How to Use Instagram Features to Market Your Small Business
You’ve probably heard that Instagram is great for small business marketing. It feels strange to say that it’s been around for ages and boasts over 1 billion active users. Those active users make it easy to directly connect with customers, showcase products or services, and drive traffic to websites.
In this post, I’ll discuss some of the best ways to use Instagram for growing your business in 2023. I will cover topics such as:
Using Instagram Insights to understand your audience
Creating engaging Instagram Stories
Nurturing New Business in DMs
Going live on Instagram
Running Instagram Ads
Using Instagram Insights to Understand Your Audience
Instagram Insights is a powerful tool that can help you understand your audience. You can use Insights to see things like:
When your followers are most active
What types of content they engage with the most
Which hashtags they use
This information can help you tailor your content and marketing strategy to your audience's interests. A well-timed post that appeals to your followers is going to perform better than one without any strategy or data behind it. Support your posts and efforts with extra traction by scheduling posts just before your followers are active. (Meta Business Suite has all kinds of scheduling features that will help, but that’s another blog post.)
Creating Engaging Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories are a great way to connect with your followers in a more casual and personal way. They are also a great way to promote your content, products, and services.
Here are some tips for creating engaging Instagram Stories:
Use visuals that are eye-catching and relevant to your brand. I give my clients mini-brand guides to save in folders on their phones—it helps them use their colors on the go.
Add text, stickers, and filters to make your Stories more interesting. Movement catches the eye and gifs can help you draw attention to questions you’ve asked or posts you want people to engage with more.
Encourage your followers to interact with you. Questions, polls, and reactions—they’re all great ways to boost your engagement rates.
Make them sharable! Tastefully tag relevant accounts and they’re more likely to reshare your stories.
Pro-Tip: Share your well-timed post to your stories while your followers are most active and take up high-value real estate on the app! Your profile pic, which is hopefully something that clearly represents your brand, can garner recognition just by staying active in stories.
Nurturing New Business Through Direct Messages
Direct messages (DMs) are a great way to connect with potential customers and nurture new business. When someone sends you a DM, it's good to look at it as an opportunity to build a relationship and learn more about their needs. It’s also a chance to let your brand’s tone shine!
Here are some tips for nurturing new business through DMs:
Be responsive. When someone sends you a DM, be sure to respond promptly. This shows that you're interested in their business and that you value their time. It also has some impact on your engagement, so don’t leave people waiting.
Be personal. Address the person by name if you’re able and use a friendly tone. This will help you build rapport and make the conversation more personal. (Small business owners: this is your reminder that it’s good to have your names in your profile if you want that personal touch!)
Ask questions. Use questions to learn more about the person's needs and interests. This will help you tailor your message and offer them the best possible service.
Offer value. Don't just try to sell your products or services. Instead, focus on offering value to the person. This could mean providing them with helpful information, answering their questions, or even just offering a friendly conversation.
Follow up. After you've responded to the person's initial DM, be sure to follow up with them. This could mean sending them a link to your website, offering them a discount, or just checking in to see how they're doing.
Try voice messages. This tip came from my friend Joy Sutton and she puts it to good—voice memos add a personal touch that helps your followers quickly bond with you. It’s great for greetings, but I’d recommend avoiding it for things that need to be referenced later like notes, instructions, or to-dos.
Use polls and quizzes. Polls, questions, and quizzes are a great way to engage with your followers and learn more about their interests. Not only can you use this information to tailor your DMs and offer them more relevant content, but they are designed to start a direct conversation! If you want to get really interesting data, pay attention to specifics like response times—you can see which followers are engaged and when.
Going Live on Instagram
Going live on Instagram is a great way to connect with your followers in real time. You can use live videos to answer questions, give product demonstrations, or just chat with your followers.
Here are some tips for going live on Instagram:
Plan your live video ahead of time. I can’t stress this enough. Have an outline or a rough script to help you remember things and stay on pre-determined topics.
Promote your live video on your other social media channels. Save it for reposting later!
Start and end your live video on time. Be respectful of your viewers’ time and dive in—don’t wait for others to trickle in! This is why having a plan is key. It can feel a little funny only talking to a handful of people at first, but just keep going!
Be yourself and have fun with it! Embrace the cringe!
Running Instagram Ads
Instagram Ads can be a great way to reach a wider audience and promote your products or services. When you run an Instagram Ad, you can target your ad to specific demographics, interests, and even past purchase behavior. I recommend testing your content organically by posting it to see if it performs well, then boosting what resonated with your followers.
Here are some tips for running Instagram Ads:
Choose the right objective for your ad.
Target your ad to the right audience.
Create a compelling ad or do an a/b test.
Set a budget for your ad. Mine are typically around $10, but do you, boo!
Track the results of your ad. Reassess and repeat as needed.
Instagram Reels
Instagram Reels are a short-form video format that allows users to create and share videos with music, effects, and other creative tools. Reels are a popular way to connect with followers, showcase your products or services, and promote your brand. The feature has already come a long way since its release and the trends are quick to catch on and even quicker to dissipate.
Here are some tips for creating engaging Instagram Reels:
Use eye-catching visuals. Your Reels should be visually appealing and engaging. Use high-quality videos and images, and add creative effects and filters.
Add trending music. Music can help to make your Reels more engaging and fun. Give your reel a boost by selecting trending audio that fits with your brand or your content. Don’t want the volume all the way up? Tap “Controls” in your music panel in Instagram.
Be creative. Don't be afraid to get creative with your Reels. Experiment with different types of content, and find what works best for you. Fun transitions make your reels entertaining to watch multiple times, which tells Instagram that it should show your video to others.
Promote your Reels. Share your Reels on your other social media channels, and encourage your followers to watch and share them. Sharing Reels to TikTok without the Instagram watermark is easy—just use something like CapCut to edit your reel and upload it to both platforms watermark-free.
Low-Key Features & Tips with High-Key Impact
AKA: Things you can do in 5 min or less to help your page:
Utilize Reminders. Have an event coming up? Set a reminder as you post about it or create one in your stories with a countdown! It allows people to get reminders about your event, but it also saves that info—making future promos for that event a breeze.
SEO Optimization. Load up those post captions with juicy keywords and Instagram will guzzle it down! Even your Reel’s loose script and subtitles can be jam-packed with relevant words and used to optimize your posts.
Profile Optimization. Make sure your profile has the big five—name, location, service/product/offering, target audience, and some keywords. An example for Blue Honey Rose would be:
Erica | Brand Strategy & Websites
Virginia-based designer providing custom logos, bespoke websites, and social media management for growing brands.
Be responsive. When someone comments, comment back in a meaningful way—and get to it quickly. Some folks will say to wait until you have a post to share and that you should engage just before that. Don’t. Please. Just let things be organic and flow like natural conversations.
Instagram is a powerful social media platform that can help small businesses reach a wider audience and grow their business. By following the tips in this blog post, you can use Instagram to connect with your followers, promote your products or services, and drive traffic to your website.
TLDR/Key Takeaways:
Use Instagram Insights to understand your audience.
Go live on Instagram. But be ready to talk!
Run Instagram Ads with a budget that works for you.
Use a mix of reels, static, and carousels to maximize your efforts in your feed.
Don't sleep on well-timed Instagram Stories!
I hope this post has been helpful. If you have any questions, just fill out the form below
