
<p>About <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/77-percent-of-us-small-businesses-use-social-media-for-sales-marketing-and-customer-service-300704921.html">77% of small businesses</a> currently use social media for marketing, sales, and customer service. Social media usage has increased by nearly 60% among US adults in the past 12 years, too. In fact, nearly 70% currently use at least one social media site.</p>



<p>With a strong Instagram marketing strategy, you can reach your target audience online.</p>



<p>Learning how to use Instagram for marketing a business can take time, trial, and error, though. Instead of wasting time, use these 15 Instagram marketing tips.</p>



<p>With these tips, you can build a following, engage customers, and help your business grow.</p>



<p>Start marketing a business on social media with these tips today.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>1. Outline Goals</strong></h2>



<p>You can create a more effective Instagram marketing strategy by first outlining your goals. Your goals might focus on:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Generating brand awareness and recognition</li><li>Gaining a following</li><li>Boosting brand trust</li><li>Retaining loyal customers</li><li>Generating website traffic</li><li>Generating leads and sales</li><li>Improving search engine rankings</li><li>Improving your ROI</li></ul>



<p>Make sure each goal you set is specific. Establish a deadline, too. Then, determine what key performance indicator (KPI) you&#8217;ll track.</p>



<p>Break larger goals into smaller benchmarks with shorter deadlines. If you&#8217;re struggling to meet your deadlines or KPIs, you need to adjust your strategy.</p>



<p>Outlining specific goals can help you better inform your Instagram marketing strategy. You can learn how to use Instagram for marketing <em>based</em> on your goals. Otherwise, you might feel that you lack direction as you begin marketing.</p>



<p>For example, let&#8217;s say you want to boost brand trust. Consider sharing customer testimonials and user-generated content (UGC).</p>



<p>Future customers will see that shoppers like them already love your brand. They might feel more inclined to trust you. Building brand trust could help you generate leads in the future.</p>



<p>If you want to generate awareness and recognition, consider creating pay-per-click (PPC) ads. UGC can help build a buzz surrounding your business, too. ;</p>



<p>Once you determine which tactics align with your goals, you can start planning your content. ;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>2. Research Your Audience</strong></h2>



<p>It&#8217;s important to make sure your Instagram content appeals to your distinct audience group. After all, most people get annoyed by generic content. In fact, <a href="https://www.business2community.com/marketing/30-amazing-personalization-statistics-02289044">74% get frustrated</a> when content has nothing to do with their interests. ;</p>



<p>Gather audience research to learn as much as you can about your customers.</p>



<p>You can create a poll, interview your customers, or review your Google Analytics. Determine who your target audience is based on:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Age</li><li>Gender</li><li>Interests</li><li>Hobbies</li><li>Household income</li><li>Buying behaviors</li><li>Location</li><li>Marital status</li><li>Career</li><li>Language</li><li>Education</li></ul>



<p>Think about the pain points your customers are experiencing, too. Determine how your product or service can offer a solution. Then, start highlighting those helpful solutions within your content.</p>



<p>Researching your audience will allow you to personalize your content. You can start empathizing with customers. Show them you understand what they&#8217;re going through.</p>



<p>They might realize you&#8217;re the right brand for the job as a result.</p>



<p>Personalization can help improve your ROI by eight times. You can generate more leads and sales to set your business up for growth.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>3. Consider Your Competitors</strong></h2>



<p>As you use these Instagram marketing tips, it&#8217;s important not to neglect your competitors. Take a look at their Instagram profiles. Review the content they&#8217;ve already created.</p>



<p>Try to determine what your competitors are doing right to boost engagement.</p>



<p>For example, perhaps they share more video content and Stories over still images. Maybe they host contests every few months. Perhaps they&#8217;re collaborating with other brands as well.</p>



<p>Take a look at the hashtags featured in their posts. Then, consider which posts had the most engagement. Using the right hashtags might have expanded their reach.</p>



<p>Consider the topics they&#8217;ve covered within their content, too.</p>



<p>When using business marketing tips, it&#8217;s important not to copy your competitors. Instead, use your research to find opportunities. Think about the tactics your competitors are neglecting, too. ;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>4. Craft Creative Content</strong></h2>



<p>Your content can set your social media marketing strategy up for success or cause it to fall flat.</p>



<p>First, make sure you&#8217;re creating unique, branded posts. Don&#8217;t post stock photos. Otherwise, your brand might not look genuine.</p>



<p>Hire a professional photographer to take crisp, eye-catching, high-quality images for your brand. These photos will stand out on the feed. It could speak to your brand&#8217;s quality, too.</p>



<p>Otherwise, use <a href="https://like4like.com/blog/14-tips-for-beginners-how-to-take-nice-photos-for-instagram">these tips for beginners on instagram</a> when taking photos.</p>



<p>Experiment with different types of posts throughout the year. For example, you can try:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Stories</li><li>Videos</li><li>IGTV</li><li>Reels</li><li>Carousels</li><li>Stills</li></ul>



