Using Instagram for business in 2022
By Benn Stanley
Let’s start with some, quite frankly, staggering statistics for Instagram and let them sink in.
As of January 2022, there were over 1.2 billion Instagram users worldwide and 90% of those users follow at least one business profile. In addition, over 80% of B2C and B2B marketers are on Instagram. This coupled with the fact that Instagram has the most engagement of any social media channel means that Instagram is big business not only for its owner, Meta aka Facebook (remember them?), but also for brands and products who want to promote and maximise their awareness and sales online. The average daily time spent on Instagram is 29 minutes: that’s a lot of scrolling through pictures across the world.
No matter how unique or, let’s just say it, weird your business proposition is, Instagram is a welcoming space for you to showcase your commercial endeavours. Want to rent a chicken? You got it (@rent_a_chicken), or need a professional cuddler? You got it again (@professional_cuddlers).
Crudely put: if you want to sell something, be it a product, a service or yourself you should probably have an Instagram account.
All pretty exciting for any business then, right? Yes, but as there are over 25 million registered business accounts on Instagram worldwide, and rising by tens of thousands every day, your Instagram strategy must cut through the excess noise and leap out with great planning, design, copywriting, delivery and analysis.
Instagram is my primary business as a Digital Content Strategist. I started to work with small, often one-person, businesses, across the South East raising their visibility and sales through Instagram while all shops and stockists were shut during the first set of Covid lockdowns. While the pandemic has been damaging for myriad reasons, online shopping has thrived, and analysts have estimated that the Covid pandemic accelerated online business by
4-6 years.
The most important things about social media – socializing, connection, maintaining relation-ships -are the very things that the Covid pandemic and subsequent lockdowns made that much more complicated. Consequently, our habits have transformed over the past 2 years; from increased digital content consumption to online retail, we’ve changed the way we shop, explore, and interact with each other. And these will only continue to change and evolve. And Instagram is one of the platforms at the forefront of these changes aiming to provide alternative solutions and spaces. How many of you immediately Instagram search a new product that interests you to find out more detail, see some more images, immerse yourself in the brand or how to buy it? It’s my first search option, before Google even.
Our commercial world is increasingly visual; just one strategically designed image and caption, targeted towards your key consumer posted to Instagram, can reach thousands of potential buyers and all for free, unlike TV, radio and print where you must pay for an advertising campaign. For small businesses this is an unmissable opportunity to engage directly with their customers, new and old, without spending a marketing penny (well, maybe just the use of a smartphone for the camera).
Did you see that word ‘engage’? Read up around the machinations of the Instagram algorithm and you’ll come across this word a lot. If your Instagram account has a high level of engagement generally your post is more likely to end up at the top of your followers’ feeds – where they will see it and hopefully engage with it. Comments, saves, shares and likes are all forms of engagement, so the aim of your content should be to encourage all of these actions if you want to see results.
Instagram want you to spend as much time on the platform as possible; they’re not satisfied with those 29 minutes of daily usage. Therefore, there are multiple ways to use Instagram; single posts, carousels (multi-image posts), Highlights, Stories, Reels, IG Video, IG Shop, and IG Live. The more you create and post content for each of these features, the more you’ll see your algorithm ranking rise and your potential to be seen with consumers will increase.
This can be dizzying for a small business, however, and intimidating even for the more expert of Instagram content creator. Imagine trying to juggle all these features with actually doing the day job of managing your business.
For this reason, I wanted to share some of the strategies that I employ while working with clients whose aim is to raise their Instagram profile and engagement.
Purpose: When considering the content you want to post to your Instagram business account ensure that it has a purpose – always.
That purpose could be to educate your followers with how to guides or tutorials; entertain with behind the scenes of the brand; promote your business with customer testimonials or case studies; engage by sharing your own inspiration or follower polls; or the purpose of your post could be to extend reach with collaboration ideas or guest spots.
Authenticity: Instagram aud-iences aren’t interested in sterile marketing campaigns; your followers want to feel like insiders at your company. Showcase what goes on behind the scenes – the good and the bad – and be prepared to show vulnerability as well as strikingly impactful imagery. Honesty will create a stronger connection with your followers.
Values: Real people make real connections so share your personal and brand values. Social media today needs to be personal, relevant and values oriented—no matter who the audience is. Shying away from issues such as sustainability, mental health and personal freedoms creates a distance with an increasingly connected and savvy audience. Engaging with the issues surrounding us generates social trust with your brand;
you’re aiming for a like-minded community.
Experiment: The best way to find out which marketing strategies work for your specific audience is to experiment. Posting a variety of content formats from single posts to videos, to Stories and add-ons like polls or quizzes, will generate different engagement levels. Analyse the results to see which formats work best for your content. Don’t be put off if some don’t work as well as others. Bear in mind that videos usually get twice as many comments as a normal post, so experiment with video features and durations.
Inspiration, not competition:
We all know how demoralising any social media channel can be if you spend too much time scrolling; I’m just as guilty of this as anyone. Comparisons with similar businesses are inevitable (we’re only weak humans after all) but try to take away inspiration rather than negative parallels when you’re looking around your competitive landscape.
Growing any business takes time and that applies equally to Instagram growth. No one gets their Instagram business strategy right the first time; it’s always a bit trial and error and success rates, and followers, will fluctuate week on week. I develop Instagram content campaign strategies for multiple industries including retail, fashion, hospitality and corporate services and my advice is always the same; be brave with your content, be authentic with your tone of voice, and listen to and reflect your consumer.
Brands that prioritise and accelerate their consumer needs while reflecting community lifestyles and values will be the social media growth winners.
• Benn Stanley
www.bennstanleycreates.com
Instagram: @bennstanleycreates
SOURCES
*www.99firms.com
**www.forbes.com
We hope you have enjoyed reading this article. The future of our volunteer led, non-profit publication would be far more secure with the aid of a small donation. You can also support local journalism by becoming a friend of HIP. It only takes a minute and we would be very grateful.
Leave a Reply