In the past few years, Instagram has developed into a juggernaut of a marketing platform.
Everyone is on Instagram, from small businesses to conglomerates, and they all are racing to increase their followers, likes, and comments metrics!
According to Facebook statistics, 500 million users log on to Instagram every day and spend an average of 30 minutes on the platform.
Right now there’s a huge opportunity for those who take action.
If you are a business owner with an Instagram page, but somehow struggle to find leads, conversions, and grow on the platform, you’ve made it to the right place.
This article is going to show you the best methods of conversion and the biggest mistakes you need to watch out for when promoting your business on Instagram.
To start off let’s look at what you NEED to be doing to kickstart the process:
The DO’s of Instagram Conversion
1. Be active in the community
The key here is to go from building an audience to creating a community of engagers. Remember, Instagram is more than a one-way platform. While audiences want to enjoy your content, what they really need is to be a part of it. Don’t forget that you’re behind the screen and you have the power to control their actions and influence the steps they take on their journey.
To create an active community on Instagram, remember to:
- Reply to comments
- Reply to DMs
- Host giveaways and competitions
- Encourage follower engagement in your content with call-to-actions and questions
- Start conversations
- Post on national days
2. Switch it up.
Consistency is important, especially if you’re a smaller business looking to gain traction and successfully convert your audience into customers. However, sticking to the same content over and over is going to leave your followers losing interest. Nobody wants to scroll past 100 images that add nothing to their life. Instead, audiences want familiarity AND uniqueness. It sounds like a tricky combination to pull off, but it IS possible.
To ensure you’re sticking to a regular posting schedule whilst remembering to switch up you need to:
- Experiment with different formats: Post stories, reels, and both short/long-form videos to varying the kind of content you give to your followers. This could even mean going live for your followers (building that active community at the same time). To start off, add in some carousels to your content as this is super simple!
- Vary the content you use in your posts: Filmed a great ad for your business? Show off behind the scenes. Get creative with emojis and stickers and add new people to the mix. As a local business, reinforcing the idea of community is important, so don’t be afraid to involve others in your content.
3. Become MORE than just your content
For a local business like yours, a large number of your followers might be those who live within your area or even come into your physical store if you have one. This makes showing who you are behind the brand even more important.
Don’t be afraid to show the real you and connect with the local audiences you have around you.
Get vulnerable and open up. Consumers love reality and you’ll find, that we as a society are VERY nosey, so finding out more about the owners or team behind a brand is crucial if you want to maintain audience attention and start building a relationship with them.
To successfully be you, try this:
- Incorporate pictures of a day at work into your content with the team involved
- Reply to comments with the name of the team member who replied at the end of it help create that community
- Use stories to document genuine business life
These 3 tips are sure to take your business from followers on Instagram to traffic on your website.
By keeping it real, switching it up, and getting active online, conversion is guaranteed.
Now, it’s time to take a look at the mistakes you don’t want to be falling into:
The DON’T’S of Instagram Conversion
1. Avoid over-selling
The most crucial part of transforming followers into customers is by making the transition feel seamless for them. Your audience does not want to be bombarded by boring sales pitches, they want value and relatability. And as a local business, this means incorporating ‘filler posts’ your community can engage with OUTSIDE of the sphere of sales, such as:
– Weekend/Weekday posts: Use these as a check-in with your audience to see how they are and/or update them on what’s going on for the business that day.
– Quotes or sayings: You can’t go wrong with a bit of motivation every now and then to help push through the day!
– Tips, secrets, or how-to’s: Always think about adding value. Help your audience learn more and positively change their life.
Doing more than just pushing sales will help you convert without it feeling like your customers have to do any challenging work or be convinced to take action.
2. Posting inconsistent content
While it’s important to switch up the format of your content, don’t end up losing your brand image in the midst of it. Sticking to a general theme, tone and voice is important for your followers to get to know your business more and want to become a follower.
So,
- Make sure your posts flow well and represent your vision.
- Stick to brand colors
- Stick to ONE tone of voice for cohesive purposes
3. Not engaging with your followers
For audiences of businesses, Instagram isn’t just a window shop. It’s a place to interact, learn, chat and so much more. So, why limit yourself by not returning the favor? If you’re a small local business, building a positive reputation and good rapport with your followers will lead to more people visiting your page.
Consumers eat with their eyes and love a place where they feel valued, and appreciated, and can get something out of it. So, ENGAGE! Get stuck into the community you’ve created and interact with your followers.
CONCLUSION
If you’re a local business trying to convert your followers into customers, don’t sweat it, you’ve got this!
Creating great content is all about the strategies you use to improve the customer experience even more, and by monitoring your analytics and clarifying your objectives on a daily basis, incorporating these tips into your marketing will be easier than ever!