eCommerce & Digital Consultancy
With over 500 million active daily users, Instagram is a channel that cant be ignored. But how can online businesses make sure that they are ahead of the game when it comes to both monetising from the platform and using it as an acquisition channel to generate profit through actual conversions?
If you don’t post video content you will inevitably be left behind. Since Instagram introduced their new relevancy-sorting approach, most users admit to rarely scrolling down the app to view content. Instead, the new algorithm has pushed them to trawl through stories and IG TV to catch up with their favourite accounts. This change in behaviour is great for the online retail industry as it not only keeps your brand relevant, but also allows you to create a very personal message and deliver it in a way that would be way more engaging than a flat image.
Don’t be afraid to use the feature to tell your brand’s story. The Instagram story feature is a great way for brand’s to leverage their fear of missing out. Seeing as the content disappears after just 24 hours, your followers will need to view your story at regular intervals in order to avoid FOMO. So use this constant attention to showcase what’s important to you and your brand i.e. company culture and brand values and create a rapport with your followers by pushing engaging content which consistently conveys your brand identity as well as the product you are selling.
Make sure the influencer marketing approach you are using works for your brand. There are an infinite number of bloggers out there who can and will promote just about anything, because, let’s face it, everyone has to earn a living. But as the consumer has become wise to this, you need to make sure that the influencers your are choosing are authentic and relevant to your brand. Could you see them using your product if you weren’t paying them? Does their lifestyle/account aesthetic reflect your brand’s values? And how engaged are their followers? You might find that creating a brand ambassador program and targeting micro-influencers as opposed to collaborating on a one time promo with an Insta-famous influencer with a large, but less engaged following will provide your brand with much more value. It would offer much more relevant content reaching a more active demographic and would also save you money if your product has high margins as most will only ask for a product compensation agreement. Click Here to read more about metrics that matter in influencer marketing campaigns.
Analyse your Instagram insights daily. The new update allows business accounts to see where each post was discovered, how may impressions each elicited, how many profile visits each post triggered and how many new followers you gained from them. When you look at this information daily, you get a much more accurate insight into what is working and what isn’t and can subsequently tailor your approach and focus all your efforts on producing the content which is giving you the results you want.
Don’t forget to spend time responding to comments and engaging your audience. Many brands focus all their energy on content and simply abandon it once it goes live. Good content will elicit a high number of likes and comments and it is this engagement which will help your posts receive organic exposure so it is important to spend time in each post. Comment back and create loyal supporters, by showing your followers that you value their opinions and input.
To learn about how to approach social media strategies in 2019 Click Here