#GRAMIT: EXPANDING YOUR MARKET VIA INSTAGRAM
We’ve talked social media marketing a lot in the past. How can we not when it’s one of the most powerful tools we have as a company? This week’s #MarketingMessage taps into Instagram and how your business can reach maximum marketing potential. Read on and learn more for you and yours!
Sound off: Providing A Call to Action
This is a great way to provoke interaction with your followers. Providing a call to action can be done in a variety of ways, however the end goal is still the same: get the user to look at your content and respond to the call, even if that just means a “like” on a post. ‘Grammers are all about interaction, especially if that means a taste of limelight provided by yours truly, the business involved. This can be anything from contests to re-sharing of your posts, or even a simple request to tag a favorite fellow Instagram account your users enjoy. That last one could be a golden ticket to finding your competitors, or even future partners. Use one of the following phrases during your test runs:
+ Leave a comment….
+ Share your photo here….
+ Tell us what you think!
+ How can we find you?
+ What’s YOUR favorite….?
Show Your True Colors: Promote the Company Culture
One thing that users can appreciate the most is getting to know their brand favorites’ company culture. They like to see that a company is made up of people just like them who just so happen to work for a group or company they love. Show your company’s culture by sharing staff birthdays, work anniversaries, new hire announcements, or any company outings and events you may embark on that celebrates your company and connects your followers. Check out these examples from our GSATi account, featuring a couple of recent birthdays and additions to our work family.
Keep it #relevant, but not #toorelevant.
Hashtags are how consumers discover your brand. Use popular hashtags when sharing photos that relate to your content and your company’s brand. For instance, we include #denton or #dentontech on many of our posts, because they are relevant and tap into the market we like to see come to our business. It also helps us stay engaged as community members online. However, too many hashtags can kill a post instantly. We recommend at least three, but no more than five total. All hashtags and no relevancy makes your company a desperate one. Keep it simple, keep it relevant!
Engage, engage, ENGAGE!
Engagement is by far one of the most vital components when focusing on market growth. You can engage with your audience by liking or commenting on users’ posts. When a user receives a new notification on a post, they are most likely to look at your profile. If they like what they see, they’ll return the favor and give your content a like or two, maybe even follow back if they haven’t done so already.
Take a look at this conversation between us and local organization iDentonfy
@Abstractpenguin did the work for us on this one. By tagging another Instagram follower who also happened to be a coffee business, our post went from a simple act of staff praise to a new follower and connection to a locally owned business that’s ready to partner with our own company in the future. Simple, easy, engaging: the way your posts should be!
These tips and more are merely the stepping stones on your path to online marketing success. Take these recommendations and see what works for you, and go from there! If you’re looking for more tips online, we recommend Social Media Examiner or Hubspot, two very great resources we here at GSATi use on a daily basis.
