Home » Misc » How to promote other brands on instagram

How to promote other brands on instagram


How to Get Sponsored on Instagram (Even if You Currently Have 0 Followers)

It's no surprise you want to become a paid Instagram influencer -- heck, the average price for a sponsored Instagram post is $300, and if you become more successful, like yogi Rachel Brathen, you could be making $25,000 per post.

But the idea of getting your posts sponsored might seem laughable to you. You're not posting pictures skydiving in Australia -- you're posting pictures of your brunch. However, you could be more marketable than you think.

Instagram has become an insanely popular channel for brands to promote their products. In fact, Influencer Central found consumers consider Instagram to be the sixth most effective at influencing their purchasing decisions.

Instagram's popularity might make you feel the platform is already too crowded for you to stand out. But here's the thing -- brands are quickly realizing the power of normal people to promote their products. Micro-influencers, or people with a small number of followers compared to the big players, see the most engagement out of their audience.

Think of it this way: I'm going to trust my best friend's advice over Kim Kardashian's when I'm purchasing a product. I trust my best friend, we share similar interests, and I know she's genuine with her advice (no offense, Kim … ).

It's the same concept for micro-influencers -- with the right strategy, your audience will begin to see you as one of their real friends. The more they trust your advice when seeking out purchasing decisions, the more likely you are to get sponsored.

Here, we're going to show you everything you need to do to get sponsored on Instagram, even if you currently have zero followers. Keep reading to get started or click the links below to jump to a specific section of this article.

  • How to Get Sponsored on Instagram
  • What's a Sponsored Instagram Post?
  • Using #ad and #spon Hashtags

How to Get Sponsored on Instagram

  1. Define your brand.
  2. Know your audience.
  3. Post consistently.
  4. Use hashtags and geotags.
  5. Tag brands in your posts.
  6. Include contact information in your bio.
  7. Pitch paid sponsorships.
  8. Know your worth.

1. Define your brand.

You'll see the best engagement if you're able to define your niche. Do you want to post food and health related content, or focus on fashion? Whatever the case, it's important to establish your brand.

Besides the type of content you post, branding has a lot to do with your overall aesthetic. How do you want to style your posts? What's your messaging? To further solidify your brand, you might want to consider creating a cohesive feed theme (use these feeds for inspiration).

Specificity is key. A good influencer's posts are distinguishable and unique -- when a user is flipping through her feed, she'll be able to pause and recognize every time she sees a post from that influencer. As she continues to see similar content, she'll grow to trust that brand as an expert in the field. If the influencer suddenly and randomly changed course, the user might not understand or trust the content anymore.

Additionally, you might want to connect your Instagram brand with an online presence. Creating a website with similar aesthetic and messaging is a good way to do this -- the more you unify your social media accounts, the easier it will be for brands to distinguish how you can help them.

2. Know your audience.

Knowing your audience is critical for convincing a brand to work with you. It's mutually beneficial for you, as well -- if you understand your audience, you're able to correctly identify which brands will see the most success from using you as their sponsor.

Start by gathering the basics -- what is the gender, age, and geographical location of your core demographic? Which of your posts do they like the best? What times of day do they respond best to content, and what can you infer from this?

The demographic information you gather will help you pitch partnerships with brands. Brands want to know who they can reach if they work with you. Explaining "You'll be reaching thirty-something, working women, primarily from New York, who often use Instagram first thing in the morning and prefer fitness content" is certainly more powerful than saying, "You'll be reaching women."

3. Post consistently.

CoSchedule gathered research from 14 studies to identity how often you should post on social media sites. For Instagram, they found you should post a minimum of once a day, but can post upwards of three times a day.

CoSchedule also found 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM, and 2:00 AM, are the best times to post.

To grow your following, it's critical you post at least once a day. Instagram's algorithm favors new and fresh content, and you don't want your audience to unfollow you or forget about you from lack of consistency.

However, you'll need to figure out what works best for you and your audience. Perhaps your audience feels bombarded when you post three times a day, or maybe they prefer it. Maybe your audience engages most with your posts at noon. It will take some trial and error, as well as Instagram metrics tools, to figure this out.

Featured Resource

Instagram for Business Tips + Templates

Fill out the form to access your kit.

4. Use hashtags and geotags.

Hashtags make your content more discoverable, so they're necessary for growing your following. You can use up to 30 hashtags per post, but TrackMaven found nine to be the optimal number for boosting engagement.

You'll want to use hashtags as relevant to your content as possible. You'll also need to check to make sure the hashtags you use aren't broken or banned (take a look at this list of banned hashtags if you're unsure).

It's critical you choose hashtags that aren't too broad. #Healthyliving, for instance, has over 20,000,000 posts, while #healthylivingtips only has 13,000. The less competition, the easier it will be for your content to get discovered.

When you peruse a hashtag's page, you can also get a deeper sense of what types of content your post will be up against. #Healthylivingtips might typically feature posts with food recipes, while your post is about cycling -- this could defer you from using that hashtag.

Geotags are equally important, but for a different reason. Geotags can help people find you if they're interested in a certain location. This helps you gain more followers, and it also helps you appeal to brands that are interested in reaching a certain demographic. For instance, maybe a boutique sees you often post fashion tips from the California area, and they're looking to appeal to people in that region -- it's a win, win.

5. Tag brands in your posts.

Okay, now you're officially ready to begin reaching out to brands. You've defined your brand and audience and have created some quality, authentic posts. Now, you should have a pretty good idea what types of businesses would benefit from a partnership with you.

It's important to start small. If you're interested in skincare, don't go straight for Estee Lauder -- instead, try tagging small skincare start-ups you've seen across Instagram already.

Let's take a look at an example -- @Tzibirita, a travel influencer, posted this image of herself wearing a Paul Hewitt watch. The image is high-quality and fits with her brand, and she tags @paul_hewitt in her description. Even if you're not paid by Paul Hewitt, you can still post the same type of content and tag their brand in the post. Ideally, it will at least put you on their radar.

Begin with small brands and tag them in your descriptions. Engage with your audience by responding to comments like "Where can I get one?" or "How much?" and the brand will soon see you've proven yourself a suitable sales partner.

