Lockdown period has got us all wondering what to do next, and what steps are necessary to sustain. We are all trying our best to get out of it successfully. Giving us a helping hand and helping us lead the way forward in our journey of lockdown is social media. It has made us realize that digital is the future, for large as well as small businesses. Especially, Instagram is going out of its way to support small businesses in this time of the pandemic. Even though we have the most powerful tool in hand, there are a few mistakes small businesses tend to make on Instagram. Don’t worry, we’ve got your back.
Here’s how you can address and resolve all the Instagram mistakes.
Setting up an account
The first and one of the silliest mistakes all small businesses tend to make is setting up an account. It is because a lot of you are still aren’t aware that there are three types of account on Instagram: personal, creator and business account. The one you should choose is the business account, which will help you get just what you need. Also, to achieve great success, you need a perfect introduction to your business. It means your profile information should contain everything that defines your brand to perfection. Here’s how to make your account business-ready:
Switch your account to business account
Set your logo as your profile picture and add a bio that best fits your brand’s tone.
Add the link of your website and company’s address.
Lastly, the most important step is to add correct contact details. Don’t forget to verify your mail ID. Now that Instagram has added shopping feature, you can add your services or products in the shopping section.
Follow these simple steps and your business account is all set to be discovered.
Sharing high-quality content
We all hear that content is the king, and high-quality content helps you get more attraction. Indeed, content is everything, and you should promote high-quality content. But, doing so, you often forget to share the right information and real facts. Remember, today, it is very essential to enlighten people with the right information. Help everyone with the correct knowledge and acknowledge other businesses to do so. Along with this, it’s also necessary that your content is relevant to your audiences’ interest. Your audiences will only follow and like your content if it interests them. So, be creative with your content and share the right source of information.
Use of hashtags
Instagram is all about hashtags. You get attention from different accounts through the use of different hashtags But, it has been noticed that a lot of businesses fail to make use of the hashtags. If you’re a new business, you must at least make use of 30 hashtags, including brand and location hashtags to build your reach. Remember that hashtag range should be between 300k to 1M. But in filling the numbers, don’t forget relevancy. Yes, all your hashtags must be relevant to the content you’re posting. It shows that you are not greedy for attention, and increases the trust of customers in your brand.
Use of images and text
As we said, sharing the right information is necessary but, you have to be creative with it. Your text shouldn’t kill the vibe of an image, and your image shouldn’t overshadow your text. There should be a balance between text and images, It means you must have an idea ready before executing your creative. Before or after making any post, ask yourself these questions:
- Which colours will go with the brand?
- Which words are best suitable for your brand?
- Should there be more text or an image is enough to convey your message?
- Should it be a carousel, video, GIF or a single post?
- Is your design conveying the message you wished to?
- Will your audience like it?
- Is it worth stop-and-stare?
Asking questions will help you break the barrier and crack the picture-perfect creative.
Following other accounts
We understand that your friends and family members follow your business account, but, that does not mean you have to give them a follow back. Your explore section is created based on the people you follow, and for your business, you need inspiration and the right understanding of digital. Follow people who will inspire you to do better, and help you enhance your creative side.
Planning an Instagram strategy
The most essential part of digital marketing is planning a strategy. If you have the right strategy ready, it will help you survive in the long run. For Instagram, you cannot simply create a series of post and call it a strategy. Rather, you need to plan everything to make your every post stand out than others. Don’t be a quickie with your Instagram marketing strategy, be a planner.
Mistakes are bound to happen, but it’s in your hand how you resolve them all. Make the use of lockdown, and give your small business, the attention it needs. For the business who are not on social media, now is the time to make #TheWiseChoice and #GoDigital.