Instagram tips for small businesses

Instagram is undoubtedly the biggest social media platform at the moment. I’m sure many businesses will have noticed the slump on Facebook traffic recently. Posts not performing as well and the number of followers plateauing, however, Instagram is another story.

Followers are on the rise and the platform has gone from strength to strength since Insta Stories was introduced – it has now become a place for mini vlogs to make your business shine.

If you’re just starting out on Insta for your business, or you’re looking to gain new followers I’ve put together a few top tips.

Tip 1

No time? No problem – learn to schedule
Social media does take time, and you have to see it as part of your marketing mix. If you do it regularly, you will see a return. So, to post regularly, but ensure that Instagram doesn’t take over your life, try a scheduling service such as Sprout Social or Hootsuite. Both offer free services.
You can schedule your posts throughout the week or month.

Tip 2

Engage!
Once your posts are scheduled, leave the Instagram notifications on so if someone comments you can go and reply quickly. This is important if you’re scheduling posts.
If a potential customer has commented on your post, reply! Even if it’s just to say hi or thank you for a nice comment.
Social media is all about being social at the end of the day and the more your customers see you as a friendly and approachable owner, the better.

Tip 3

Follow influencers and like-minded people.
Follow people in the same industry as you, follow influencers in your field and in your local area, follow journalists, suppliers and loyal customers (only if you know them on a personal level). Following like-minded people means they are more likely to follow back.

Tip 4

Research your hashtags
Hashtags are a great way to get your post out to a wider audience. Find out which are the best hashtags for your industry (you can google these or just type in a hashtag and Insta will give you the top rated ones) and use them!
You can even make a hashtag for your business – just keep using it each time you post. So when someone searches for your business all your posts will come up.

Tip 5

Killer content
Create killer content. Don’t post any old image. Really think about it and what it says about your brand.
Use Insta Stories for behind the scenes content – for example if you’re unboxing a new range of items for your shop, Insta Story the new pieces.
Then post a photo of the new goodies hanging up in the store to your feed.
Insta Stories is more of a place to vlog and show the brand’s personality in a more casual setting – the photo feeds are where you can curate a put together brand profile, as well as show off new products/services in their best light.

At the end of the day if you’re using Instagram as a business, you want to encourage people to buy your products and/or services, so think about that before you post. Will this encourage a customer? Will this represent my brand correctly?

I hope you find these tips useful – feel free to get in touch if you’d like some more social media tips!