6. Include contact information in your bio.

Consider your bio a chance to signal to brands your interest in becoming an influencer. Include an email or website so they can reach you, and include a press kit if possible.

For instance, @tzibirita doesn't waste her bio space. She includes her email and website, and even adds a title -- "content creator". Brands will have no doubt she's open to doing business with them.

Furthermore, you should use a website or blog as your chance to expand on your brand and demonstrate your versatility. Consider adding a Press Page to your website, so brands can take a look at your services. Once you begin sponsoring brands, you can add them to this page so brands can see you have influencer experience.

7. Pitch paid sponsorships.

There's nothing wrong with reaching out to brands and offering your services. With the right pitch, you might be able to land some gigs without waiting for brands to find you.

Look for brands that clearly invest time and money into their Instagram presence. You might start by researching what similar influencers in your industry already sponsor. Remember, it's okay to start small. Working with smaller brands will allow you to build a portfolio.

Once you've curated a list of brands that might want to partner with you, send them an email. In your pitch, clearly and briefly outline who you are, what you do, and any achievements you have in the field that make you an expert. Then, explain why you're a good fit for the brand, and include data such as follower count and average engagement rate.

Alternatively, you might consider sending a brand a DM straight from Instagram. It's certainly more relevant to the job you're vying for, but it might get lost if a brand get hundreds of DMs a day.

8. Know your worth.

Make sure you know how much you're going to charge when brands reach out to you. The industry standard is $10 for 1,000 followers, but it could also vary depending on how many likes you get per post. Additionally, as you grow, you'll be able to charge more.

While you'll want to have a minimum set, you can negotiate to encourage brands to pay more. Perhaps for $300, you'll throw in five Instagram Story posts, and a link in your bio to their website for 24 hours. You can use other Instagram features to sweeten the deal.

Once you have your pricing structure nailed down, you'll need to know how to sponsor a post on behalf of the brand you're working with. Now, keep in mind there are two different kinds of "sponsored" posts: those for which brands pay Instagram, and those for which brands pay another user.

Confused? Here's what I mean:

What's a Sponsored Instagram Post?

A sponsored post on Instagram is paid for by the poster to reach a wider audience. There are two main types of sponsorships: In one, a brand creates a post and pays Instagram for access to a custom audience. In the other, a brand sponsors another Instagram user -- often called an "Influencer" -- who creates a post that features the brand in some way.

Here's more detail on each type of sponsored post:

Promoted Posts & Ads

Just like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook, Instagram comes with a native ad management platform. Advertisers can use this tool to customize a target audience -- using attributes like age, sex, location, and interests -- and invest a specific amount of money to getting their post in front of Instagrammers who identify with this audience.

The thing to remember here is that the advertiser is making and publishing the post. They're paying Instagram for the audience they want access to, but the post is theirs to create.

Paid Sponsorships

Paid sponsorships take place between a brand and another Instagram user. Typically, this user has a personal brand and attracts an audience of his or her own. This user is often called an "influencer."

This person can then use the steps explained earlier in this article to find and work with brands that appeal to a similar audience. When they find a brand who wants to sponsor them, they can charge this client a certain amount to create a post that features their product or service. Think of it like social media product placement; just like a business might pay a TV show to have their brand of soda on the countertop in the series finale, they can also pay a person on Instagram to hold that same soda in a picture on their Instagram feed.

Clearly there are more creative sponsorship ideas you can come up with -- I decided to go with a cliché . ..

Influencers are similar to Instagram's ad manager in the sense that they both draw an audience that brands might not otherwise have access to. However, the differences in this type of sponsorship are that the brand is paying the influencer -- rather than Instagram -- for access to their audience, and the influencer -- rather than the advertiser -- is the one creating and publishing the post.

There are numerous influencers for each industry. Here's a big list of today's known influencers and the types of audiences they attract.

Using #ad and #spon Hashtags

In the past couple years, brands have come under fire for hiring influencers but not making it clear to the audience that these influencers were getting paid.

Department store Lord & Taylor, for instance, settled charges with the FTC in 2016 after paying 50 influencers to wear a dress in their posts without hashtagging #sponsorship or #ad.

Influencers are supposed to hashtag #ad or #sponsored in posts they're being paid for, but these tags make some brands uncomfortable because it makes the post appear inauthentic.

In 2017, Instagram released a paid partnership feature to combat this issue -- if you tag a brand in a post and the brand confirms the relationship, the ad will be marked at the top with a "paid partnership" label. This also helps the brand gather data regarding how well the campaign is performing.

It's critical your followers know if you're getting paid to promote a product. Ethics aside, it could destroy your account's credibility if you're caught, and lose everything you've worked hard to build -- namely, an authentic, trusting community.

If you truly don't want to post #ad or #spon, there are some ways around it -- for instance, Airbnb created the hashtag #Airbnb_partner, to signal a paid partnership without using the word "ad".

When in doubt, adhere to Instagram's policies. You can read Instagram's branded content policies in full here.

Ultimately, getting sponsored on Instagram isn't easy -- it takes time, effort, and perseverance. But if you work hard to differentiate yourself in the industry, and connect on a personal level with your followers, it can be extraordinarily rewarding.

Originally published Nov 12, 2020 5:02:00 PM, updated October 06 2022

Topics:

Instagram Marketing

Don't forget to share this post!

How to Promote Your Instagram: 13 Ideas that Work

It’s time to rethink how to promote your Instagram account.

Why now? Because the platform’s rapid evolution and growth mean that what worked in the past isn’t going to score you the same sort of engagement today.

Based on recent Instagram stats, the visual space is becoming more and more crowded with brands fighting tooth and nail for more customers.

As a result, it quite literally pays for brands to have as many tactics as possible to promote Instagram to their target audience.

In this guide, we’ve broken down 13 totally actionable ways to do exactly that. From optimizing your posts and profile to rethinking your approach to content promotion, any combination of these tips are fair game when it comes to Instagram promotion.

13 Ways to promote your Instagram Page

1. Ramp up your content production

There’s no shortage of Instagram content you can publish to fill up your feed.

