How to Leverage Instagram to Grow Your Business
Most business owners know the importance of using social media platforms such as Instagram. If you’re currently utilizing Instagram, you may already be familiar with the process of making regular posts and how to use hashtags on your posts, in order to allow other users to find you.
You may not be familiar with how to use Instagram to efficiently drive strategic growth for your business. When it comes to business growth with Instagram, you need a solid plan. A solid social media strategy that includes Instagram will help you attract the right audience and convert them into paying customers. Here are a few strategies for using Instagram to grow your business.
Set Some Goals
First, you’ll need to outline a plan of action for growing your business. Businesses can experience organic growth, but businesses grow best through action, not by accident. Determine what business growth means for you.
- Do you want your business to generate a certain amount of leads?
- Do you want to reach a specific dollar amount in sales?
- Maybe you want to produce and promote a new product line?
Determine what you would like to see happen in certain time frames. Once you have your plan, you can use Instagram to create a strategy for each of those goals.
Use a Call to Action
One of the most powerful ways to use Instagram is by directing your followers and audience to your website, or products and services. Your Instagram bio is a great place to list your business’s website, but it is an even better place for a call to action.
A call to action is a directive you give potential clients, in order to get them to engage with your business. It can be used to get people to make a purchase, interact with your website, or build your email list. They are also often used as part of an effective sales funnel. Instead of a website hyperlink in your Instagram bio, you would have a hyperlink that takes someone to a free offer, report, or blog post.
Create a Contest
If you are wanting to direct potential clients to engage with a product or service, try creating a contest on your Instagram. Many companies use this strategy for product launches, but it can work for services as well. A contest being used to promote a product would include a photo of the product, and the caption would detail the rules of the contest. You could give the product away for free to one or as many winners as you choose for reposting your post, or for tagging friends that might be interested.
Since Instagram is photo driven, for a service promotion, you could post a photo that shows examples, or a photo that could convey the feeling that your customer will have when they use your service. So, for example, if you build websites, your photo could include examples of your work. If you sell massages, your photo could be of someone receiving one and looking relaxed.
The power of Instagram lies in getting eyes onto your page through great content. Once potential clients are looking, make sure you are directing them to other ways to engage with your products and/or services.
