With over 2 billion monthly active users as of Q4 2021 (up 200% from 2018) Instagram is both the O.G. and trendsetter of social media marketing. Instagram has shaped the landscape of social commerce, the creator economy, and how brands use social media for over a decade.
So how can you use Instagram marketing to grow your business in 2023?
Do you need Instagram ads (or worse: dancing Reels) to be successful? How can you best use Instagram’s shopping tools?
Find out how to use Instagram to grow your business online, no matter your industry or goals.
What is Instagram marketing?
How to set up Instagram for marketing
18 tips for a winning Instagram marketing strategy
Why use Instagram for marketing?
3 Instagram marketing tools
Bonus: Download a free checklist that reveals the exact steps a fitness influencer used to grow from 0 to 600,000+ followers on Instagram with no budget and no expensive gear.
Instagram marketing is the practice of using Instagram to grow your brand awareness, audience, leads, and sales. As the favorite social media platform of people ages 16-34, Instagram is a highly effective marketing platform for brands, entrepreneurs, and creators.
Instagram marketing strategies include:
If you’re just starting out, here’s what you need to do to set your company’s Instagram account up for success.
To use most of the marketing tips featured here, you need an Instagram Business account. It’s free, and you can create a new one or convert your existing Personal account.
If you have an existing Personal account, skip to Step 3.
You can only create an account using a mobile device.
Tap Create new account. Follow the prompts to enter your email and phone number and choose a username and password. You don’t need to fill out the rest of your profile right now (more on how to optimize it later).
Go to your profile and open the menu. Go to Settings and choose Switch to professional account near the bottom. Select Business as the account type and follow the prompts to convert your account.
Most companies aren’t verified. Research shows 73.4% of creators or brands with over a million followers are verified, but only 0.87% of those with 1,000-5,000 followers are.
You don’t need that little blue checkmark to be successful on Instagram, but having it can help you earn trust and stand out.
To apply for Instagram verification:
1. In the app, open the menu. Click Settings, then Account, then Request Verification.
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2. Fill out the form.
After submitting the form, you’ll receive the answer as a notification within Instagram in about a week. Instagram will never email you, ask for payment, or contact you any other way.
If your verification request is unsuccessful, you can try again in 30 days. If it’s approved, hooray and welcome to the super-elite Insta club.
The tricky part of getting verified is having enough third-party content to prove you’re well-known enough to warrant needing verification. We cover tips for getting that supporting content in our complete guide to getting verified on Instagram.
Expanding your marketing strategy with ads can have a big impact.
Even simple ads can earn results, like coffee retailer Country Bean’s 3 week campaign which resulted in a 16% sales increase.
There are two ways to get started with Instagram ads:
You can turn any existing Instagram post into an ad by clicking the Boost Post button. You need to have either a Business or Creator account, though.
As you probably guessed, this is exactly like Facebook’s “boost” feature. Now that Meta owns both companies, you’ll also need to connect your Instagram account to Meta Business Suite.
After clicking Boost Post, follow the quick prompts to set your budget, narrow your target audience, set a duration, and boom—you now have an Instagram ad.
You can customize the targeting options or have Instagram automatically target your ads. Boosted posts are a good way to dip your toe in the advertising pool, so if this is all new to you, stick to auto mode.
Step 1: Log in to Meta Business Suite
Click on Ads in the left menu, then Create ad at the top right.
Step 2: Choose a goal
Remember Choose Your Own Adventure books? It’s like that, but for marketing.
For a first campaign, Automated Ads are a good option. Instagram will try to get you the most results with the least budget possible, and they auto-adjust your targeting and bidding strategy as they learn more from your audience’s reactions. It’s like having a 24/7 robot assistant.
If you want to experiment with ad targeting yourself, or have a specific goal, try out one of the other options, like focusing on leads or traffic.
Step 3: Create your ads
The prompts to complete your ad vary depending on which goal you pick, but generally the next step is to create the ad creative. For example, this is what the next step is for the “Build your business” goal.
For a well-rounded campaign, you should have at least 2-3 ad groups, each containing 3 or more ads.
Most ad formats have an option to allow Instagram to switch out your creative assets automatically to optimize ad performance.
It’s like having a real-time, built-in A/B testing process. Add multiple creative assets for each ad to take advantage of this.
Try to include a mix of photo, video, Stories ads, Reels ads, and Catalog and Shopping ads if you sell products online. Test out different ad copy and calls to action.
And, ensure you have ads for each stage of your buyer’s journey, from consideration all the way to conversion.
Step 4: Define your audience
Take a shot every time you read “define your audience” in a marketing blog.
Targeting is critical to your ad’s success. Meta Business Suite gives you five options:
You can target:
If you’re new to ads, use the Advantage audience option. Want to learn more about perfecting your ad targeting? The info in our Facebook ad targeting guide works for your Instagram ads, too.
Step 5: Set your budget
Whichever targeting option you pick, you’ll need to set a budget and duration. You’ll see the predicted results of your choices on the right side in estimated reach and clicks.
Step 6: Launch
Lastly, choose if you want your ad to appear only on Facebook, Instagram, or Messenger, or across all three platforms.
We recommend running it across all.
Click Promote Now to save and launch your Instagram ad campaign. Woo!
Running a successful ad campaign is a huge undertaking. Check our in-depth Instagram ads guide for tips on creating great ads in 2023.
Instagram Shopping tools are a must-have for ecommerce businesses. 44% of Instagram users shop weekly on the platform, and 1 in 2 use Instagram to find new brands.
Tips on using Instagram Shopping are in the next section, but you need to add the Shop tab to your Instagram profile first.
This allows you to create a fully shoppable product catalog directly on Instagram, as well as tag and link to products in your posts and Stories, and more.
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Brands using Shopping features must adhere to Meta’s merchant policies. You’re probably doing all these things correctly anyway, but it’s a good idea to review Meta’s commerce policies first before applying.