Customer photos. Memes. Bite-sized videos.

And that doesn’t even scratch the surface of what’s available to you.

To figure out what performs the best among your audience, you’re going to need to experiment. That means ramping up your content production and posting more frequently.

Publishing to Instagram at least once a day is within the platform’s best practices. Heck, major brands like TopShop and H&M post up to three times per day (if not more often).

As you roll out more content, it’s crucial to squeeze more engagement out of your following by understanding the best times to post on Instagram.

And speaking of which, that’s also why Instagram Stories are so valuable. Off-the-cuff content via Stories essentially allows you to “skip the line” and appear front-and-center in people’s feeds. Not only that, but you can freely post Story after Story without worrying about spamming your fans.

The takeaway here is that Instagram moves much quicker than it did a year or two ago in terms of content. Brands should ramp up if they want to keep up. To create content that your audience will love, make sure you have a comprehensive strategy in place and are using data to create more successful content. Download our Instagram marketing strategy guide to learn more.

2. Cross-promote your Instagram posts across other networks

The effort it takes to snag the perfect snapshot and craft a clever caption isn’t something that should go to waste.

Cross-posting your content to other social platforms is a no-brainer to get even more of an ROI out of your Instagram presence.

For example, you can promote your Instagram content across the likes of Facebook and Twitter to maximize your content’s reach.

Although cross-promotion is a smart move, bear in mind that each social platform has its own best practices. For example, Instagram tends to go heavier on the hashtags while you might want to craft a slightly different description for images posted to Facebook.

Sound time-consuming? It doesn’t have to be.

Sprout Social’s Asset Library enables you to store images, videos and text in a centralized location for use across multiple social networks. Quickly find, edit and publish directly from the Asset Library to deliver engaging posts that are tailored to whatever network you’re using.

And don’t forget to make your job even easier by using scheduling and publishing tools.

Ana Laura Montaño González
Community Manager

Sprout’s Optimal Send Times simplifies things further by scheduling content to post at the times most likely to generate engagement from your audience.

Start Your Free Trial

3.

Focus on people-centric content

Although Instagram is a place to score sales, it is still first and foremost a place to share experiences.

The popularity of selfies on Instagram speaks for itself, as does customer photos and pictures of people using products in real-world settings. Much of the appeal of Instagram is that brands are capable of advertising in a more human way without bombarding followers with messages that scream “BUY NOW!”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Penguin Books (@penguinbooks)

And on a related note, this is exactly why user-generated content such as customer photos are such a goldmine for brands. Not only do folks on the ‘gram love it when brands shout them out, but customer photos represent marketing firepower that proves that people dig your products.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Penguin Books (@penguinbooks)

But in order to spot and curate user-generated content for your feed, you’re going to need to understand how hashtags can help you promote your Instagram.

And that leads us to our next point.

4. Experiment with branded and industry hashtags

Brands both big and small should create a hashtag to encourage sharing and promotion on behalf of their followers. Doing so doesn’t have to be rocket science, either.

For example, Ernie Ball displays their #iplayslinky and #colorsofrocknroll hashtags loud and clear in their bio.

In turn, they use the tag to promote their own posts in addition to thousands of loyal fans promoting the brand organically.

See how that works?

Beyond your own hashtags, you should try to promote your Instagram using more general, community hashtags specific to your industry such as #6strings (music) or #unicornhair (beauty). Tacking on extra tags essentially makes your posts searchable by tag-followers and instantly increases your reach.

As noted in our guide detailing how to use hashtags across every social network, engagement peaks at approximately nine hashtags. Although you can certainly use less (or more), the takeaway here is that you should at the very least add something.

Don’t forget to take advantage of hashtag analytics tools. Sprout lets you track and analyze hashtag performance to find out what’s resonating with audiences and optimize usage.

And with Sprout’s Advanced Listening, you can move beyond quantitative data to find qualitative insights related to hashtags, allowing you to fully understand campaign performance and measure share of voice. Additionally, you can identify related hashtags to dive deeper into the brand-relevant conversations consumers are having on social.

Start Your Free Trial

5. Tag brands, followers and locations whenever you can

Tagging is a surprisingly effective way to promote your Instagram.

And no, we’re not just talking about hashtags.

For example, you can tag other brands and accounts in hopes of a shout-out yourself. Given that notifications ping anyone who receives them, relevant tags are a subtle way to encourage promotion.

Likewise, it’s both courtesy and within Instagram’s best practices to tag anyone you might be regramming. Chances are they’ll be thrilled to be featured in your feed and will share the news with their own followers.

Don’t forget to tag locations, too! For example, if you have a physical location for your business or regularly attends events, location-specific posts allow you to explore new potential fans and followers.

6. Publish Instagram content on-site

When it comes to ads, what better billboards than your own customers?

Featuring Instagram content on-site is a brilliant way to increase conversions. Why? Because when people see purchased products in real-world settings, they know that the brand in question has satisfied customers. Consumers can better visualize and understand a product for themselves when they see it “in the wild.”

Thus the rise of lookbooks and brands featuring user-generated content on product pages. For example, Casper uses an Instagram slideshow on-site to show off their satisfied sleepers.

Of course, this all circles back to the need to promote your Instagram hashtag.

In addition to their Instagram bio, #TopShopStyle is plastered across the brand’s site and marketing emails to increase their tag’s exposure. The end result is more user-generated content and people promoting TopShop organically.

7.  Carve out your creative trademark

Creativity counts on Instagram.

Having some sort of niche or theme is a great way to both inspire your Instagram content and make yourself stand out from the crowd.

For example, Yeti is known for its feed full of high-res photos of the outdoors featuring adventures enjoying their products.

Meanwhile, oVertone boasts a bold color-coded feed based on whichever shade of their product their currently promoting.

If you’re stumped as to what your creative trademark should be, don’t sweat it. There are tons of Instagram apps (such as VSCO) which can help you add some creative flair to your photos. By using consistent gradients, colors and filters, you can make your feed feel more, well, you.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by VSCO (@vsco)

8. Work with influencers to extend your reach

As we mentioned earlier, Instagram benefits from being a platform where brands can essentially publish ads without shoving them in their followers’ faces.