<p>Experiment with different stickers when posting Stories, too. For example, you can create interactive content like polls and quizzes. You can boost engagement and become more memorable. ;</p>



<p>Make sure to create plenty of video content as well. Video is the top <a href="https://ahrefs.com/blog/seo-statistics/#video-seo-statistics">form of media</a> used in content marketing.</p>



<p>Once you start marketing a business on social media, review the data from your posts. Consider when formats helped you generate the most engagement.</p>



<p>As people begin commenting on your posts, make sure to comment back, too. Let your customers know you&#8217;re listening. Take the time to answer their questions as well.</p>



<p>You can improve your customer service and start generating more leads through Instagram. ;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>5. Prove Your Credibility</strong></h2>



<p>Consumers want to choose brands they can trust. Use these Instagram marketing tips to prove you&#8217;re a credible resource in the industry.</p>



<p>Start by sharing excerpts from your thought-provoking blog posts. Make sure the excerpts demonstrate your experience and expertise. Try to position yourself as a thought leader in the industry, too.</p>



<p>Establishing your credibility can help brand trust grow, helping you generate more leads.</p>



<p>Don&#8217;t forget to share testimonials from your happy customers as well. ;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>6. Use Display Ads</strong></h2>



<p>When learning how to use Instagram for marketing, you might want to consider using it for <em>advertising</em>, too. You can now create PPC ads on Instagram and Facebook. Eye-catching ads can help you generate followers, web traffic, and sales.</p>



<p>Make sure to use high-quality imagery for your ads. These images can blend in with organic content.</p>



<p>Then, add a strong call to action to encourage more leads or followers.</p>



<p>Use A/B testing to determine which display ads are most effective. Experiment with different imagery, captions, and CTA language. ;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>7. Start Storytelling</strong></h2>



<p>Help consumers fall in love with your brand. You can use storytelling to draw them in and remain top of mind. Consumers might have an easier time remembering a story than a product post.</p>



<p>For example, you can create &#8220;day in the life&#8221; posts to give them a behind-the-scenes look into your business. You can show them how your products are made, too. ;</p>



<p>Try to show rather than tell when creating your content. Keep consumers engaged with moments they can remember.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>8. Maintain Brand Consistency</strong></h2>



<p>Make sure your social media marketing strategy aligns with your overall marketing strategy. For example, it&#8217;s important to maintain brand consistency across all channels. Maintaining consistency can help brand recognition grow.</p>



<p>Consumers will have an easier time connecting your marketing materials between different channels, too. If they recall your brand, they might decide to contact you directly in the future. ;</p>



<p>Feature your brand color palette, font styles, imagery styles, and logo throughout your content. ;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>9. Work With Influencers</strong></h2>



<p>You don&#8217;t have to use these Instagram marketing tips alone. Instead, consider marketing a business on social media via influencers.</p>



<p>Influencers are social media users who already have a huge following online. They&#8217;ve already won the respect and trust of consumers, too. You can leverage that brand trust to encourage consumers to trust your brand as well.</p>



<p>Ask an influencer to promote your product or service. For example, they can demo using your product. Their review could lead more people to look into your business.</p>



<p>Make sure the influencer links their post to your Instagram account or product pages. ;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>10. Consider Your Hashtags</strong></h2>



<p>Remember, using the right hashtags can help you expand your reach on Instagram. You can appear as consumers search for content they want. They might decide to follow you for similar posts in the future.</p>



<p>Try to avoid using 30 hashtags within each post. Instead, use a single branded hashtag. Then, use about five relevant hashtags based on the content you&#8217;re sharing. ;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>11. Track Trends</strong></h2>



<p>Once you learn how to use Instagram for marketing, you&#8217;ll likely notice new trends pop up every few months. Keep track of these trends and determine which ones suit your business brand.</p>



<p>Appealing to the latest trends will show consumers you&#8217;re relevant.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>12. Schedule Your Posts</strong></h2>



<p>You can save valuable time by scheduling your social media posts in advance. Use a scheduler tool to organize your posts for the next month.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>13. Make Improvements</strong></h2>



<p>After learning how to use Instagram, make sure to review the results from your efforts. Determine which posts and topics help you generate engagement. Then, adjust your social media marketing strategy accordingly.</p>



<p>Making routine adjustments to your strategy can help improve your ROI. ;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Staying Social: 13 Effective Instagram Marketing Tips for 2022</strong></h2>



<p>Set your social media marketing strategy up for success this year! Get started by applying these Instagram marketing tips. Once you learn how to use Instagram, you can expand your reach and build a loyal following.</p>



<p>Start boosting your brand with these business marketing tips today.</p>



<p>Searching for more tips? You&#8217;re in the right place.</p>



<p>Check out our latest articles today for more advice. ;</p>

Instagram Marketing: How to Get It Right for Your Business
