How to Advertise on Instagram
Instagram is a photo sharing social networking site with over 500 million active monthly users, making it one of the most potent pools of valuable leads for marketers and business owners. Advertising on Instagram has been around for a while and companies are using their creative manpower to gain massive attention.
There are several ways businesses can advertise on Instagram, but one thing everyone has to be prepared for is the fact that some methods may be more expensive than others.
This doesn’t mean, however, that those with a limited budget can no longer advertise on Instagram. Below, we’ll be discussing the different ways a business can advertise based on the resources they have.
Instagram Ads for Business: How to Advertise on Instagram
Instagram knows how powerful their platform can be when it comes to advertising products and services. In response to the crazy amount of potential their platform has for advertising, they’ve also rolled out what is called Instagram Ads for Business.
Business owners can create and post ads that are then directed to their target audience. They have the option to create photo, video or even carousel ads, not to mention the attractive story ads.
Gatorade is a business that appeals to everyone’s thirst for the active lifestyle. They know very well that their followers are most likely sports fans, as well. By being in tune with what their fans want, they were able to initiate an effective branding campaign using Instagram for Business.
Image credit: Instagram Blog
Their Be Like Mike Campaign is a nostalgic effort that reminded sports fans of the golden era in basketball – making Gatorade the true MVP.
You get to determine the amount you spend on the campaign. You can set the budget for the amount to be spent daily, so you have full control.
Want to know how to set up your very own Instagram Ad campaign? Here’s a step by step tutorial on how you can get started, using your Facebook page as a starting point.
Optimize Your Profile
If Instagram Ads for Business is a tad bit overpriced for your budget, optimizing your profile is another way you can take advantage of the platform for all your marketing needs.
With over 800 million photos shared daily, a business owner like yourself needs to come up with a pretty solid strategy to gain the right kind of attention, and enough of it.
Below, we’ve rounded up a few tips to help you get started. This is a more cost-efficient advertising strategy that can help up-and-coming brands make waves on Instagram.
Profile, Profile, Profile
Your profile is like your brand’s face on Instagram. You have to make sure it represents what you are all about in the best light possible.
Begin by choosing a high-res, scalable image for your profile picture. Brands and businesses are encouraged to use their logo as their profile picture to help raise familiarity and awareness for their name.
The bio space is a great opportunity for brands and businesses to tell people all about themselves. We suggest you keep it short, professional and witty. People on the internet have a fondness for all things clever so be sure to keep that in mind.
Instagram also allows users to put one clickable link in the bio. You can opt to use this space to link to your sales page or main website. This way, once people get a sense of what you have to offer after browsing your feed, they can directly go to where you need them to go – and do business with you.
Image credit: WeWork on Instagram
WeWork is a global coworking space company that knows how to make work appear like child’s play.
The link in their bio leads to a page on their website that shows all of the awards they’ve received over the years – showing everyone they don’t just walk the walk but talk the talk, too.
Feed Goals
Image credit: Divinity LA on Instagram
Once you have fully optimized your profile, now is the time to pay better attention to your feed. Instagram users are highly discerning when it comes to the content they like.
Sitting down and investing marketing energy on a content strategy will be a rewarding experience for business owners. A content strategy can help your branding efforts more precise and relevant.
Image credit: Divinity LA on Instagram
Simply posting random types of content with no direction will make you (and your business) appear all over the place – this is not the type of attention you’d want for your brand.
By investing time and energy in getting to know your target, you will be acquainted with the things they like and consider relevant. Base your content strategy around your findings to increase your chances of becoming a more relevant brand overall!
Califia Farms is a brand known for their drop-dead gorgeous packaging. It is so stylish, in fact, that it has won several awards!
Image credit: Califia Farms on Instagram
This company knows how to appeal to their nature-loving audience through striking images that showcase nature’s bounty and a sustainable lifestyle. With almost 60,000 Followers, we are certain this company’s Instagram game is strong.