Enter the rise of influencer marketing.

Simply put, influencer marketing entails a paid relationship with another Instagram account with a sizeable, engaged follower count. Influencers’ audiences should ideally mirror your own or allow you to tap into a new sect of users that you’re trying to reach.

Influencers are akin to ads in the sense that the relationship does indeed cost money. However, finding the right influencer can be an incredibly cost-effective way to both sell products and grow your following.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by HELEN BERKUN (@helen_berkun)

Brands can spot influencers through hashtags and manual searching, or you can try Instagram analytics tools such as Tapinfluence or search an in-depth database related to your business.

Remember: when identifying influencers, just make sure they have a following that actually engages with their content. Engagement rate calculators such as this one from Phlanx can help give you peace of mind about any influencers in question.

9. Rethink how you present your products and promotions

This is a simple tip but is definitely something worth mentioning. And it relates to that other kind of Instagram promotion – the one with fun giveaways or sale items and can be incredibly valuable for your brand when done well.

So when you promote your Instagram in these instances, it’s crucial to present your content as must-see.

Instagram thrives on anything and everything “new.” Anything you can do to create a sense of hype is a major point in your favor.

For example, check out how Glossier hypes up their much-requested eye cream by surprising their followers a day before it drops.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Glossier (@glossier)

Uniqlo publishes hype-heavy Instagram promotions and content, including calls-to-action for followers to check out their exclusive merch.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by UNIQLO Global (@uniqlo)

Pinup Girl also does a great job of highlighting why their products rock and allows their brand voice to shine through in the process.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Pinup Girl Clothing (@pinupgirlclothing)

As a rule of thumb, think “so what” before you hit “publish” for your promotions on Instagram. Doing so will ultimately encourage you to write more compelling captions.

10. Run a contest or giveaway

Here’s some food for thought: brands that run contests grow their followings 70% faster than those that don’t.

You might notice that many brands’ contest and giveaway-related posts receive insane amounts of engagement and that’s no accident. Done correctly, social media contests can result in followers and fans although they can also attract freebie-chasers. We recommend running a one-time contest promotion on Instagram to test the waters and determine whether or not contests are something you want to try for the long-term.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Birchbox US (@birchbox)

11. Optimize your profile for promotion

As you work through how to promote Instagram to new fans and followers, “looking the part” is essential.

This also applies to brands looking to attract more attention organically.

Let’s take a look at what makes an optimized Instagram profile. The good news is that there aren’t too many moving pieces of your profile itself to worry about.

Orlando’s East End Market is a prime example of a simple yet optimized profile. For starters, their username “eastendmkt” is short and sweet, all the while easy to find for locals searching for it.

Their bio also ticks the boxes of an optimized profile, including a clear profile picture, compelling bio, branding hashtag and trackable URL. Everything about this Instagram bio lets us know what to expect from their feed and likewise that we’re in the right place.

They also feature their email and phone number which is something to consider if you’re running a business account. East End also regularly tags other businesses and events to expand their profile’s reach. Oh, and not to mention their awesome visual content that their local followers love.

12. Take advantage of Instagram Stories and its latest features

Stories are by far Instagram’s most popular feature.

Used by over 500 million users daily, brands should take advantage of Stories as often as possible when promoting on Instagram. For many businesses, this means publishing user-generated photos and behind-the-scenes content. The beauty of Stories is that you don’t have to worry as much about your visuals being polished or “perfect.”

That said, creativity still counts when it comes to Stories. Among Instagram’s latest features, Stories are always at the center of them. For example, new interactive stickers such as the new Quiz sticker represent fresh ways that brands can engage with followers for a more unique and interactive type of Instagram promo.

Keeping up with Instagram means staying active and on top of its latest features. If you’re regularly publishing to Stories and watching what other brands are doing, you’ll always be in-the-know.

13. Consider running a paid campaign

Last but not least, don’t neglect the potential of paid promotion on Instagram.

After all, social media at large is becoming increasingly pay-to-play. As part of Facebook’s insanely in-depth ad platform, you can use Instagram’s eye-popping ad options to win over new customers.

There are plenty of Instagram success stories out there including this example from Dunkin which cleverly uses both Stories and video to grab the attention of users.

First familiarize yourself with today’s Instagram ad specs, then make sure you have the tools necessary to see how your paid efforts stack up against your organic Instagram presence.

Allison Gates
Creative Manager

Sprout’s paid tools for Instagram empower you to gain insight into the ROI of your overall strategy or compare the performance of individual campaigns to optimize appropriately. Easily highlight your top campaigns by video views, conversions, impressions, engagement and more.

And with that, we wrap up our guide!

More ways to expand your Instagram reach

Instagram offers brands plenty of routes for content discovery and connection with audiences. Make sure you’re covering the essential best practices with these guides:

  • Get more authentic Instagram followers with these 10 tips
  • 9 Instagram post ideas to spice up your account
  • How to regram on Instagram
  • How to get more Instagram Likes
  • How to craft an impactful Instagram bio for business

So, how do you promote your Instagram?

When it comes to Instagram promotion, you have plenty of tactics to experiment with.

And hey, that’s a good thing.

Making sure that your feed stands out means understanding the platform’s best practices and evolving alongside Instagram itself. Sticking to the tips above, or developing new Instagram post ideas can help you maximize your engagement as you promote your Instagram to new followers and customers. Start a free trial of Sprout Social to test out our Instagram tools hands-on.

How to promote a brand on Instagram in 2021

Now, in order to promote a brand on Instagram, it is not enough to have only a Facebook page to promote your brainchild and increase sales. Modern problems require modern solutions, so Instagram with its huge variety of tools enters the fight for the target audience.

Mass following, contests, hashtags, flashy descriptions, and a pleasing visual are true companions that help attract the attention of potential customers and shift the scales in favor of buying a product. In today's article, we will tell you how to promote your brand on Instagram as efficiently as possible, as well as tell you about the most common mistakes that beginners make.

What can be classified as a brand

Brand is a rather multi-layered and ambiguous term. It is a set of ideas about a product or service, as well as a set of emotions and associations that the object evokes in consumers.