To create your Instagram Shop, you need to have a Meta Commerce Manager account. You need a Business or Creator Instagram account first, then you can sign up one of two ways:
Through your ecommerce platform
If your website runs on Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce, or other major platforms, you may only have to click a button to set up your Instagram Shop.
The process is different for each, so check out Meta’s list of supported platforms to find instructions for yours.
Manually through Commerce Manager
Don’t use one of those? It’s easy to sign up from scratch.
Log in to Meta Business Suite and click on Commerce in the left navigation.
Click Add Account. Click Next on the following page to start the manual set up process.
First, choose a checkout method:
(Recommended, but currently only available for U.S.-based companies.)Select the Facebook and Instagram profiles you want to create your Shop on, then click Next. Create a new product catalog, and click Next again.
It will prompt you to enter your website URL and the countries you ship to. The final page is a summary of all your information. Ensure it’s accurate, then click Finish Setup.
Instagram reviews new Commerce Manager applications manually, though you should hear back within a few business days.
Eager to learn while you wait? Learn how to tag products in your scheduled Hootsuite posts, and the next steps to optimize your Instagram Shop.
You know, the specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound yada yada yada type goals.
What do you want your Instagram account to do for your business?
A few common examples are:
But, your goals are as unique as your company. The important point? Have some.
Learn how to set effective social media goals that directly connect to your marketing strategy.
There’s a lot to cover here, so check out our full step-by-step recommendations to optimize your Instagram profile.
At minimum, ensure yours has:
The great thing about digital marketing is nothing is set in stone. Don’t sweat about making the perfect Instagram profile. You can always tweak it later.
Remember: it’s what’s inside that counts (most).
As in, your actual Instagram post content.
Instagram is a visual platform. While no one’s expecting a small business to have the same resources as a megacorp, you still need to create eye-catching posts that attract your audience.
Besides hiring a professional photographer to take your product shots—which you really should—try:
The best way to boost your Instagram for free? User-generated content.
Encourage your followers to share photos or video of your products. Not every shot will be an Ansel Adams-worthy one, but you can’t beat the authenticity of real customer photos and stories.
Instagram makes this easy with the Tagged tab, which shows all the posts other users tag you in. There’s a hack to make it so only the crème de la crème are visible: Enabling manual approval for tagged photos.
So instead of a jumbled mess, you can curate user-generated content that fits your aesthetic.
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Speaking of style… have one. While your audience isn’t going to hand over their wallets solely due to good looks, make an effort to create a cohesive-looking profile.
Why? Because people will see one of your posts in their Instagram feed and instantly know it’s from you before even seeing the account name. They’ll recognize your style. That’s branding at work.
Yes, having a recognizable look helps you attract the audience you want, but style without substance isn’t a strategy. 58% of Instagram users say they like it more when brands share candid, unpolished content.
Don’t let the fear of your content not looking “pretty” enough stop you. Post it anyway.
One thing that always needs to be on point, raw or not, is your brand voice.
Your voice comes through everything you communicate, such as:
Besides what you say, it’s how you say it. Are you casual and fun, or serious and scientific? Keep things light with jokes, or stick to the facts? There isn’t a wrong way, but you need to stay consistent.
Your brand voice and tone is a key part of your social media brand guidelines.
It seems like all you see when you open Instagram now are Reels, and there’s a reason for it: They get engagement. We conducted an experiment that found a significant correlation between posting a Reel and an immediate boost in overall engagement rate.
Some may not get many views and that’s okay, because when one of yours does go a lil’ bit viral? It’s all worth it.
Anyone can be successful with Reels, it just takes practice. We’ve got tons of resources to makes yours reel-y (ugh) good:
Reels may be newer, but Instagram Stories aren’t going anywhere. Popular for more informal content, Stories allow you to develop relationships with your audience in a unique way.
It doesn’t take a ton more work to see a big effect, either. A year-long study found that when companies shared one Story per day, it resulted in a 100% retention rate.
Not only that, but 500 million people use Stories every day. I’m not great at math but having 100% of your audience remember your content, with a potential reach of 500 million people? That’s a no brainer.
If you need tips on what to share in your Stories, check out our Instagram Stories guide for businesses and how to create effective Instagram Stories ads.
Stories only last 24 hours, but your Stories highlights can live on forever.
Highlights are great for communicating lots of information quickly in the format most people prefer these days: Short video. 61% of Gen Zers and Millennials prefer videos under 1 minute long.
Plus, adding Stories highlights is a way to repurpose your Story content and keep it working for you.
Try adding a temporary highlight for a new product launch or event. Leave up always-relevant ones like FAQ or ordering information.
For effective Stories highlights, ensure you have:
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Instagram makes it easy to link to your products or services (whether you have Commerce Manager set up or not) and engage with your audience.
Access the ever-expanding Stories toolbox by tapping the smiley sticker-thing:
Be sure to try out:
Hootsuite makes it easy to schedule Instagram Stories in advance, including all the special tools and features you need.
Stay up to date on hashtagsTo hashtag or not to hashtag? Is it nobler to suffer the highs and lows of the algorithm, or take arms against a sea of content?
You can add up to 30 hashtags per Instagram post. But a 2021 experiment we did showed that using more doesn’t get more views. Last year, Instagram’s official @creators account recommended no more than 3-5 per post.
What about in 2023?
A casual experiment I ran on my account this week showed an opposite effect. I loaded up on hashtags, using between 15-20 per post, and most of my (albeit small) reach came from those hashtags.
So what does this tell us?
TL;DR: Science is hard, no one knows how many Instagram hashtags are “the perfect amount,” and you should regularly experiment with this.
Check out our Instagram hashtag guide for tips on what’s working right now.
Engage with your audience! Reply to their comments, messages, carrier pigeons, etc.
Because a higher engagement rate looks good on your analytics reports, right? No! Reply to your followers because it’s the right thing to do.
Yes, it also boosts your engagement rate. But more importantly, it encourages your potential customers to start conversations with you. Over time, those conversations become the foundation of their perception of your brand and greatly influence purchase decisions.
