How Small Businesses Can Use Instagram to Share, build, and Engage
Overview
Instagram is a wonderful digital marketing tool for those who want to build community, engage online, and drive traffic to their website.
Instagram has over 1 billion active monthly users and has a more engaged audience than any other platform. Instagram allows you to localize connections and even though it is a visual medium it also has a diverse mix of content types, which makes it a great choice for any business.
Instagram should help business owners build relationships with their followers-providing insight, education, resources, and stories. Instagram can be an integral part of your full business marketing strategy and should also guide followers to your website for further engagement.
Strategy and Planning
It’s so important to have a strategy with Instagram vs. just winging it each week and trying to keep up with the algorithms. You should spend some time deciding exactly what you want Instagram to accomplish for you. Is your goal to push campaigns or to slowly and steadily build relationships? Get very clear on your goal/s before you start creating content. While some people, especially influencers, go viral with one video, that is not the case for most businesses. It can easily feel overwhelming, like it’s a race or that you aren’t doing enough, but if you put the blinders on and stay focused on your strategy, you can achieve your goals.
A strategy allows you to maximize your time, energy, and resources. So many people get stuck in the reactionary energy with social media vs. strategic. You should have an annual plan broken down by quarter and/or monthly with goals, messages, steps to execute, budgets, and tracking.
Creating a content calendar for you and your team is a great way to organize your content plan as well. Instagram prefers that you post directly to the app or use Meta for Business vs. 3rd party schedulers (because of bots and security), and they tend to favor accounts who do so, but you can work with a trusted third party like Hootsuite, for example.
You should be tracking engagement and insights by using the tools that Instagram provides in your Professional Dashboard and Insights or keeping track of them in your way. I suggest reporting monthly, reviewing as a team, and adjusting the plan or tactics where needed. You and your team should be on the same page about the strategy, plan breakdown, roles, and tactical execution.
Profile + Account Setup
Setting your account and profile up correctly can help maximize your Instagram experience.
Select the appropriate Account Type: Professional Creator or Business
Profile: Make the most of available space (150 characters)
Your Name | Business Name
Correct Category
Ex: Author vs. Health and Wellness Website
Current Photo
Description *
Link *
Call to Action *
Include relevant hashtags
*** Description, link, and CTA are the most important Profile elements to get right! Don’t forget them and keep them up to date.
Features
Areas throughout Instagram where you can share content and engage. There are a lot of places on the app that you can engage with.
Profile: Snapshot of who you are and what you do
Feed Posts: Provide value that’s related to your niche, give visibility, and engagement
Feed post types
Photos or videos
Captions
Events with Reminders
Carousels (Educational)
Tag people/ products, add a message button, location, or fundraiser
Stories: Build trust and connection
24 Hours Only
Up to 100 per 24 hours
Fun, engaging, personal
Utilize the features and tools (links, stickers, tagging, etc.)
Can share new posts, but keep the story content versatile
Story Highlights: Creates a permanent place for your stories to live -showcase important story info that guests can access when they want.
Covers
Continually Add to
How people can learn more
Resource folder
Reels: Serving current followers + gaining new
Up to 60 seconds
The best chance for viral here
Captions and hashtags
Design from story highlights
Lives: Build awareness, and personal connections and increase following
Go Live by yourself to practice (under Live >audience >practice)
Anyone can watch
Followers will be notified
Explore: Shows curated suggestions
Good to use for researching your niche, trends, and hashtags
DMs: Build relationships and use for selling
Create automated friendly messages
Check all three folders
Block
Keep cleaned up
Guides: Educational. Create guides that your followers can reference and save
Ex: A Guide to Having a Great Family Vacation
Ads: Build awareness and drive traffic
Boost popular posts
Point toward website
Content
Content is the information you share throughout Instagram. Content should be in line with Instagram’s Community Guidelines, and not overly repetitive. Content should focus on sharing information about you, your brand, partners, team, and clients.