In simple words: brand is an individual set of characteristics that distinguish the product from competitors. In modern realities, it is important not only to appease customers with the quality of goods and low prices, but also to do everything possible to attract the attention of the audience.

Historically, the consumer, who always has a choice, is very spoiled by the advertising information broadcast from each "iron". This is where the brand comes in handy. Yes, you may not have the most delicious chocolate chip cookie, but if it is well known, then sales automatically go up.

In this case, you should ask yourself a completely logical question: why does your brand need Instagram? Each business has different goals: someone wants to tell the audience about promotions and discounts, while someone plans to promote the product.

The first step in building a brand on Instagram is developing a competent strategy . You need to clearly define the promotion scheme and the desired results.

Instagram in terms of its potential is an “unplowed field” of opportunities. And here are just a few of them:

  • increase brand awareness;
  • strengthening loyalty;
  • reputation management and feedback;
  • receiving targeted inquiries to the company.

What makes your brand successful on Instagram

Even if your brand is incredibly popular, this does not mean that you will quickly earn the trust of the audience on Instagram. For real success, it’s not enough just to periodically publish photos, set up targeting and monitor statistics. Followers will need to be fought for, and in this war, all means are good.

Here are some secrets that directly affect the popularity of the brand on Instagram:

  • A carefully thought-out strategy. If you plan to post a few photos, and then just sit in one place and wait for the cherished moment when subscribers fall on you from heaven, you can immediately put an end to your account. In order for followers to see your posts, you need to work hard on the quality of the content. In the era of the algorithmic feed, only those brands that are serious about building a competent strategy are reaping the laurels of success.
  • Branded hashtags. A brand needs some visual form of marketability , which should not turn into banal advertisements. You do not want users to unsubscribe from you because of excessive obsession? In order to maintain influence on the audience, but not bother her, use branded hashtags . They should be unique, memorable and thematic.
  • Call to action. Some brands forget about the text, relying on visual content. This is a big mistake that can nullify all efforts! Each of your posts must contain a call to action .
  • Communication with the audience. The success of a brand directly depends on audience feedback, because it is not the number of subscribers that matters, but how they interact with your content.

So, we have figured out the main components of success, it remains only to talk about the steps that need to be taken to effectively promote the brand.

Reasons to create an Instagram account

Still don't have an Instagram profile? Then we recommend urgently correcting this omission. And here's why:

  • A popular social network has many stars who can advertise your product.
  • Instagram is used by socially and economically active people who are able to show effective demand for a variety of services and goods.
  • An Instagram account allows you to significantly expand the parameters of the target audience and attract the maximum number of customers.
  • While the audience of Vkontakte and Facebook is “aging”, Instagram is at the peak of popularity, which means that advertising campaigns organized within this social network are most effective.
  • Since 2019, the male audience of Instagram has been gradually catching up with the female audience in terms of numbers, and this is a very favorable trend for various business segments.
  • You can create a full-fledged online store on Instagram if you use additional tools that allow you to carry out the entire sales cycle - from consultation to transactions.
  • Instagram is a social network where people come for visual enjoyment, inspiration and informal communication. This means that you can present promotional materials in an interactive format: entertaining posts, stories, short videos and funny memes. In a word, your imagination will be where to roam.

Brand promotion in 6 steps

Do you still think that promotion without fabulous investments is a myth? No matter how! We will prove you otherwise.

This section will be useful for those who are planning to take their business to the next level, but do not know where to start. Below is a list of required steps that will help you create a beautiful and interesting profile that will help you attract potential buyers.

Strategy development

A competent strategy is an important component of a comprehensive account promotion. First, analyze the pages of competitors : what they post, how they communicate with customers, whether prices are written under the photo. Using the experience of other brands is not only a portion of inspiration, but also an opportunity to learn from the mistakes of others without stepping into your own rake.

Yes, thoughtlessly stealing ideas is unlikely to lead you to success, but using the insights that your closest competitors have noticed as the foundation of a communication strategy is possible, and even necessary.

Ask yourself the following questions:

  • What is the mission of my business account? (expand the target audience, increase sales, regularly remind customers about promotions and discounts).
  • What useful information can I present to subscribers?
  • What is my main difference from the competition? How do they promote their products on Instagram? How often do you post new posts? How does the target audience react to new entries?

What to publish?

So we got to the most interesting and, perhaps, the most difficult point. First, decide on a profile avatar. Remember : no small details, colorful colors and confusion. A laconic logo that reflects the essence of your business as much as possible is an ideal option for all occasions.

Second, select @. For your account name, use your own brand and phrases that clearly describe your products or services.

People love bright, juicy and stylish photos. A gloomy picture, low-quality images and the lack of a well-thought-out visual - all this will ruin your business in its infancy. Practice shows that photos taken in bright colors collect 24% more likes than dark images.

Don't forget the text accompaniment . Think about what you can tell customers about the product/service. Skip bland descriptions, make paragraphs, add emoji, and think about the concept and style of the story.

Be sure to develop a content plan , specifying the frequency with which entries will be published. Regularity is necessary, thanks to it, subscribers will always expect something new and interesting on the page of your company.

Don't forget about hashtags

Well-chosen hashtags are +100 to recognition and promotion efficiency. Breaking into Instagram without relevant hashtags is very difficult, so come up with your own unique and original # that reflects the essence of the business.

Quick Fact: RadiumOne did a study and found that 55% of hashtag posts get more likes. Impressive, isn't it?

Try to supply each new entry with “hot words”. This is necessary in order to quickly bring the publication to the top. By tagging posts with popular hashtags, you automatically attract the attention of potential buyers. In the early stages of promotion, you can borrow reach # from commercial pages or influencers.

Periodically hold contests

To increase the loyalty of your subscribers, please them at least sometimes with contests and useful gifts. Any activity on Instagram is a great chance to stimulate the audience for feedback and creativity.

The contestant's task is to share their own branded content. Such simple manipulations can significantly increase the recognition of the company and ensure the influx of new customers.

