Instagram Marketing can be quite a complicated subject to learn, especially if you haven’t gotten a technique or strategy to attract attention. In this article, we’re going to go through 10 different zero-cost marketing techniques that can lay the foundation for your brand on the Instagram Platform.
First, lets find out why we need to implement Marketing Techniques on Instagram.
Instagram Marketing Techniques : The Purpose
Instagram is a popular platform for millennials and gen-z along with some participants of older and newer generations that make use of it.
Many whom use Instagram, use it to grow their social recognition, to find new products and get exciting content. But overall, those who’re attracted to the platform, use it for glamour. As the top influencers on the platform such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and many others. Are promoters of brands and self-ideals, such as fitness, healthy living and etc.
So it would make sense to assume that Instagram is the most popular platform for product based brands to market themselves, right.
Well, its more complicated than that, if you’re familiar with Porters Five Forces. You’d know that the Power of the Buyer is determined by the competition that dwells in an environment. And marketing on Instagram is a nightmare, you wont be able to get the attention of your users.
So, what’s the secret for some brands that takeover this marketplace. Well there are many ways that you could browse through and try to grow your brand. Let’s take a look at ten of the most common ones.
#1 – Setting up a Business Account
Every other marketing techniques we would use on Instagram, would be redundant. If you haven’t got a Instagram Business Account, so make sure to setup your Instagram Business Account asap.
By setting up an Instagram Business Account you would be able to use ads on Instagram directly, instead of having to use Facebook Advertising tools. Here’s a guide from facebook on how to do so.
#2 - Take them behind the scenes
Make your users apart of the journey, give them an insight into how your business functions. Tell them how the experience is not just available to the consumer, but also for those in production.
Your users deserve to know what’s up, take them through your production process and help them to realize the team behind the brand. There’s no better platform than Social Media to show your users what your brand is like behind the scenes. And especially, there’s no better platform than Instagram to do this. Be sure to express your most modern efforts and practices that has led your products to grow so far. The quality that matters most to the production, also the people working on keeping it that way.
#3 – Capture the Trend with Branded Hashtags
Branded Hashtags can help to grow your business by following the trends. Hashtags are a way of following social interests and sometimes even brands for some.
You cannot own a hashtag, but you can make it most familiar to your brand. For example, lets take our blog gumdropdev, the hashtag #gumdropdev can be used by anyone, but among our readers and people who’re aware of our brands, the hashtag would refer to us. And so, we can also use other hashtags, such as #blogging #InstagramMarketingTechniques and etc. To promote this article on Instagram, Facebook or even Twitter. But, that alone wouldn’t suffice for a business.
What you need to grow your business brand on Instagram is to use the right hashtags that market your product, brand personality and creates a characteristic for your brand.
#4 – Marketing Techniques for Instagram TV
IGTV (Instagram Television), is a platform by Instagram that allows users to create long video content to be shared on the platform with followers. Similar to YouTube, IGTV allows you to create videos and share them to the general public.
But, what makes IGTV more brand oriented is that it can be used to make use of your existing Instagram following to grow your product. Many brands stick to creating series of content on IGTV in a timely manner, be it daily, weekly, monthly and etc. This helps to keep your users, who want more content attracted to your brand.
#5 – Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories is a straight competition to Snapchat, and allows you to see vertical content with polls, hashtags and other visual elements on the video, that plays for a short time frame.
The advantage of using Instagram Stories is to help promote your products, showcase what’s coming next and etc. Also, you can use Instagram Stories to make use of one of the marketing techniques mentioned here. You can take your users behind the scenes of production. By showing them short videos of your teammates and more.
#6 – Tell your Brand Story
Your brand should contain an experience for the users. Let them know the vision behind your product.
Elon Musk uses this often with his automotive brand Tesla. Instead of looking to practical methods of sales and commerce, Musk made his vision known to his users. The dream of having a greener planet, independence from fossil fuels. And now that vision is amplified by fans of the brand. Make your brand attract fans too. You need to share your vision and let them become apart of it.
There’s no telling how people are going to pick up your brand, its all left to consequences, but the best you can do is to setup the turf.
#7 – Collaborations with other brands
Your Instagram Marketing Techniques can help your brand to grow, but you know what can boost that growth even more. That’s right, collaborations, your users are more likely to follow influencers whether they be micro or macro in size.
And these accounts don’t necessarily have to be individual influencers, but it can also be other brands that work together with yours. For example, if your brand is a watch company, you can partner up with a jewelers, to help boost both your brands together, simultaneously.
#8 – Timing your Instagram Marketing Techniques
Great timing is everything in marketing, if you want your marketing techniques to be flawless, you’ll have to post accordingly.
You should be able to figure out what makes your users tick. Do they like hearing from your regularly, if so what topics do they like to hear about. Are they interested in more behind the scenes, do they like to know what rewards await their eagerness. Treat them to great content at an even greater timing, make sure to post, when they’re online.
#9 – Users Feedback and Opinions
Use Instagram to collect opinions from users, you can use Instagram Stories to collect Polls, Make Choices and Rate how much they desire a product.
Make your brand perform the way your users want it to. If your product has two themes, ask them which they like the most. You can use this data to quantify the number of products that you’d have to build in order to make a good sale.
#10 – Give your users a voice
If your users are given an opportunity to be featured on your channel, there’s nothing else as a fan, that they would be proud of more. Your users like to hear you out, but also let them share their thoughts on your product.
Repost your users posts about purchases, event attendance (organized / participated by your brand) and make them feel as though they’re rewarded for becoming so deeply involved with your product. Let them know that they matter to you and that they are a part of your social circle.
Conclusion
We had a look through some key features of Instagram Marketing Techniques and how you can implement them to grow your brand. There are many different methods to make your product grow free of charge.
But using the right techniques matter, so be aware of your brands presence and always make sure to listen to your users, stay attentive of their voices and let them know that you care.