4 Ways to Up Your ‘Gram Game
By Andrew Patricio
August 14, 2017
Teachers & Education
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Most small businesses are on the big four social platforms; Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram. But do you ever wonder if you’re using Instagram well? It’s a fair question. Community management on “The Gram” is not as developed as the other channels. But that is changing, fast! So let’s look at four ways you can improve your ‘Gram game and start seeing more value from this popular social network.
Instagram doesn’t allow for clickable links in individual posts making redirecting difficult. But look at your own feed and you’ll see posts say, “link in bio” to turn followers into website visitors. Follow their lead! Add a URL to your bio so you can capture more traffic from the ‘Gram. And update it regularly to include new landing pages to promote specific campaigns and promotions.
High quality, visually-arresting images keep your audience engaged and growing. Pepper in promotional messages with non-promotional images frequently enough so your audience isn’t overwhelmed with advertisements. The bakery, @Ivenoven is a great example of an account that uses beautiful imagery of their mouth-watering baked goods, while mixing in promotional messages to promote the business.
Instagram makes sharing your message super easy. Feature an employee or loyal shopper in a #TakeOverTuesday and let them do the heavy lifting for you for a day. Have an event or new merchandise display? Follow @NatGeo’s lead and use Instagram Stories to promote it. Instagram Stories make it easier for your audience to connect with you, your brand and your products in a more authentic way than you might be used to, but in a way your followers expect on this channel.
Instagram allows you to tag your images with a specific location. Do it! Include the location of your store or office in every relevant post because it will come up when people search for that area. And, of course, use a hashtag of the city or neighborhood so others can serendipitously find you as well. This is more common on Instagram than other channels so don’t forget to add locations to your posts.
Instagram is a fun, light-hearted channel so you should have fun with it. Still looking for ideas? Check out what your favorite accounts are doing and you’ll quickly find unlimited ideas for how to up your ‘Gram game even more.
- Link It
Instagram doesn’t allow for clickable links in individual posts making redirecting difficult. But look at your own feed and you’ll see posts say, “link in bio” to turn followers into website visitors. Follow their lead! Add a URL to your bio so you can capture more traffic from the ‘Gram. And update it regularly to include new landing pages to promote specific campaigns and promotions.
- Visualize it
High quality, visually-arresting images keep your audience engaged and growing. Pepper in promotional messages with non-promotional images frequently enough so your audience isn’t overwhelmed with advertisements. The bakery, @Ivenoven is a great example of an account that uses beautiful imagery of their mouth-watering baked goods, while mixing in promotional messages to promote the business.
- Tell it
Instagram makes sharing your message super easy. Feature an employee or loyal shopper in a #TakeOverTuesday and let them do the heavy lifting for you for a day. Have an event or new merchandise display? Follow @NatGeo’s lead and use Instagram Stories to promote it. Instagram Stories make it easier for your audience to connect with you, your brand and your products in a more authentic way than you might be used to, but in a way your followers expect on this channel.
- Localize It
Instagram allows you to tag your images with a specific location. Do it! Include the location of your store or office in every relevant post because it will come up when people search for that area. And, of course, use a hashtag of the city or neighborhood so others can serendipitously find you as well. This is more common on Instagram than other channels so don’t forget to add locations to your posts.
Instagram is a fun, light-hearted channel so you should have fun with it. Still looking for ideas? Check out what your favorite accounts are doing and you’ll quickly find unlimited ideas for how to up your ‘Gram game even more.