Content Types:
Educate: Sharing your expertise
Entertain: Relating and Engaging
Resources: Tools, services, promotions, etc.
Message Ideas:
Stories of how your business started, where it’s been, and where it’s going
Case studies or portfolio of work
Interview clients who want to share their experience (live or video)What you are currently working on
Tips for a great experience
Resource shares
Event or class recap (how it went, who was there, photos, insights, etc.)
New blog or Vlogs
Testimonials from clients
Go live with current or past clients/guests
Area insights
Connection with others (why, how, what)
Teach! Teach! Teach!
Repurpose content you already have:
New blog announcements, Blog sections, book sections, Videos, Classes, experience guides, meditations, etc.
What’s new with you
Business updates
New products, features, and/or services
Course, memberships, or experience launches
Entertainment or Get to Know You
Your workspace for the day/week
Share your routine
Behind the scenes (how your prepare for guests, etc,)
Your cute dog or scenes from nature
Tell them stories they can relate to or that will make them laugh
What you can’t live without
How do you wrap up your week
Surprising facts about you
Favorite life hack
Motivational tips, quotes, resources
Introduce them to others in your network or service providers you like
Hashtag Strategy
Hashtags serve as a way for Instagram to organize its content and for users to quickly find and link with things of interest.
Hashtags are forever and increase chances of being seen/engaged with. I recommend combining a mix of popular relevant hashtags that are trending, community and/or content-specific, branded, and niche to create your perfect hashtag groups. Popular hashtags can help expand your reach and niche hashtags will reach a more targeted audience. You need both to reach a diverse but engaged audience.
Samples:
#Squarespacewebsitedesigners (community)
#mnairbnbs (niche)
#marketingtips (content)
#litpathco (branded)
#smallbusinesssaturday (trending)
#code45litpath (campaign)
How to use Hashtags:
Add to stories (hide by color and make tiny) (10 max)
Use in your profile, reels, and every post
30 max
Try 10-20
Mix it up
Have 3-4 groups of #s you use and rotate through them on each post (example below for your business)
Measure # performance to see what’s working.
View insights for posts, scroll down to Reach to see
Research to see what # competitors, industry leaders, and followers use/follow
Engagement
The more you interact and engage with your audience’s posts, the more they will get to interact and engage with yours. Instagram shows brands that are engaged with followers and those they follow. If you are using Instagram to try to build community, you need to be there and try to engage regularly. Also, Instagram favors direct engagement vs. 3rd party scheduling. Make sure that you have allowed your business to be shown as a suggested account for people to follow.
With Followers: Clean up your followers list (remove bots, etc.)
Respond with a comment, message, or like
Quick DM responses
Set up auto-response messages in DMs
Ask questions for engagement in posts
Stories: Do polls, Q &A sessions, Ask me anything, etc.
Give people directions to DM you with a code word (ex: Stay) to learn more about a specific offer/service. These are now active leads of people who are requesting more info directly. You can also set up a friendly and bright auto-response so it’s easy. Feels really personal and guides them to your website.
Contest
Partner with 2-6 relevant accounts to offer great prizes
People just like, follow, and tag a friend in the comments to enter to win an extra entry if they share their stories
You all gain followers and drive traffic
https://sproutsocial.com/insights/instagram-contest/
With Accounts, You Follow: follow relevant accounts
See what they follow and follow/engage
Turn on notifications
Likes, Shares, Saves, Comments, DM
Resources
Squarespace Unfold bio site, Canva Linktree, or website page bio site replacement ($0)
Check out the CoSchedule Marketing Calendar tool or use your Google Calendar tasks to add marketing plans to your calendar
Follow Adam Mosseri and IG for Business on IG for the best updates
Visit Flick or BestHashtags for hashtag ideas
Pinterest for tips
MeetEdgar Blog is great for tips
Social Media Audits help to determine how you are doing
Looking for more Social Media support? Check out my social media audit or Coaching Sessions.
