Business Instagram – What is it?
Instagram is definitely one of the most essential social platforms available, and we’re confident that any business that isn’t already using it is striking out on something significant. Regardless of whether you run social media for a large corporation, a startup company, or are promoting your own personal brand, including Instagram in your marketing plan is very important!
Because of Instagram’s visual appeal, your company has an incredible chance to showcase all it has to offer. Instagram provides a place for you to exhibit what makes your brand worth connecting with, from products or services to your company’s distinct value additions.
You may have heard several opinions about why Instagram is helpful for businesses, but you cannot be 100% certain about it without experimenting with different types of content, tone, and the “when” of posting.
We’ve made it easier for you by compiling a list of 10 types of content that have proven to be the most effective in terms of engaging with your audiences, and the best part? They work in perfect tandem with your Inbound Marketing strategy.
How to Create Business Instagram Content
The first step is determining your target audience. This would allow you to know whom to target and give you a better idea regarding the type of content to post. The next step would be developing relevant buyer personas, which is done through market research.
A buyer persona is a “fictitious figure” created to represent the common characteristics of your consumers. Knowing what they’re looking for might help you create relevant content types which will be discussed below. Keep in mind that Instagram is mostly visual. This means that you should brainstorm ideas that can be transformed into visual, Insta-worthy content (infographics / games / Q&As…).
Content Ideas for Business Instagram
Creative Storytelling on Business Instagram
The ultimate goal is, realistically, to increase your sales. We know. Promotional content is very often dull and it’s no secret that not many people actually stick around when brands are promoting or advertising their products or services. However, with a capital H and mental exclamation points, the way you promote your content is what will make you stand out.
Instagram storytelling is one of the “hows” – you’ll discover more ways next.
People enjoy stories. We’re raised on fairytales and happily ever afters, so we’re naturally attracted to those who have a natural talent for recalling dramatic or humorous incidents. Storytelling is basically in our DNA. And, from a business standpoint, presenting an engaging story is an excellent approach to establish an emotional bond with your audiences.
Sharing visual material is the greatest approach to tell your audience what you stand for and to connect with possible future clients and supporters. This is also attributable to the fact that current clients want to feel involved, seen, and heard, which is accomplished through tailored content provided through personal and relatable storytelling.
Animated Infographic Videos or Posts for Business Instagram
An infographic video is a clip featuring a visual depiction of statistical information. It is a clever blend of audio and visuals that presents viewers with high-value information in a more engaging and dynamic manner, which is why it has become a popular marketing tool for many businesses.
The goal is to create a connection between your brand and your target audience. Generating a high-quality infographic video could boost interaction with your target audience and will most likely develop an emotional connection to the story that your company is expressing since the video itself is data displayed in an aesthetically appealing fashion.
It has become commonplace that viewers no longer like reading long texts – I mean, who still has the patience and will to sift through mountains of words, let alone numbers and figures. This is why we entice you to invest in such videos or animations. Check out VerveVideos.com for inspiration, and they reply fairly quickly! Even though their portfolio features videos of 1 minute on average, they produce motion graphic clips for different purposes curated for social media use.
Told you we got you covered. On to the next.
“Behind the Scenes”
Think of the times you’ve smiled / giggled / laughed when watching bloopers or behind-the-scenes clips. They add a human touch to organizations by breaking the fourth wall – seeing professional people making mistakes and even being a little goofy makes the audience more invested in said organizations. As we’ve already established, forging bonds is the pearly gates of your business heaven. Exploit it. To a certain extent.
Don’t be afraid to show your vulnerable side! Trust us, people love this.
“A day in the life”
This piece of advice goes hand-in-hand with the previous point. However, apart from humanizing your business, posting about how your typical workday goes is a thing in and of itself. By making viewers feel that they are people just like you, they are more likely to be emotionally attracted to your brand, thus becoming prospects. In addition, if this – and the point mentioned above – are posted as stories or highlights, they would be likely to share them with their friends, thus increasing awareness of your brand.
Be interactive!
Viewers nowadays want to feel seen and heard by different businesses. They are bound to becoming paying customers – if your prices and offers are good. There are several ways to do that:
Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs)
MCQs (“Quiz” on Instagram) are posted on the brand’s stories, and the way they’re done requires the brand to come up with a short, catchy question about your brand or something related to it, write down 3 wrong answers and 1 correct one in the space dedicated to this, then post the question!
Though many people don’t interact with, well, anything, this is among the most efficient means of interaction for increased engagement. If you’ve read this far, the following tidbit is for you: the responses for each response are tracked and appear (in numbers) when you scroll up to see who viewed and interacted with your story. Data, Data, Data!
Polls
Ah, yes, voting. Each gets their own choice between “yes or no” and “true or false” or anything similar. Then the percentage of who voted for what appears on both sides of the choices, and you could use those percentages to report your engaged audience’s preferences. This would help you know what topics to focus on and create content to meet their needs.
Contests and/or Games
People like to win stuff. That’s no secret, especially when they are chosen from the sea of participants. Contests can be as simple as “share this post for a chance to win” to more complex, such as “we will publish the three most beautiful advertisements for us and tag you.”
This instills a form of competition between those viewers, thus compelling them to interact with your brand. And, hey, you get 3 advertisements with minimal work, so it’s a win-win kind of situation.
As for games, they could be designed to span around 3 days. To host a Get to Know Your Followers invite, publish a template and motivate your viewers to fill it out and mention your account in order for you to repost it and share their responses with your community.
The format could be a list of interests, hobbies, jobs, and so on – whatever you want to know. These challenges will not only help you be much more acquainted with your followers and develop a feeling of community, but they will also help you gain a better knowledge of who your community is.
Contests and games thus allow you to better understand your audience. You would then be able to fine-tune your newsfeed and customize your postings to the individuals who view them, increasing the efficacy of your online community.
We like to call it TTH – Tips, Tutorials, and Hacks
Follow my train of thought for a second. You’re an online shopping store (eCommerce). You know that competition is fierce. You want to stand out from the crowd, but you’re too similar to other pages. What should you do differently?
Publishing tips, tricks, and hacks either as posts, stories, or highlights will attract a wider audience because these 3 items are useful to them. Everyone needs a certain form of guidance, especially if they’re people who are fans of fashion in general, because most online clothing stores focus more on selling their products rather than educating their audiences.
Plus, who doesn’t love free advice? Just please don’t make a post about how to make shoes using a hot glue gun.
Your portfolio and reviews
Another thing that people look for is a brand’s portfolio – what you’ve worked on or accomplished so far – and reviews from other clients – word-of-mouth. This is due to the observation that people have become more skeptic when it comes to online businesses because of the many instances of fraud and theft.
Consequently, being exposed to work done and what people have to say about your brand garners more trust, thus increasing the likelihood of converting prospects into customers. People don’t want to feel threatened by the company or scared that it might be fraudulent – trust is everything and word-of-mouth and reviews are the backbone.
Final Word
There’s no denying that Instagram is a fantastic medium for reaching, engaging, and inspiring your audience, and that its popularity extends far beyond B2C businesses (B2Bs, we mean you).
Overall, remember to be entertaining, real, and relatable – and to generate content that your audience enjoys!
Thanks for reading and happy Instagramming!
