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By now we all know the power of utilising Instagram as a marketing tool. Apart from being free, Instagram is fast becoming the go-to place for consumers to head to find out more about a product or brand. Think of your feed as your very own digital shop front.

But it’s not as simple as just putting up a few nice photos. The key to successful Instagram marketing is having a well-thought-out strategy or a plan. You wouldn’t just throw a load of items haphazardly into your shop window and then lock the front door, would you? Your Instagram marketing has the potential to reach millions of new customers and therefore needs to have an effective strategy in place.

So what exactly is an Instagram strategy? 

Essentially it is a master plan of the steps needed to achieve the outcome you want. It’s your overall blueprint to meet your business objectives. 

Your business mission might be to:

Build brand awareness

Create a space where customers can get to know you and your product so that they immediately think of you the next time they need/want something in your field of work. Your brand should be the first one to pop into their head.

Create revenue streams

Turn your social media page into a source of income. There are many different ways that an effective Instagram marketing strategy can achieve this.

Build trust

These days consumers are interested in knowing who and what is behind the product that is for sale. Who are you, what do you stand for? Instagram is the ideal place to showcase what is behind your brand and to build trust between you and your customer by letting them get to know and trust you.  

Direct sales 

Learning to utilise all the features on Instagram with call to action buttons and an aesthetically pleasing feed can lead to consumers purchasing directly from your Instagram or send them straight to your website.

Booking clients

An appealing feed is a great way for clients to see exactly what they will be getting if they book in with you making them feel much more confident to use your services.

Build a community 

If you have an engaging and interesting Instagram feed then customers will stick around and hopefully go from browsing to purchasing to being a loyal or repeat customer.

Now that you know your end goals it’s important to create a strategy to help you figure out how to reach those goals.

Some of the things you need to include in your Instagram Strategy:

Come up with a content theme

Who are you and what are you about? This should be immediately evident to anyone who clicks onto your page. Choose your theme carefully and lean into it, this will ensure that the customer who sticks around is doing so because they like what they see. Be consistent in your theme. This will also make it easier to create content as it narrows down the area for you to focus on.

Hashtag Strategy

Using hashtags for Instagram makes your content more discoverable. Essentially, hashtags are a better way to categorize your posts. They help you reach a target audience, and more importantly, they help your target audience find you. Researching the best hashtags for your brand should be a top priority.

When to post 

The best time to post on Instagram is when your audience is most active. The time and frequency of when you post is almost as important as what you are posting. Setting up a schedule for your posts can be an effective way to streamline this process and take the stress out of it.

Researching your audience or niche 

Who are your ideal customers? In other words, who are you trying to appeal to? What age are they, where do they live, what income level are they at? Identifying your target audience will make it easier to know what to post. What interests your target audience, what do they want to see/hear/learn? How can you help with that?

Create and curating engaging content

This is where your digital storefront comes in. Making your feed appealing to look at will encourage your audience to look deeper and to click on an interesting-looking post. The picture will draw them in but the caption is essential to carry this interest to the next level and turn browsing into buying.

Try to make your content unique and show your brand at its best.

Research competition

Being unique in today’s market is difficult, there are so many companies doing similar things. Why not use this to your advantage? What individual or company in your field of work do you admire? Go on their page and get inspiration and ideas from what they are doing. 

This is just the beginning. An effective Instagram Marketing Strategy can revolutionize your business and take your company to the next level. If this seems a bit overwhelming or if you need guidance on your Instagram marketing journey I am always here to help. You can check out my shop with templates and resources to get you started or you can book in for a one on one coaching call and I can help to get you to where you want to be.