Tips for Using Instagram to Promote Your Local Business
Instagram is ideal for promoting your local business.
No, seriously.
“How might a social media network filled with hilarious cat videos, posts from influencers, and food photographs help you land more consumers and create more sales?” you might wonder.
Instagram is a lot more than simply amusing photographs and videos, believe it or not.
It’s also becoming more of a marketplace, with 70 percent of buyers using Instagram to find their next purchase. And half of those polled say that seeing adverts for a brand on social media makes them more interested in it.
Consider that the site now has 1.13 billion users, with more joining every day. That’s a lot of potential customers, which is why Instagram now has over 200 million businesses.
Creating an account and sharing product photos, however, isn’t enough to make you popular on Instagram. Developing a following for your local business is an art form. And you’ve come to the proper place to find out how.
You’ll discover how to use Instagram to attract a larger audience, build engagement, market your local business, and produce purchases in this course.
Participate, Participate, Participate
Instagram, like every other social media site, is first and foremost a community.
And, just as your business is an important part of your local community, you want to demonstrate that you’re a respected and beneficial Instagram user.
This will assist you in gaining fans that are eager to interact with your content.
However, just submitting beautiful photos or videos isn’t enough!
Create relationships with influencers and other brands (even direct competitors) to establish your reputation in the Instagram community, and join the conversations they’re starting. Engage with other Instagram users and interact with the material they’re creating.
To create engagement, you must first spend engagement.
When your fans start a discussion in the comments section of your postings, actively participate in such discussions and respond to questions, worries, praise, and other emotions.
This is also an excellent opportunity to resolve any unfavorable experiences, avoid negative publicity, and demonstrate to your followers that their opinions matter to you.
Strengthen your Instagram Community by Reposting Local Content
By constantly reposting content from your local followers, other companies in your area, and local celebrities, you may improve your business’s reputation on Instagram and in your local community.
Not only will the content creator be ecstatic that their work has been acknowledged by your company, but so will your other followers.
They might even mention your “shout out” on their Instagram feed, allowing you to reach out to their followers and even more individuals in your neighborhood. Win, win, win!
It makes your brand appear more approachable and personable when you post material generated by real individuals.
In other words, instead of feeling like a business after-sales, your organization begins to feel like a pleasant neighbor.
This method not only helps you build a stronger community reputation but also saves you time when it comes to writing fresh, distinct material.
Just make sure you ask first and tag the user on Instagram.
Maintain a Consistent Brand Identity
Your company’s Instagram account is merely a continuation of your brand.
While Instagram is a unique channel that may (and should) be utilized to achieve different goals than other touchpoints, including your other social media accounts, you must maintain consistency across all platforms, particularly in terms of your brand’s tone and personality.
Many clients follow your brand across multiple of these platforms if not all of them.
You run the risk of confusing your clients if your Instagram persona differs from the tone set by your website, Facebook page, or in-store workers.
That means your Instagram customer interactions and the tone you set in your post descriptions should reflect how it feels to visit your business in person.
Otherwise, people may come in expecting the bright, jovial business they saw on Instagram, only to be disappointed.
This causes a snag in their customer journey and may ultimately disenchant them.
Avoid Blanket Posting
While the tone and style of your messages should be constant across all platforms, too much resemblance might be harmful.
You must tread cautiously between keeping consistent and posting unique content, without blanket posting, which means employing the same message and content across many social media channels.
Customers who follow you on numerous social media channels will see the same message multiple times if you use blanket publishing.
It ceases being engaging after the first time and becomes disruptive. Keep in mind that each channel is unique and should be treated as such.
However, there are situations when blanket publishing is appropriate, such as when your company is hosting a local event or announcing new products and you want as many people as possible to learn about it.
You must, however, ensure that you are cross-promoting responsibly.
Cross-promotion done right isn’t just copying and pasting your efforts from one platform to the next; it’s about using each channel to promote the same cause in the most effective way possible.
Demonstrate your Local Lifestyle
The local lifestyle of your business is best described as the life of a customer after they’ve purchased your stuff.
Instagram is the ideal medium for showcasing your brand’s local lifestyle because it is such a visual social media platform.
Include images of your products in use to help clients imagine themselves living that lifestyle.
This improves the overall value of your brand and encourages those customers to make a purchase.
You should always try to incorporate renowned sights in your area when generating photographs or movies that demonstrate the local lifestyle offered by your business.
These locations are not only recognized and familiar, but they will also serve to complete the customer’s vision of your items in their lives, particularly if you choose landmarks that they frequent.
Go with the Trends
Holidays are often a hot topic, and businesses have long taken advantage of these opportunities to engage customers with holiday-themed communications.
However, you may use a variety of other trendy topics to produce intriguing Instagram content.
This is a terrific approach to get some local attention while still publishing stuff that is relevant and entertaining to your followers in your area
You should pay attention to the news, local events, and community-specific holidays to uncover hot hashtags in your area.
That’s why it’s a good idea to follow other businesses, local celebrities, and community thought leaders on Instagram so you can get ideas for trending and local keywords to employ.
Using hot subjects, on the other hand, has a downside. Some brands go above and above, attempting to hijack issues that should be avoided.
If a horrible incident occurs, for example, you want to avoid it. Otherwise, it can appear like you’re trying to profit off other people’s misfortune.
Controversial topics are another source of annoyance for many individuals, and it’s better to simply ignore them. Politics, religion, and other contentious issues are strictly prohibited!
