6 Effective Ways to Build Links Through Infographics
Originally drafted by Vincent Hill, maintained and updated by The DofM. Vincent Hill is a writer...
Ever since Facebook bought Instagram in 2012, it has increasingly become the third most active social network with over 1 billion users worldwide. Hundreds of millions of people share and like billions of photos on the app every day. According to Sprout Social, Instagram is expected to make up almost 25% of Facebook’s ad revenue by the end of this year. This dollar amount is expected to approach $10 billion by the end of 2020, so it’s safe to say the platform is a worthy investment when it comes to marketing a business.
If you sell your products online, Instagram is especially useful for tagging and selling products directly from the app, which is a newer feature. An increasing percentage (over 40%) of adults age 18-49 use Instagram, and it’s important that you are incorporating a variety of content in your strategy to grasp their attention.
5. Community Service
Volunteering and sharing photos of your involvement with the community is an often-overlooked source of content for increasing engagement and website traffic on social media. Helping the community evokes emotion out of consumers and emotions drive sales. Scheduling an afternoon at the local shelter or a clean-up at a park, or donating some of your goods and services to the greater good of humanity is a unique opportunity to tag people, gain followers, and just increase the overall awareness of your brand.
4. CEO Highlights
If you’re a small company, your personal life makes up a large matter of your brand. While you don’t want to fill your entire company page with personal content, the occasional sharing of everyday life — such as your child’s soccer game or an evening out at a local restaurant — can spark the interest of followers who also have kids or a fan of that eatery. The support in small communities comes full circle, so make sure you are someone that your demographic personally wants to support. Tell them a little bit about yourself, why you started your company, and remind them what your vision is from time to time.
Here is a great example of how The MedSpa in Raleigh highlighted their CEO for content purposes.
3. History
The best part about the popular culture of “throwbacks” is that you can never run out of them. The past is always there (good or bad), and remembering the good times is a popular form on content on Instagram. Post every now and then about how far you’ve come with prior accomplishments. You might also share funny incidents, quotes, and made-up holidays to let new followers get a sense of you are and how you got here (without them having to scroll back 152 weeks), and it’s a sure way to get original followers to love you all over again.
2. Reposting and Sharing Customer Content
Do you know how a recording artist always shows love for their fans at a concert? That should be you on Instagram. You wouldn’t exist without your customers so make sure you’re always thanking them and recognizing your appreciation of their business on social media, especially when they mention or tag you in a photograph they’ve posted. These pictures are basically free content, and you should use them as such, with their permission or credit. If you create your own hashtag for customers to use when they post you, then that will make it easier for potential followers with similar interests to find you.
1. Instagram Stories
If you haven’t already hopped on the Instagram Story train, you better be sure to catch the next one. Stories are a great way to give followers insight into the daily happenings of your business. (That is if you have the type of business where daily happenings can be shared with the public.) They keep you at the top of your followers' feeds and allow for outside engagement through location tags, hashtags, and personal tags. Think of Instagram Stories as a slideshow or PowerPoint presentation of your day, which can be a combination of pictures and videos, with the addition of unique stickers and music to match the tone of your content. Learn more about content marketing by visiting our website.