The Instagram Era: How to Grow Your Business on Instagram

The Instagram era

If you are still wondering whether Instagram is the right place for your business, you are losing valuable time! Life happens on Facebook and Instagram. The two platforms go hand in hand: Facebook leans heavily on text-based advertising, while Instagram owes its huge popularity to visuals. Real-time connection with your audience, videos, influencers and even carefully chosen, filtered photos all matter. These details are key for any profile that wants to get noticed and reach a large audience, and on Instagram that happens much faster and more easily than on Facebook.

In this article, we walk you through the most important steps to follow if you want to grow your business on Instagram.

Every business belongs on Instagram

First, let's be clear: absolutely any business can be promoted on Instagram. The key is finding the right strategy. Take an HVAC company, for example. You are probably wondering where it fits on Instagram, right? A highly successful campaign could be built with the help of an "army" of influencers! We will tell you more about their impact on your audience later in this article.

Live videos

Live video is one of the most effective ways to advertise right now, because it lets you talk directly with your brand's fans. A good strategy is to invite guests you can discuss important topics with, topics your audience cares about. Live videos build trust. It makes a huge difference when people can see who stands behind a product, as well as satisfied customers who are willing to put their name behind it.

Did you know? Cisco predicted that by 2022, video would make up 82% of all internet traffic, and short-form video has only kept growing since.

Audience

Instagram is a place where you can constantly tap into a huge amount of information about your audience.

By using the power of hashtags, you can reach the right people. They don't need to know you yet; what matters is that they are interested in the products you offer. Hashtags cost nothing and bring in customers. What could be better than that?

A word about hashtags

The old "the more, the better" rule no longer applies. Instagram now allows up to five hashtags per post, so every one of them has to count. Before you use a hashtag, check whether it will actually help you: how many posts use it, and whether it is still active and has been used in recent weeks. A few specific, relevant hashtags will do more for you than a long list of generic ones.

The perfect content

The perfect content is the content people want to see, which means your audience should guide what you publish. Try to build your posts and Stories in a way that gets your followers engaged with your products, to the point where they visit your website to learn more about what you offer.

The perfect content grabs attention instantly! If you have even the slightest doubt that something is missing, don't post it. Every post or Story should be as polished as possible. When you put in the effort, believe us, people notice, and customers come away feeling that you care about quality. Also remember that, in the end, you are working toward results, so post things that deliver real value.

It is also a good idea to post about once a day, no more and no less. On the one hand, constantly "spamming" your followers is not a good look, and your audience can quickly get tired of you. On the other hand, if you post too rarely, you risk being forgotten, unless you sell the most unique product in the world.

The ideal profile

The ideal profile is a well-organized profile, one that makes it easy for visitors to find what they are looking for. And since Instagram is all about visuals, you have to pay close attention to how your profile looks: beautiful, carefully crafted photos, posts and Stories. Did you know that people like things with their eyes first and only then think about what they have seen? Keep in mind that all of this is also seen as a sign of respect for your audience, so be creative!

Loyal followers

Your loyal followers are your biggest fans, so don't mislead them with unrealistic claims or promises. Be yourself: the more authentic you are, the more people will like you! In our experience, if you partner with a good influencer whom people trust, you can count on more followers, stronger engagement and, ultimately, loyal customers.

People love to show themselves to the world in their best light, and Instagram is exactly that kind of place. Some see it as an illusion, others love finding beauty everywhere, and others share their own view of the world around them. It is this rich mix of users, each with a different perspective, that makes the platform so popular and so colorful. Everyone can find their place on it.

What's next

Instagram is certainly not done evolving, and we are sure the platform still has plenty of surprises in store. Competition is fierce, especially from TikTok, which has grown into a major channel for brands, particularly among younger audiences. It is never too early to test it for your business, too.

We at GetSEO encourage you to claim your place in the Instagram era. If you still have doubts, think of it as one more media channel that can connect you with potential customers. Give it a chance and experiment! If you would rather have experts handle it, take a look at our Facebook and Instagram advertising services and plans.

Keep following our blog to stay up to date on everything that matters to your business!