Hootsuite Inbox allows you to stay on top of all comments and DMs across all your platforms in one place. Assign conversations to team members, track responses, and ensure no one falls through the cracks. See how efficient it is to foster genuine engagement with Inbox:
Live video doesn’t need to be scary.
It’s a powerful tool for Instagram growth and deepening your relationship with your audience.
Try:
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Our complete guide to going live on Instagram covers how to do it and ideas you can try today.
Influencer marketing is still going strong in 2023 and projected to grow more every year. In 2021 alone, influencer marketing accounted for $13.8 billion USD in value.
Don’t forget your most valuable influencers: your employees. Starting an employee advocacy program can boost your profits 23% and internal team morale. Win-win.
Learn how to maximize your ROI with our free Influencer Marketing 101 guide for businesses of all sizes.
What do people like? Free stuff!
When do they want it? All the time!
Sometimes the best strategies for Instagram are the oldest.
Contests can boost your organic reach and give you tons of user-generated content.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Colorbar Cosmetics (@lovecolorbar)
Contests don’t need to be expensive. Give away free products in a simple raffle by having users like and comment on your post, or partner with someone else in your industry to split the cost of a larger prize package.
Get inspired with creative Instagram contest ideas, and a step-by-step process for running giveaways.
You see the positive comments customers leave, the sales coming in, and your follower count going up. But how do you put a number on it? What are the real results of your efforts?
Measuring your ROI, or return on investment, is important for reporting to your boss, but it can also help you justify establishing or increasing your paid advertising budget.
It’s also the only way to know if your marketing strategy needs a tweak, or if you should double down on what you’re doing.
Rather than sifting through each platform’s analytics dashboard and attempting to assemble the full picture yourself, lean on Hootsuite Impact instead. Impact pulls together data for all your organic and paid content across every platform in one place, giving you powerful insights whenever you need them.
Last but not least, don’t wildly follow every Instagram marketing tip you read on marketing blogs. 🙃
Seriously: You need to experiment. Every audience is different. Maybe your peeps hate live video. Maybe they’re only online at 3pm on Wednesdays.
Maybe they will give you their first-born child for a free sweatshirt.
Evaluate your performance often and set aside time to run experiments to see which tactics work best for you. Don’t worry, we have a free social media audit template to help out.
Need a bit more convincing? Here’s how Instagram marketing can help you grow your business.
44% of Instagrammers shop weekly on the platform. Since launching basic shopping tools in 2018, like linking to products from Stories, Instagram is now a complete social commerce solution.
Brands can achieve up to 300% more sales with a combination of Shopping tools and ads.
Instagrammers spend 30 minutes per day on the app, which is fairly average among major social platforms, but it’s the session length that really stands out.
People spend about 18 minutes per session, which beats out the average Amazon shopping trip (13 minutes), Twitter scroll (14 minutes), and YouTube session (7 minutes).
Surprisingly, also the average session on Pornhub (14 minutes).
Now that’s real engagement.
Source: Hootsuite Digital Trends 2022 Report
Instagram ads can reach up to 1.48 billion people. That’s 29.9% of all internet users and 23.9% of everyone over age 13 worldwide.
Instagram ads also significantly impact brand sentiment: 50% of people say they find businesses more interesting after seeing their ads on the platform.
Source: Hootsuite Digital Trends 2022 Report
Lil’ biased here, but Hootsuite really is a great choice to manage all your social media marketing. We have all the basic tools you need, like scheduling, planning, and analytics, as well as advanced capabilities to take you even further.
With Hootsuite, you can schedule posts for Instagram (Posts, Stories, and Reels), Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Pinterest.
from one intuitive dashboard. Think of all the time you can save not switching between 7 apps to post content!
Hootsuite also offers detailed analytics comprehensive reporting, as well as a calendar view and content creation tools that allow you to publish the best content possible.
That’s not it. Every Hootsuite user gets access to custom, fully personalized recommendations for the best times to post content for maximum reach, impressions, or engagement.
Try Hootsuite for free
Check out everything Hootsuite can do for you:
Notion is like if a notebook and a spreadsheet had a baby. A Gen Z baby ‘cause it’s digital-first.
You can add anything to a Notion page that you add to a document, like text, images, etc. But its real power is databases, allowing you to filter and sort your info in multiple ways, including on a calendar, in tables, or with Kanban boards, to name a few.
It’s what I use to plan my social media content (before I put it into Hootsuite, of course) and I love how easy it is to edit on mobile. Plus, if I had friends a team, everyone could collaborate in the same Notion workspace, too.
Check out Notion’s template gallery, or make your own content board from scratch.
Adobe Express is a free online tool to create great-looking social graphics and more. You get additional features if you already have an Adobe subscription, including Adobe Stock access and more.
With Hootsuite’s Creative Cloud integration, you can view all your Adobe libraries directly inside Hootsuite, and edit photos in Hootsuite Composer. It’s a perfect pair, especially if you already use other Adobe apps like Photoshop or Illustrator.
Manage all your Instagram marketing alongside your other social platforms with Hootsuite’s time-saving tools. From a single dashboard, you can schedule posts, Stories, and Reels, engage with your audience, and measure your social ROI. Try it free today.
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If you feel like you don’t quite “get” Instagram marketing, you’re not alone.
On the surface, it might seem like little more than a place for snapshots and selfies.
The reality, though? Instagram is an absolute goldmine for businesses of all shapes and sizes. From social selling to community-building and beyond, there’s a reason why Instagram is booming right now among businesses and consumers alike.
That said, Instagram’s “simplicity” can be deceiving. Many brands struggle to grow or adopt Instagram as part of their social strategy and we totally understand why.
Listen: you can’t afford to “wing it” on the ‘gram. You need a clear-cut, actionable Instagram strategy if you want to grow a presence and attract customers.
And that’s why we put together this post. Below we’ve broken down an Instagram marketing strategy guide to help you get started on the platform and understand the best practices for growth.