In order for the contest to “shoot”, we recommend attracting an influencer who is popular with your target audience. Do you sell rubber bands for sports? Then enlist the support of a fitness blogger.

Use user content

Periodically repost follower posts tagged with your brand page, and you will be happy in the form of a trusting relationship with your audience. This approach has helped a large number of accounts without any investment to grow into large communities with an impressive number of subscribers.

How does it work? For example, a client tags your product in stories, and you duplicate this post in your account. Naturally, a person is pleased with such attention from the company, which means that next time he will also not miss the opportunity to “light up” on the page of his favorite brand and make the coveted mark, which, most likely, will lead new customers to your profile.

Where to look for your audience?

Everyone who decides to create a page on Instagram has a completely logical question: where to find the target audience? We warn you right away: cheating is not suitable, as you risk getting into a “shadow ban” and falling out of favor with the social network for a long time.

The first option is to bring the target audience from the brand's website or from other official communities in social networks. The second way is to like, tag followers on publications, comment on their posts and order advertising from influencers.

Examples of successful brands on Instagram

A brand's page on Instagram is not about the same type of photos and boring longreads, it's about beautiful visuals and soulful texts.

Get inspired:

H&M organizes creative and juicy advertising campaigns. Yeah, we got that yummy … Justin Bieber merch! Cop yours now. #HM

A post shared by H&M (@hm) on

The Fedex delivery service account looks very warm and cozy. There is a sea of ​​​​positiveness and there is a place for dogs and even koalas. Why not?

View this post on Instagram

We’re sure everyone agrees that these are the best kinds of special deliveries ? ? ? ? : @whimsycookiecompany

A post shared by FedEx (@fedex) on

The page for one of New York's most popular bakeries is so amazing you can't take your eyes off it. The profile of the Magnolia Bakery is mesmerizing.

View this post on Instagram

???Put your kitchen skills to the test with our NEW DIY Banana Pudding Kits, available in classic OR gluten-free. We'll supply ingredients, the recipe and serving utensils and you'll supply the elbow grease. Mix it all up and you've got your very own cup of our famous Banana Pudding. Head to magnoliabakery.com and click nationwide shipping to order and don't forget to tag a friend who needs to make you some. ??#magnoliabakery *Ripe bananas and heavy cream are not included in the shipment*

A post shared by Magnolia Bakery (@magnoliabakery) on

When you think of Vogue , you inevitably think of fashion and celebrities. ..and the brand's amazing Instagram page.

View this post on Instagram

@VogueItalia asked photographer and filmmaker @TylersPhotos and playwright @JeremyOHarris to craft a response to 2020’s global cry that Black Lives Matter. They returned with the idea of ​​#BlackNonsense. “I wanted to write a piece in response to this moment. The utter nonsense of it. Black boxes and Black models hiding red blood and Black labor spilt and stolen for years without apology or recognition. Why dignify that with sense? Nonsense,” says Harris. See more via the link in bio.

A post shared by Vogue Global Network (@vogue) on

Frooti is a mango juice maker and a proud account holder.

View this post on Instagram

A big shout out to all the teachers, gurus and mentors out there. Frooti wishes you all a very happy teacher's day. May we continue to learn and get inspired by you. #livethefrootilife #teachersday #september5th

A post shared by Frooti (@thefrootilife) on

Starbucks makes amazing coffee and delicious social media content. Fall star line up. ? #PumpkinCreamColdBrew ? #PumpkinSpiceLatte ? #SaltedCaramelMochaFrappuccino ? #SaltedCaramelCreamColdBrew ? #SaltedCaramelMocha

A post shared by Starbucks Coffee ☕ (@starbucks) on

Tips & Tricks

A checklist of useful tips that will help you quickly attract the attention of your target audience and win your place in the sun:

  • Use Russian hashtags. If you plan to popularize your product among the citizens of the CIS, you should remove hashtags written in Latin or English words from everyday life.
  • Don't forget about themed hashtags. Push vague language into the background. For example, if you're creating something in the fashion vein, add hashtags like "street style" or "looksday".
  • Work with the audience. Respond to comments, respond to brand mentions and don't make customers wait, otherwise there will be more efficient competitors who will give feedback much faster.
  • Show behind the scenes. Beautiful product photos taken with a professional camera are, of course, good, but variety is needed. Therefore, we recommend periodically demonstrating backstage to the audience. Remove stories from production, show yourself at work or share funny cases with clients.
  • Share inside information. The client should become your best friend, with whom you will share first-hand information: show new products before they go on sale, announce hot discounts and give the target audience the opportunity to test the product. Do not be afraid of negative feedback, because they are the engine of progress and a direct path to improvement.
  • Do not distance your Instagram account from other social networks. After posting a photo, after a while share it, for example, on Facebook, adding text accompaniment and emoji. In this case, users will know that you are present in many social networks and will choose the most convenient communication option.
  • More beautiful photos. People love with their eyes, which means that you should work closely on the visual component of the profile. If you generate low-quality content, then don't expect a lot of likes and flattering comments. The client is now sophisticated, so it is difficult to impress him with a picture taken “on the knee”. Think globally: photograph not just a product modestly lying on a plain surface, but what can be done with it.
  • Don't forget to tag geolocations. Geotargeting allows you to customize ads for an audience that lives in a particular region. By specifying the location, you will automatically attract the attention of potential buyers.

