Instagram is a great tool for small businesses and you must consider it! Whether you decide Instagram to be a simple showcase for your business or if you plan to use the platform as a marketing outlet, you need a marketing strategy.

First, define your target audience. Then, set goals and objectives.

Well, it sounds overwhelming but once you had examined your strategy from all sides, things will go smoothly. And we’re here to help!

The bio is your small business’ ID people see when they visit your profile page. You want it to be concise, engaging, and informative:

• Quick description of what your business does
• Your category (Retail, Service, Art, etc.)
• Your core values
• A link to your website, contact, last blog post, etc. You should frequently change it so that it reflects your current content. You may also turn the single link into a catalog of resources. Remember, this is the only spot where you can post an organic clickable link

• Your business logo
• A personal photo
• A mascot, etc.

Highlights is an Instagram feature that allows you to organize your stories. Their purpose is to showcase what your business is all about:

• About
• FAQ
• Reviews
• Products/services features, etc.

Because Instagram is all about visuals, it’s essential for you to have a recognizable visual identity.

Tips:

• Define your mood board by looking at other brands for inspiration
• Try as much as possible to use your palette colors and fonts present on your website – This is your brand signature.
• In order to give confidence to your client, your feed must be attractive and visually consistent – Consistency reassures.

Consistently doesn’t mean every day but regularly. In effect, your audience will know you’re serious, you’re worth a follow and they can expect interesting content.

Tip: Create a content calendar with a posting strategy where you want to vary the types of posts.

• For Engagement (encouragement, quotes, etc.).
• About You.
• Showcase products/services.
• Know like trust (tips, benefits, etc.).

If you have an Instagram business account and you have set up your online store, you are able to use the tag product Instagram tool on your posts.

This tool helps your audience to find your products in one click.

Pros of Shopping Tags:

• A good way to turn your followers into customers.
• Smooth the shopping experience.

When you read social marketing strategists, some say 4 hashtags are enough, while others say you need 30… Whatever the number of hashtags you use, they need to be relevant for your:

• Post • Audience • Brand

In order to save you headaches every time you write a caption, you need a hashtag strategy.

Tip: Create a spreadsheet with hashtags sorted by categories and trends.

Even if Instagram is a visual platform, don’t neglect your captions. You must remember that captions tell the story of your visual, more broadly your story and that of your brand.

Tips:

• Use a tone according to who you are, who is your audience, and what is the purpose of your post.
• The first line grabs people’s attention and decides if they’ll click to “read more”.
• Use keywords in the main part of the text.
• End with a CTA (call to action) to drive engagement.

We know it takes time to respond to comments, mentions, DM… But it’s worth it!

In addition to strengthening your community and growing your following, you will meet wonderful people!

Talking, sharing, making connections with people is the very foundation of social media! So dedicate a few minutes a day to creating engagement by answering messages and comments.

Tip: Use polls or questions in your stories.

Instagram used to be all about photos but not anymore! There are multiple content types you can use to entertain your audience, such as:

• Single Photo
• Carousel
• Graphics
• Reels
• Lives
• etc.

Each of them has its pros and cons, and each one of you has its preferences, depending on your business, your products/services, and YOU.

Tip: Use a variety of content types BUT create ONLY what you like to do! If you don’t have fun creating your content, your post will reflect that and it’s bad for business!

• See what types of posts work better.
• Know when your audience is more active.
• How your account is growing.

With that in mind, you will be able to review your social media strategy and adapt it to your audience and objectives.