Get a complete picture of your Instagram presence with Sprout SocialWhether you want to review your brand’s Instagram growth and engagement or manage your future content more effectively, Sprout lets you do it all in one place.
Intuitive dashboards and presentation-ready reports will help your team get up to speed on where your social strategy stands and where you’re heading.
Start a free trial to try it out for yourself, or schedule a demo to learn more about our Instagram features.
This might seem like a no-brainer, you need to be able to answer exactly why you want to be on Instagram in the first place.
Are you interested in generating leads? Building a community? Brand awareness?
Setting social media goals isn’t fluff. These goals will determine everything from your content strategy to how much time you spend on the platform.
There is no “right” or single goal you have to commit to, either. That said, your ROI from Instagram really boils down to your goals.
For example, Crate and Barrel is a shining example of a retail brand whose Instagram strategy is laser-focused on social selling.
Their entire feed centers around showing off their products and encouraging followers to check ’em out as well.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Room & Board Modern Furniture (@roomandboard)
Meanwhile, beauty brands are oftentimes focused on highlighting products while also building a community by constantly going back-and-forth with followers.
Local, brick-and-mortar businesses often focus on keeping customers in the loop on their latest promotions while also building relationships. Notice how Dixie Dharma takes the time to respond to their customer comments in addition to showing off their mouth-watering breakfast offerings.
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A post shared by Dharma Southern Kitchen (@dharmasouthernkitchen)
And some brands simply use Instagram as a means to show off their team and go behind the scenes of their business.
B2B brands like Zapier might not seem like they have much to gain from Instagram, but manage to use their platform to show off the brand’s human side.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Zapier (@zapier)
The beauty of Instagram is the sheer amount of creative freedom available to you. Either way, deciding on the Instagram tactics you’ll use starts with your goals.
We recommend that you spend some time digging through Instagram yourself to help inspire your business’ strategy.
Follow some of your favorite brands. Follow some competitors, too. Experiencing the platform as a user is the best way to understand how businesses and consumers interact with each other.
Here’s some good news: in terms of setting up your profile, Instagram is relatively straightforward.
However, there are a few small details to watch out for as you put together your profile.
Before you worry about creating content for Instagram, make sure you’ve ticked the following boxes. This rings true for new profiles and brands looking to fine-tune their Instagram marketing.
For starters, make sure that you’ve switched your account to an Instagram business profile. Doing so allows you to highlight additional information such as your industry, location, phone number and email address as part of your Instagram bio.
Additionally, Instagram business profiles have access to analytics to help you see how followers are interacting with your account. Of course, we recommend that you go beyond base-level metrics with the help of Sprout Social (but more on that later).
Although they’re easy to overlook, your brand creatives are integral to your Instagram marketing strategy.
Specifically, your hashtags and bio.
The process of creating a hashtag doesn’t have to be daunting. For example, most hashtags are either a brand name or slight variations on a brand name.
#Topshop #MyAnthropologie #SkechersStyle
See what we’re saying?
The purpose of having a hashtag is to encourage followers to tag your brand and enable you to do the same. Hashtags serve as a sort of call-to-action to encourage customer photos and stories.
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A post shared by SKECHERS (@skechers)
In turn, you and your followers can see who else used your tag and shared their snaps.
For more ideas and inspiration, take a moment to review our comprehensive guide to hashtags for Instagram.
Despite being only 150 characters, your Instagram bio is invaluable real estate.
This is your brand’s first impression with customers and potential followers. It represents an opportunity to highlight what your brand is all about and encourage followers to take action.
Oh, and it’s the only place where you can funnel Instagram traffic to your promotions or website.
As part of your Instagram strategy, make sure that your bio includes the following.
For example, Whole Foods’ Instagram manages to achieve all of the above.
Again, you have tons of creative freedom on Instagram. For reference, you can check out dozens of examples on our guide to writing your Instagram bio.
According to our guide to social media image sizes, your Instagram profile picture is confined to a measly 110×110 pixels.
Translation? Sleek, minimalist and high-res is the way to go.
For example, Casper includes only the first letter of their stylized brand font for a bold profile pic.
Meanwhile, BarkBox manages to include their entire name with clean, legible text.
Don’t try to cram too much into your profile picture. There are tons of social media editing tools to help you mock up a minimalist logo if you don’t have one handy.
Now let’s get into the nitty-gritty of your Instagram strategy.
That is, creating content.
Yet again the concept of creative freedom rears its head. With so many possibilities in terms of what you can post, where do you even start?
Here we’ve highlighted some specific Instagram marketing tips that showcase the types of content that crush it based on best practices. Although these aren’t the only types of content you can publish, consider these post types to be cornerstones of your Instagram marketing.
Stylish snapshots.
That’s exactly what put Instagram on the map.
Photos featuring some sort of striking creative trademark, whether it be a stunning setting or bright color scheme, are the types of posts that reel in the “likes” and comments.
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A post shared by Airbnb (@airbnb)
Of course, not all of us have the privilege of working in an industry that allows us to take exotic photos. Thankfully, most modern smartphones have features baked into them to take compelling photos of just about anything.
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A post shared by MINIMALIST BAKER (@minimalistbaker)
Also, there are plenty of Instagram apps which include filters and style options to step up your photos.
It might sound cliche, but social media is, well, social.
That means centering your content strategy around people. Specifically, highlighting the humans who support your business.
For example, user-generated content and customer photos are staples of Instagram. Sharing such snapshots allows you to show off your satisfied customers and put your products in a real-world setting.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BzllhOjBnSD/
Don’t forget about showing your team some love, too. Going behind-the-scenes and celebrating your colleagues is a simple yet effective way to humanize your brand.
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A post shared by Mellow Mushroom (@mellowmushroom)
Video content is among the most popular and shared around social media, Instagram included.
If you’re not a professional videographer, don’t panic. Many brands share bite-sized promos in lieu of big productions.