Now let's talk about the most common mistakes :

  • Creating an account exclusively for advertising publications. Stop stuffing customers with insipid pictures and boring texts containing obsessive calls to buy something. Post interesting entries, hold contests and live broadcasts, share behind the scenes in stories.
  • Refusal of material investments. In order to promote the brand, you have to fork out a little. Targeting, advertising with bloggers, photo editing apps, help from specialists - all this costs money, so be prepared to invest in your brainchild.
  • Choosing the wrong direction for positioning the brand to be promoted. Focus your brand on the needs and taste preferences of your target audience. In order to avoid this mistake, it is necessary to analyze the market before promotion.
  • Bot abuse. Do you remember that the main thing is not the quantity, but the quality of the audience? Spammy comments and faceless profiles in subscribers spoil the overall impression of the brand, so we strongly do not recommend using services to cheat bots, otherwise you risk falling straight into a “shadowban”. Want to check your account? Register on the platform trendHERO .
  • References in the text. This fakap often happens to beginners who naively believe that if they paste the link directly into the text, it will somehow magically open. Unfortunately no. Just imagine how motivated the client must be to, being in his right mind, manually copy the link and transfer it to the browser. Do not force users to take unnecessary actions, insert active links in the profile header.
  • Website not adapted for mobile. Instagram is a network where 99% are mobile users. Do you understand what we are getting at? If the site from which the sale of products is carried out is not adapted for smartphones and tablets, this is a failure. You are simply dumping traffic without getting proper feedback.
  • Provide the blogger with the finished text. The desire to control everything is, of course, understandable, but let the influencer independently adapt the text to the needs of the target audience.
  • No strategy. Yes, without the right strategy, you run the risk of staying in one place, and this mistake can cost you a lot of money. The specialist must clearly understand the purpose of the campaign, for whom, what are the features of the goods or services, and so on.

Conclusion

It's time to take stock:

  • in order to quickly and effectively promote the page, in the first stages it is necessary to publish posts with a frequency of 2-3 times a day;
  • beautiful visuals and interesting texts are a win-win way to success;
  • comment on the posts of followers, like their photos and continuously work on establishing two-way communication;
  • come up with original hashtags;
  • do not chase the number of subscribers, bet on quality;
  • do not neglect competitions;
  • the most important thing is not to make your customers bored.

Take advice and don't be afraid to experiment, constantly changing your strategy!

Check Instagram for bots for free

How to promote your personal brand in social networks. And why immediately Instagram

Personal brand gives you a unique advantage - the ability to change the field of activity and quickly direct the target audience to your new project. Such flexibility is very useful in today's rapidly changing world.

To successfully promote a personal brand, it is important to pay attention to 5 key components - we will talk about them:

  1. Site selection
  2. Positioning
  3. Image
  4. Promotion
  5. Analysis

What is a personal brand

If you are reading this article, you know this. But suddenly the author has a different vision? So let's get in sync.

Personal brand is the promotion of a specific person as an opinion leader or an expert in a particular field. Elon Max is a personal brand. Tesla and SpaceX are just brands. Oleg Tinkov is a personal brand, Tinkoff bank is a brand, Tinkoff magazine is a sub-brand?

You yourself understand that a personal brand is very much tied to a particular person. For businesses, this usually translates into the question - should we invest in the personal brand of an employee . We’ll talk about this at the end of the article, but for now let’s figure out how to work with a personal brand.

Step 1. Choosing a site

At the beginning of your media career, you should choose your main site. Of course, you need to choose the one where your target audience is present. But it's also important to choose a platform where you feel comfortable expressing yourself and posting content.

Consider the most popular platforms for personal brand development.

Instagram

The most common choice. This happened largely due to the versatility of Instagram, which combines:

  • A huge and very different audience . More than a billion users, among which there are a lot of metropolitan fashionistas, fit fitness trainers, psychologists, marketing experts, builders and so on and on.

  • Simple but varied content . Here it is not necessary to engage in complex editing of videos like on YouTube or be a trendy buzzer from TikTok. You can upload static photos, write long or short texts, post interactive live content to stories, or broadcast live. Comfortable for most beginner bloggers and very versatile.

  • Handy promotion tools . You have two very powerful and well-developed assistants at your fingertips - targeted advertising and influencer marketing (advertising and collaborations with other bloggers)

Facebook

It so happened that people over 30 years old use Facebook as a blog and most often the topics of their blog are related to business. This is not bad if you have an adult and serious audience - perhaps it is there that it will be easiest for you to find interested like-minded people.

In addition, communities are popular on FB. You can gain credibility and recognition by answering questions.

The content is mostly text. Here, less attention is paid to the visual component than on other sites presented. For promotion, you can use functional targeted advertising, and the choice of bloggers for collaborations will be very scarce.

Youtube

The most popular video hosting can be a platform for promoting a personal brand if you are good at shooting and editing videos. In general, this is the biggest problem - often, there is not enough time or skills to develop a YouTube channel. And time is also an important factor here - even if you are friends with a video camera, you will have to invest much more time on each video than on an Instagram or Facebook post.

If you have the skills and time, you can make complex and interesting content on YouTube. You will be able to demonstrate your expertise by turning it into beautiful and prestigious videos.

TikTok

The youngest platform for personal blogs. The videos here are shot on a regular phone, and the entire editing takes place using the friendly interface of TikTok itself. A certain difficulty lies in the inability to publish static photos or even simple “stories” - it is important to be charismatic, be able to make fun of yourself, look good in the frame and know the current trends.

Keep in mind that there is no text content on TikTok either. So, to paint your thoughts here will not work. In general, this site can work, but it is far from suitable for everyone in terms of content format.

Outcome : in most cases, the best way to develop a personal brand is on Instagram. In particular cases, you can choose another of the presented sites as the main one, if you are sure that there is a target audience there and the local content format suits you.

Step 2: Positioning

The concept of a personal brand must begin with positioning.

Consider what you will write about and for whom. The answer must be clear and articulate. Imagine that you need to tell a random person about your blog in 30 seconds. If you have time, then your wording is on the right track.

Indicate your occupation, interesting facts and achievements in your bio. You don't need to drag a huge set of titles - let's leave that to Daenerys Stormborn. Write only the most important, as stylist Alexander Rogov did:

Step 3. Image

Your media image should be combined with the positioning of your blog. The connection “image-activity-content” is very important. Your values ​​and ideas are in harmony with your line of work and based on this you create content. Let's take a look at some good looks.

Irina Gorbacheva

As you know, Irina is an actress, and in her personal blog she demonstrates her charisma, theatrical skills and openness in various images. On her Instagram, you will see sketches with author's characters, photos from work, native brand advertising and just personal shots.

Source: Irina Gorbacheva's Instagram

Igor Mann

Marketer and well-known speaker Igor Mann does not use bright images. The presentation on his blog harmonizes well with his personality: calm, thoughtful content with a focus on an educated audience. Igor expresses his opinion on books and films, tells stories from his work trips and shares his rich professional experience.

