snapchat (I will cover this in future blog posts).
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In summary, it is not only a good idea, it is necessary for businesses to be on Facebook and instagram. Don’t rely on some employees, friend or family members who may know a thing or two about social media. Find a reliable, experienced agency to grow your follower base the right way. The right way is patiently, organically, and with massive engagement.

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Ken
www.storytellermco.com