And yes, you can create video that sells with little more than a smartphone.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Stone Brewing (@stonebrewing)
Bear in mind that video content on Instagram doesn’t have to akin to a traditional commercial. Vine-style looping videos and timelapse videos are insanely popular and can be put together in a matter of seconds thanks to third-party apps. For example, the video below was created with LifeLapse.
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A post shared by Laura 🙋🏻♀️ (@ljnockett)
Perfect for humor or inspiration, not everything on Instagram needs to come from your camera reel.
In fact, memes and image macros are a way to break up the monotony of your feed and engage your followers on a personal level.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by The World’s Strongest Coffee ®️ (@deathwishcoffee)
Jokes? Tips? Inspirational quotes? If you’re strapped for ideas, such posts can do the trick. Oh, and you can whip ’em up in no time thanks to tools like Canva.
Brands are integrating Stories into their repertoire of Instagram tactics like never before.
Why? For starters, Stories enable you to “skip the line” in your followers’ feeds by putting your account at the front of their Story queue. Furthermore, time-sensitive content taps into your customers’ sense of FOMO (fear of missing out).
Great for deals, company updates or just plain playful content, Stories are something you should strive to create on a daily basis. Check out our guide to Instagram Stories to better understand how to create a story that sells.
No matter which types of content you choose to create, it’s crucial to track the performance of your content over time. This allows you to see which posts are actually resulting in meaningful engagement.
That’s where tools like Sprout are a game-changer versus Instagram’s native analytics. Sprout keeps an eye on engagement trends and content performance to help you better refine your content strategy over time.
Let’s say you have your content ready to publish. Now what?
Good question! Simply posting at random isn’t going to do you any good.
As part of your marketing strategy for Instagram, take note of the following before you put out your next post.
Each post you publish should have a unique caption. Even the seemingly smallest details of those captions can impact your engagement rate and whether or not your post is discoverable.
With 2,000+ characters to work with, you certainly have creative freedom. However, you’ll notice that many businesses take a “less is more” approach to their Instagram captions.
No matter what you’re saying or selling, make sure that you include a combination of the following in your captions.
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A post shared by Chewy (@chewy)
When you publish your content and how often matters when it comes to engagement.
Most brands publish daily or on a near-daily basis. Of course, you don’t want to sacrifice quality for quantity.
Also, the timing of your posts impacts how likely your followers are to see them. For reference, here are the optimal times to publish to Instagram based on research regarding the best times to post on social media.
Having to worry about posting in real-time can be a pain. That’s why we again recommend using an Instagram marketing tool such as Sprout to do the heavy lifting. For example, features such as ViralPost can clue you in on when your specific account scores the most engagement. Then, you can automatically schedule your content in advance to hit those times.
For many brands, it makes sense to cross-post your Instagram content across networks such as Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest. Doing so saves you some serious time and keeps you from bouncing from network to network. With Sprout, you can cross-post and edit your individual posts to ensure they’re optimized specifically for Instagram.
No matter what Instagram strategies you’re experimenting with, so much of your engagement depends on how you promote your Instagram.
Followers and customers don’t show up by accident. As a result, you need to put your Instagram front-and-center across your other marketing channels.
For example, make a point to prominently feature your Instagram on-site. Whether it’s social buttons or a feed of your followers’ photos, customers should know that you’re active on the ‘gram.
Additionally, promoting your Instagram via email is a smart move. Bellroy’s email signature consistently features their branded hashtag and encourage customers to share their photos.
Heck, you can even use your branded hashtag as part of your physical packaging and marketing. That’s exactly what Extra does.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Abbey Cooper (D’Agostino) (@abbey_dags)
And of course, promoting your Instagram also means showing up day after day. If you let your account gather cobwebs, you can’t be surprised when your engagement rate takes a dip.
Respond to followers. Engage with other accounts. Committing to Instagram means being an active participant on the platform.
Oh, and don’t forget to mind your analytics! In-depth insights like the ones provided via Sprout can be huge motivations and eye-openers to brands struggling on Instagram. Rather than second-guess what to post next, your analytics more than likely have the answer.
And with that, we wrap up our guide!
The best practices and tips highlighted above are fair game for brands of all shapes and sizes.
From optimizing your profile to engaging your followers and beyond, knowing what clicks with customers is a matter of consistency and experimentation.
With the help of tools such as Sprout, you can easily manage the many moving pieces of your brand’s Instagram strategy.
Instagram brings sales to businesses if you know what to post. We at Chizhov Studio have analyzed thousands of publications and collected in one place 65 of the best post and story ideas that will help you attract an audience, increase reach, improve engagement and increase sales.
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Table of contents
95% of businesses come to Instagram for sales. Accordingly, they enter the social network with a bunch of selling posts. It seems logical, but it doesn't really work.
In social networks, we work with a cold audience, so before selling, you need to attract them and form a desire to buy in them. And these tasks cannot be fulfilled by selling publications alone.
We at the Studio have been working on projects on Instagram for many years and have analyzed the effectiveness of thousands of publications. And for you, we have collected the top 65 content ideas that solve all business problems. nine0003
Content ideas for publications
We divide content on Instagram into three main types:
- engaging - helps to bring a new audience and increase coverage;
- warming up - makes users more loyal and gradually creates a desire to buy;
- and selling - sells our products or services.
Each of them leads the user to a new level of the sales funnel and, as a result, helps to increase sales in the account. Below we analyze them in more detail. nine0003
Engaging content for publications
Needed to involve the audience in communication with the brand, and serves to increase coverage, engagement and loyalty. This is the first stage in the funnel, but it is no less important than direct sales.
To whom will you sell in an empty and dead profile? Engaging content solves this problem.
Subscription tender
Standard mechanics for attracting an audience to your account. If you're visiting Instagram for the first time, it's a must-have. You send such a contest to advertising to your target audience and get the first subscribers with whom you can work with in the future to get sales. nine0003
The prize in the competition must be related to the business you are promoting. No need to give jewelry if you are selling cosmetics, let the cosmetics set be a gift. Thanks to this, you will, firstly, attract the target audience, and secondly, simplify the task - it is more convenient and profitable to give your own goods.