His Instagram profile shows the image of a successful, experienced person.

Source: Igor Mann on Instagram

Dmitry Kot

A copywriter with only 8,000 followers, but at the same time is a sought-after highly specialized influencer. His blog is completely dedicated to writing effective and selling texts. In publications, he talks about various cases, shares quotes and explains how best to describe a particular product.

Dmitry focuses on expertise and demonstrates his professional qualities. And humor.

Source: Dmitry Kot on Instagram

Step 4.

Promotion

Most successful personal brand bloggers use general principles and mechanics to promote their profile. Let's single out the main ones:

The basis is regular content

We have chosen what and for whom we will write. Now we need to start doing this regularly and for a relatively long time (lifetime).

It doesn't happen that you publish 6-12 posts and then wait until you become famous. To promote within a social network, the algorithms need to show you to a potential audience, which means that you need new content at least once a week or more often.

Personal photos

Source: Evgeny Chernyak's Instagram (Head of the Supervisory Board of Global Spirits)

Expert content is often diluted with simple home shots. People are interested in looking at your personal life. In addition, in this way you make the profile more lively and real in the eyes of the audience. Try to be closer to your subscribers by showing real life. Do not try to constantly demonstrate "successful success."

Live broadcasts

Yes, broadcasting is more difficult than preparing a post with a static photo. But such content is in high demand. Everything happens live and is written in one take - that's why it's interesting. It is also a good opportunity to answer subscribers' questions.

Regular communication with subscribers

Answering questions in the comments perfectly stirs up interest and keeps the attention of the audience. Even the authors of popular blogs take the time to respond to at least some of the comments.

You can answer questions, thank you for compliments, or start a discussion. The mentioned copywriter Dmitry Kot also communicates with subscribers in the comments:

Participation in events

to create content and showcase your expertise. At specialized conferences, you can learn about the experience of colleagues and make useful contacts.

Collaborations with other influencers

Audience exchange is interesting for many bloggers. The main thing is to find an influencer with a similar blog theme so that their audience is potentially interested in your content.

Yes, yes, this is about Duda too :)

Native collaborations are the best to enter. For example, joint participation in some kind of event, or a meeting in real life to create group content for stories, live broadcasts or publications.

Purchase of advertising

Ads can be bought from the social network, influencers or outside the social network (for example, you were shown on TV → some number of Instagram followers will be added).

But...

We put this item last for a reason. Without positioning, regular content and interaction with the audience, nothing will work.

It turns out a vicious circle - there is no audience, because we are not moving forward. And we don't promote because we don't know who the audience is :). Here you can act like a startup - or burn the advertising budget in order to get as many customers as possible and draw portraits of customers for those who remain. Or, as a beginner blogger, look for collaborations with successful bloggers or communities (the same interviews).

Step 5. Analysis

Successful projects combine creativity and analytical calculation. This also applies to blogging: creative content must be supported by statistical analysis. This is necessary so that you understand in which direction you are moving and whether it is time to correct the course. What data is considered a must have for monitoring?

Follower dynamics

Source: Screenshot

The quality of the audience and its activity are certainly important, but the quantity also plays an important role. Instagram only shows data for the last 60 days, but you can choose a longer period in analytics services.

This metric is your primary marker of how well you are growing your blog and yourself as a personal brand.

Audience engagement

Source: Screenshot trendHERO

Engagement Rate shows how engaged the audience is with your content. In simple words: the more subscribers like and comment on posts, the higher this indicator will be.

This metric can also be tracked at a distance to understand what content interests the audience more. Set up experiments: do a couple of live streams this month, and post more stories next month. The numbers will help you navigate and choose the most appropriate content.

Follower growth from mentions

Source: Screenshot On the graph, you can track how many subscribers came from each account that mentioned you.

This way you will understand with whom it is more profitable to cooperate and the audience of which blogs is more interested in your content.

Company brand, personal brands of the owner and employees

Two simple examples:

  1. Maria does her manicure. She does it well, builds up a customer base... More and more orders are growing and she is no longer in time, finds assistants and partners, opens a salon...
    This is a case when personal brand gives life to the company brand — personal brand of the master manicure has grown into a salon brand and now they exist in parallel.
  2. Sasha came up with an idea for an application for satellite monitoring of agricultural conditions. Together, after a friend, they entered agricultural companies, and while competitors wanted to do something similar, they captured 60% of the market. Their application has become mega-profitable, and now Sasha goes to all conferences, especially IT, to hunt specialists.
    This is a case where the company's brand prompted the development of a personal brand - Sasha develops a personal brand to develop the application.

The author of this article believes that it is better when a business has a synergy of the company's brand and the owner's brand.

But if you now have a question - what kind of brand to develop right now, then:

  • personal brand is easier to promote . People trust people more, so it's a little easier to gain an audience.
  • company brands have a more targeted audience . A person can be subscribed to see how he lives or because of his thoughts, but with absolutely no interest in his companies.

Therefore, in fact, it doesn't matter. The main thing is not to throw efforts here and there.

I know a case when the SMM department of a company worked for a director's personal brand for three months, and then abruptly switched to developing the company's brand. They are so feverish for the second year. It is better to share a resource or choose a key account.

Personal brands of employees

A company has not only owners :)

An IT office can have a charismatic CEO, but also a no less charismatic project manager. It would be foolish to forbid him to speak at IT conferences or TikTok about learning. This is just a plus for the company.

But usually the situation is different.

Business wants to help employees become more public. Some become - and they are poached by other companies. This can be perceived as a loss of investment in an employee.

But this is not a loss.

This is an employee progress evaluation error. When you invest in the development of a person (this applies to any skills), it becomes “more expensive”.

For business, this is beneficial even taking into account the growth of the employee's salary:

  1. loyalty - the employee feels his progress and that he is appreciated.
  2. high level of trust - the employer feels that the employee is acting in his interests.
  3. meets expectations - both sides know what will happen next.
  4. the loyalty of other employees - others see how they can develop in the company.
  5. brings great benefits - this is the most important thing.

    Learn more