Next up is Desenio, a Swedish wall art company that uses Instagram to establish a brand of luxury with ingenious design.
Image credit: Desenio on Instagram
This company uses stunning images with a consistent color palette to showcase what they have to offer. Their feed shows their followers the possibilities their product offers – without resorting to hard selling.
By showing everyone what can be done with their product, they are instantly adding value to what they offer. This is definitely one of the best ways companies can advertise on a platform like Instagram.
Become the Hero of the Comment Section
In this day and age, we expect everything to be just a few clicks and swipes away. The customers of today look to social media accounts to get the answers they want FAST.
According to a study done by J.D. Power back in 2013, 67% of consumers have gone on a company’s social media account to ask a question or address a concern.
To your social and mobile customers, your social media account is their gateway to prompt customer support – and these people expect results.
Another tactic to raise your worth is by providing value-adding services to customers through social media customer support. If you can address a particular concern in a personalized way, that’s superb.
Smaller businesses may have an advantage here as they are least-likely to be bombarded with comments, and this means they may be able to manage responses better than some bigger companies.
Be More Impressive
Social proof is huge on the internet, especially on a platform like Instagram. Customers gravitate towards brands and businesses with more followers because it gives them an impression that a company is more credible and popular – and we all want to go with the more popular option, right?
Credibility can’t be achieved overnight, most of the household names and brands we know now have worked for years to become what they are.
In this digital age, not everyone has the luxury of time to build a more credible reputation. If you want to build a more impressive reputation in half the time, consider purchasing Instagram followers.
A lot of brands and celebrities buy followers to boost their social proof – we just don’t have a lot of people talking about it. People are afraid to talk about this highly viable method of hacking growth on social media for fear of being shunned by their beloved, authentic followers.
The truth is, there’s nothing wrong with purchasing followers – as long as you choose your provider carefully.
There are hundreds of providers out there who will try to sell you cheap, low-quality followers. Low-quality followers from cheap providers will give you nothing but impressive looking numbers, and they won’t look good attached to your account if anyone investigates.
While they may initially strengthen your social proof, low-quality followers are also known for unfollowing and spamming – which can hurt your credibility more than you think.
If you want to gain the massive marketing benefits that come with bought followers, going for quality is the right move. High-quality followers stick around for the long run, they don’t spam, and they have authentic-looking profiles that won’t raise any red flags.
High-quality followers strengthen your social proof without compromising your credibility, and without breaking the bank. Check out our listing of the top providers of Instagram followers to learn more and find the right company for you.
As a brand or business, you have a lot at stake on the internet. Avoid shortcuts and do your research to hack growth without risking your credibility by always going for high-quality followers.
Use Your Network
Using your existing network and other social media platforms can help you gain more recognition on Instagram, fast.
Directing your followers from other social media networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook will quickly increase your follower count on Instagram, and you can also direct your Instagram followers to those other networks.
Incentivize your Instagram followers through giveaways and contests – people love free stuff and a giveaway will definitely encourage them to stop what they’re doing to check you out.
You can also encourage followers on other networks to find you on Instagram by posting previews of content that are exclusive to your Instagram account. If you manage to come up with valuable content, a teaser should be enough to get them to your IG profile.
It Doesn’t Have to Cost a Fortune
Advertising on Instagram doesn’t have to cost a fortune. There are a number of tools available at your disposal that can even out the playing field for you.
Research, creativity, and dedication to the process can help you become one of the most successful brands on the platform.
Remember, expensive ads are not the end-all-be-all of advertising on Instagram. Coming up with valuable and relevant content is still the best way to win the hearts of social and mobile customers.
Of course, you also have to pair relevance with credibility. Buying followers is a fast, inexpensive, and effective way to boost your social proof – you just have to find the right provider.
Instagram’s marketing potential is yours for the taking. Be smart and keep those creative juices flowing, because we are rooting for you!
Date: March 14, 2017 / Categories: Buy Instagram Followers, Case Studies, Marketing, / Author: Mariko