Mechanics in this case may include the need to write a comment, mark friends or repost in stories.
Subscription Contest Example
UGC Competition
UGC is content created by the brand's audience. And the competition itself is aimed at getting the greatest possible return from users, involving them in communication with the brand. It is worth launching when the audience is already active.
In this way, you can collect, for example, reviews if there are few or simply no reviews, or use more complex engagement mechanics with the creation of photos, drawings, generation of ideas and other things - let your imagination run wild. nine0003
We've scaled this mechanic many times with great results. For example, an online career development simulator was created for the Netology educational platform and collected 11,000 ideas for developing career skills in a week.
Sample contest with UGC for feedback
Poll
A simple mechanic to increase the number of comments. Choose a scandalous, controversial or just a bright topic related to your product or services and offer several answers. nine0003
It is important to work with the audience. If you do not respond to user comments, there will be a feeling that the account is maintained formally. This means that it will be more difficult to create a relaxed atmosphere and win the loyalty of subscribers.
Sample publication with survey
Interactive
These are one-time games that allow you to quickly get a lot of comments. Engagement should start with them, accustoming users to write comments and communicate with each other. nine0003
There are a lot of interactive options.
Describe with emoji . For example, you might be asked to describe your day, job, or dream.
Example of interactive "Describe with emoji"
Arithmetic puzzle . Create an equation in which images are unknown variables. Subscribers need to calculate everything and write the answer in the comments.
Example of arithmetic puzzle
Cold - hot . A variation of the children's game in which you guess a certain number about the company and invite subscribers to guess it. You will need to answer each commentator whether he is close to the result with the words “cold”, “warm”, “hot”, etc.
An example of a publication with the interactive "Cold - hot"
False fact. Another guessing game in which you write facts about the company, among which one or more will be fictitious. The audience needs to guess which one is false. nine0003
An example of a publication with the False Fact interactive
Associations . The essence of the game is to write your associations to the word. Set a specific topic related to the company, enter the first word and watch the comments develop.
An example of a post with interactive "Associations"
Spot the difference . Invite subscribers to find the differences in the two pictures and write them in the comments.
Example of a post with Spot the Difference interactive
Feelward . Create a grid of pre-written letters to form words and let your subscribers find as many of them as possible.
Example of interactive "Feelword"
To stir up the audience's interest in interactive games, it is worth offering small prizes for winning them. You don’t need expensive and complicated gifts here: offer a cup, stickers, a notebook or a small souvenir from your assortment. nine0003
Popular vote
Invite subscribers to choose which products from your range they like. To do this, you need to run a series of votes that determine the winner in different categories.
This will not only increase engagement and get comments, but also find out which products your customers think are the best. This information can then be used to create an appropriate post or select promoted products. The mechanics are more complex, so you should use it in communities with an already formed loyal audience. nine0003
Example of a publication with popular vote
Chat
Creating discussions among subscribers is another opportunity to increase audience reach and loyalty. You bring up a controversial topic for discussion and invite everyone to speak out about it.
There can be a long discussion in the comments about what works for us. But do not forget about chat moderation so that subscribers do not get carried away and do not switch to insults. nine0003
Starting discussions is already at the later stages of engagement, when subscribers are used to discussing something in the comments.
Example post with chat
Quest
This is a series of interactive posts with the story of one hero. You come up with a character, a situation in which he finds himself, and then put a problem in front of him that needs a solution. This decision will be made by subscribers. They vote for one of the options, and you prepare the next post with the continuation of the story, based on the most popular answer. You can repeat as long as there is interest in the quest. nine0003
The mechanics are complex and require a formed loyal community or advertising support.
An example of a post with quest
Warm-up content for publications
After we have attracted new subscribers and involved them in communication, we need to tell about the company. With the help of warm-up content, we convey the values and benefits of the brand, show expertise and increase loyalty.
Show your expertise and help your audience make life easier by solving their everyday problems.
Life hacks should be selected from the company's area of activity. For example, if you sell handmade shoes, show how to remove creases from leather boots.
An example of a post with useful cards
How to (how to do something)
Select a topic that buyers often have questions about and do a brief or detailed discussion. For example, tell us how to choose the right carpet care product. nine0003
An example of a post with an answer to the question of how to choose the color of a sofa
Processes
Backstage is always interesting. Show how you actually work, develop products, pack and deliver them. So you will immediately remove some of the objections and increase the loyalty of the audience.
An example of a post with the process of manufacturing goods
Commodity in life
Buying a drill, a person buys a hole in the wall. So show how your product actually behaves in real life. For example, if you are selling sofas, show how they fit into the interior and whether they are comfortable to lay out.
An example video that shows shoes in a real life setting
Reviews
Ask customers to talk about their experiences with your product or service. Let it be text, photo or video. This will close audience objections and prove the quality of your products or services. nine0003
Example of a post with feedback
FAQ
A rubric where you can answer frequently asked questions, closing the objections and pains of the audience. Tell us about how you can order, pay and return the product if it does not fit. Or let your subscribers know what guarantees you have, production time and whether there is a product designer.
Post describing how to place an order and arrange delivery
Infographic
In infographic format, show what the company stands out for or is proud of, and explain why it matters to the customer. If you have a lot of stores, say you don't have to travel far, or if you're handcrafted, emphasize the uniqueness of the item.
Post with infographics in which cities there are salons of the company
Content about the
teamPeople buy from people, so it is important for them to know who is behind the abstract brand name. Show your team, tell what experience and knowledge they have and how they solve the problems of your audience. In this case, not only its name will speak about the brand, customers will also have pleasant associations with your team, which can increase loyalty. nine0003
An example of a post with a story about an employee of the company
Executive Blog
One of the approaches in business social networks is communication on behalf of the manager. In this case, the account will be primarily associated with the first person of the company, and publications can be more trustworthy. But even in the case of maintaining a profile on behalf of the brand, you can periodically make posts with messages from the manager. For example, he can talk about the company, its values and the difficulties that you solve with hard work. nine0003
An example of a post on behalf of the head of a legal organization
News
Reading company news about updating computers or a new coffee machine in the office is not interesting. But if your news directly concerns buyers, tell about it. For example, if you ordered a new German machine and doubled the production time, future buyers will appreciate it.
An example of a publication with news about a company
Before/after
This is a classic way to demonstrate how useful and good your services are. For example, show the transformation of a person after make-up or compare photos of an apartment before and after renovation.
An example of a post showing a carpet before and after cleaning
Sales content for publications
And finally, the third stage of the funnel is sales. Here we present goods and services, describe their properties, explain why it is worth choosing them. nine0003
With this kind of content, we encourage a warm audience to buy.
Overview
The easiest selling post is to take one specific product or service and talk about its main features and benefits. There is no need to praise - put pressure on the pains of customers.
If this is a product, show it on the main visual, or better, take a series of photos in a carousel or even a video.
Product review post example
Discounts
By posting discounts, you close the “expensive” objection and get those who wanted to postpone it back to checkout. According to research, most users look for discounts on products before ordering - take advantage of this. And do not forget to make a time limit to motivate you to buy right away.
Sample post with discount
Shares
Another variant of motivation to buy. But in this case, you do not reduce prices, but offer a gift with the order, make free delivery, when ordering two products, give the third one for free, and so on. Again, it is important to limit the action in time so that the audience does not put it off until later. nine0003
An example of a post with action
Tops
In such publications, you collect several products or services that rank first in certain parameters. For example, the top order-leading products, the most wear-resistant boots or compact sofas.
An example of a post with top products on orders
Comparisons and battles
We contrast products, suggesting that subscribers choose the one they like best. In such a post, we can immediately talk about the distinctive features of several products and at the same time help the undecided in choosing. For example, you can compare sneakers and high boots and explain what occasions each pair of shoes can be useful for. nine0003
An example of a post with a battle of goods
Thematic collections
Collect several items by use, for a holiday or news event, for men or women, and so on. Such selections show the variety of your assortment and help customers in choosing.
An example of a post with thematic collections
Event announcement/invitation
nine0009If your company organizes or participates in an event, invite your customers to attend. Indicate when and where to go, what will be interesting there and what benefits the client will receive. And then with the hottest audience, you can work on personal selling.
An example of a post announcing event
Stories content ideas
Engaging content for stories
We form the core of an active audience, involve subscribers in communication with the brand. nine0003
Predictions
Create a video with fast-changing captions, and subscribers have to stop the story at random times or take a screenshot to get a prediction. You can jokingly predict how a person's day will go or what kind of worker he is. It is important to adapt the idea to your business, only in this case it will work. For example, in the account of a furniture company, you can make a prediction about what changes in the interior await users in the next year. nine0003
An example of a story with prediction
Find hidden goods
Simple interactive mechanics to find hidden things. First, in the graphic editor, place products or thematic elements according to the photo, hiding them, and then invite subscribers to write their number using the “questions” sticker.
An example of a story with "Find the hidden goods" mechanics
Slider
Using the slider sticker, you can play a variety of games with a choice of one of the options. For example, suggest choosing the best day for the event, summing up the game with a choice of the number of guessed things, or choosing the most successful dress.
Checklists, questionnaires, lists
Create a story around the topic of your community, in which you need to check certain items, choose between options, and so on. Such checklists or questionnaires need to be reposted to your story and manually ticked. The mechanics are complex, but can bring high reach and a new audience, especially if you reward subscribers with a small prize. nine0003
Example of a story with checklist
Guess by frame
Take one frame from any movie, cartoon, TV show, etc. and ask you to guess the name of the original work. Don't forget to add a "questions" or "test" sticker to collect audience responses.
An example of a story with the game "Guess the movie by frame"
Guess by emoticons
nine0009 Similar to the previous mechanics, but here you need to guess by emoji. Compose a series of emoticons describing a movie, picture, book or music, and invite subscribers to determine what you have guessed.
An example of a story with the game "Guess by emoji"
Spot the difference
You make two stories with almost identical pictures, except for a few differences. Subscribers of your account will have to find them, and then write their number using the “questions” or “test” sticker. nine0003
An example of a story with the mechanics of "Spot the differences"
Puzzles
Puzzles were of interest to the audience both in the times of Murzilka and now in social networks. But it has become much easier to make them - there are dozens of online generators that will automatically prepare a rebus for you. Invite subscribers to guess what you thought of and write their answer using an interactive sticker.
An example of a story with rebus
Quiz
This is a series of stories with tests on a specific topic. You can time the quiz to coincide with a holiday or newsbreak, and you can also make tests about the company if the audience is already loyal.
An example of a quiz in stories
What is hidden in the photo
Another guessing game. In the photo, blur or cover the product with a sticker. And then invite subscribers to guess what is shown in the picture. nine0003
Hidden item story example
Catch an object
In this interactive, subscribers need to click on the specified area to catch some object. If you arrange the elements on the left, then on the right side of the screen, the user will move back and forth through the stories until he reaches the final.
Catch the logo story example
Was or was not
A small game with polls that can be answered with "was" or "was not." Questions can be very different: did you find money on the street, did you forget your passport before the flight, did you lose your phone. Surveys can also be linked to your company or product.
An example of a story with the game "Was or was not"
True or False
You need to create a story with facts on a certain topic and invent some of them. And then invite the audience to answer whether it is true or false. These can be facts about a company, product, or related topic. nine0003
An example of the game "True or False" in stories
Feelward
Word grid, sticker "questions" and caption "what words could you collect?". That's the whole interactive - simple and effective.
An example of a story with a
fieldwordPublication announcement
The simplest, but no less effective way to promote posts. Just repost the post to your story with an engaging caption or just a new post sticker. nine0003
An example story with the announcement of publication
Warm up content for stories
We talk about the company, show the advantages and close the objections.
Q&A
Potential customers often have questions about the company, products, shipping, returns, and more. Find out what concerns them with the help of the “questions” sticker and answer the questions in separate stories. nine0003
An example of a story with an answer to a subscriber's question
Poll
Universal sticker with which you can find out the audience's opinion on any issue. Ask which dress should be the first to be mass-produced or which color of the sofa should be included in your assortment - communicate with the audience and increase its loyalty.
Sample post with poll
Visualize what happens after your product or service is delivered. For example, show a photo of a sofa before and after a reupholstery or compare a video with a broken and completely intact iPhone.
Sample stories with photos before and after using product
Entertainment video
When a business is live and real, audience loyalty grows. Show that no less cool people stand behind a cool brand by making a short funny video from your production, shop or office. But do not forget about the specifics of your target audience, because for subscribers of a brokerage account, such a video may be inappropriate. nine0003
An example of an entertaining video in stories
Processes
Show how you work. If a person sees how food is prepared for him, his confidence in the restaurant increases. Just like in any other business, consumers want to see your "kitchen" - do not hide it.
Example of a story with the production process
Lifehacks
Small expert videos or infographics with life hacks or useful and interesting facts. For example, a dentist can tell you how to properly brush your teeth, or a furniture store can tell you how to choose a comfortable mattress. nine0003
Sample story with helpful tips
Frequently Asked Questions
Step-by-step instructions for any customer questions: how to order, arrange delivery, choose a color, etc. Take a video, photo or make an infographic - any format will do.
Sample story with answer to FAQ
How to use the product or service
nine0009Tell, or rather show on video, how to use your product or service correctly. Make instructions for assembling a sofa, caring for shoes, or using an English learning platform.
Example of a story with a demonstration of the use of product
Reviews
Show screenshots of a customer thanking you, share a video from a customer, or insert a text review into a story. nine0003
Sample story with recall
About us
Tell us about the company, its history, values and products or services.
History with facts about the company
Addresses
Share the addresses of your offline points: shops, showrooms or warehouses. If it is difficult to get there, make a short video on how to do it most conveniently.
Example of a story with the address of the pickup point
Live broadcasts
Broadcasts help to revive the company, to acquaint the audience with its face. Live, you can talk about the changes in your company, answer questions from subscribers or showcase a new collection. Of course, it’s worth launching streams with an already formed core of an active and loyal audience.
After the end of the live broadcast, it is worth saving it in IGTV
Repost photo subscribers
Don't forget to share the content your audience generates. This idea will be especially relevant for brands of clothing and accessories, whose subscribers often share photos with new things. Repost a photo of a subscriber with your product and write a few words of gratitude or just attach a GIF animation.
An example of a story with a repost of a photo of a subscriber
Selling content for stories
Encourage the audience to buy.
Product overview
As in the publications, tell us about one of the products from your range. You can also make a video review of the product: show how it looks, describe its main characteristics.
Example of a story with a video review of the product
Event announcement
Whether you're opening a new store soon, speaking at a conference next week, or about to start a livestream, announce it. Make a short news about the upcoming event and tell why it should be important to your customers. nine0003
Event announcement example
Discounts
They work in the same way as in publications - offer a discount, limit it in time, tell where to go and how to order.
Sample story with discount
Shares
Another option to stimulate the audience to purchase is a special offer with a limited duration.
An example of a story with stock
Vacancies
In the accounts of HR companies, this will be the main type of selling stories. However, other companies may also use this recruiting channel. Tell us about your vacancy, describe how you can apply for it, and wait for applicants.
Job story example
New product announcement
Announce new additions to your range. Tell us how soon they will be available, what makes them stand out and why you should order them. nine0003
An example of a story with the announcement of a new collection of goods
Totals
So that nothing is forgotten or lost, let's put the most important thing on the checklist:
If you have any questions or would like to share your experience, we will be glad to see you in the comments, we will definitely read everything and answer. And if you need help in promoting the project - leave a request on the Chizhov Studio website, we'll figure it out together with everything;)
Content plan - a pre-prepared plan for publishing posts, stories with already selected content for a certain period.
Looks like this. nine0003
Imagine a situation, you need to publish a post, but absolutely nothing comes to mind, or there is no time at all, but you definitely need to post it. This is where a content plan comes to your rescue.
From all the above advantages, it is clear that the content plan is a must for maintaining your page. nine0003
You can't go anywhere without a content plan!
First, we need to decide on the type of Instagram account: personal or business.
The main feature of the content for a personal account:
An example of a personal travel blog.
The lion's share of the Instagram account content is made up of selling posts, but in order for it not to be a complete sale, it is necessary to dilute it with entertaining and informational posts.
Example of a business profile.
Important!
Topics that are ultra relevant, that is, what you need to talk about today, and tomorrow it will be too late, are published outside the general content plan.
Such “top of the day” posts bring you closer to your subscribers. nine0003
Sales post is a post in which we write about the product we sell.
For example,
In this example, a review of the work was published, which increases the level of trust on the part of Instagram followers.
Information post is a post that contains useful information for your subscribers.
For example,
And here, as you understand, is a bit of history that subscribers love very much.
Entertaining post - publications where your subscribers can smile, have a little fun. nine0003
e. g.
In this example, the author posted the game as entertainment content.
To analyze several publications, go to the statistics and use the necessary filters. Thus, you can see statistics for several publications at once.
This picture shows the statistics of these posts. And you can see how many comments, likes, saves for publications.
To do this, simply select the desired filter. nine0003
This way you can see exactly what you are interested in.
Usually a content plan is made in the form of a table in an XL document.
The picture shows an example of a content plan; it can be taken as a basis.
Now you just need to fill it out and you have a content plan ready.
In order to make the most of your content plan, there are special apps for scheduling Instagram content. nine0003
They help save time, and you don't have to set alarms to post.
Just install and use, although they are paid, but you can pay for such functionality.
You can choose any of them, they all look alike.
When drawing up a content plan, the following errors may occur.
