INTRODUCTION
Social Media has become as deep-rooted in our everyday lives as perhaps even nutrition and a balanced diet might not be. Our day begins with incessant notifications and probably ends with a video or so that someone sent to us. We fondly devote our free time and very likely, take out time especially to go through the pictures or the messages. But really is that all that social media is truly about? Websites and programs that emphasize collaboration, sharing of content, engagement, and community-based feedback are collectively referred to as social media.
This means that social media is an umbrella term for all kinds of business-related or otherwise media of communication or exchange of information or content. Out of the infinite social media platforms available to us, the most widely used ones are (as we are very well aware) Whatsapp (which, today, is almost synonymous with SMS), Facebook (yes, it isn’t just a thing of the past!), Instagram (Of course, no surprise there!), Twitter (your guilty pleasure where you binge on opinions), and even Reddit (have you really not heard of it? Well, many of the posts on other platforms are screenshots of the subreddits), and frankly, the list is endless!
One of the major ways in which people have made the most of social media is by maximizing their contacts and using it to promote their businesses, brands, and models, and indeed, social media marketing is a whole new avenue exhibiting steadfast growth. With the rapid influx of content, be it Instagram reels or promotional messages on Whatsapp, social media marketing requires a lot of planning and a firm strategy, which is why people make use of social media marketing strategies, which help them to get the most out of social media.
What is a social media marketing strategy? Well, I am glad you asked!
WHAT IS A SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
A social media strategy is an overview of everything you intend to do and hope to accomplish on social media. It directs your activities and keeps you updated about your success or failure on these platforms. These strategies work best if kept quite detailed; however, it is important to ensure that it is brief and concise, without beating about the bush.
You can use this template as a tool to help sell social media packages to new clients, get buy-in for increasing your social media marketing budget, or to plan and implement a social media strategy to grow your own business.
Essentially, a social media marketing strategy is the technique of using social media platforms to sell or promote a company, item, or service. Just as there are different social media platforms, there is an availability of a smorgasbord of strategies that you could pick from, depending upon the dynamic needs of your brand, its niche, and the target audience, and most importantly, depending on the social media platform that you have in your mind.
INSTAGRAM SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
Especially since the introduction of the feature of reels on Instagram during the pandemic, Instagram has really become a one-stop station for all kinds of entertainment and advertising. This has provided ever-increasing traction to content creators, marketers, small businesses and different enterprises in general. It has enabled the brands to put on their thinking caps and compete creatively to promote themselves. Sell all you can, sell how you can!
In today’s time, GIFs, original pictures, and artistic carousels are all fun to utilize because they all have excellent engagement rates. Not to be overlooked is the fact that video material is currently the most sought-after kind of content. Instagram has quickly become everyone’s favorite social media network because of its capacity for building influencers, galleries for users’ favored posts, introducing stories, reels, shopping carts, and many other interesting features which curate a feed not just by the accounts you follow but also the sponsored pages, in a way that goes in accordance with your current obsessions (ever had advertisements of a Maldives vacation on Instagram immediately after googling either or both the words ‘Maldive’ and ‘vacation’?).
This soaring importance of Instagram as an app to promote and market businesses and products translates into Instagram marketing strategies being a crucial tool. Here are some ways in which you can effectively build an Instagram Marketing Strategy and get evident results on the performance of your product and overall brand:
STEPS TO CREATE AN EFFECTIVE INSTAGRAM MARKETING STRATEGY
- Create a captivating profile with a significantly fine-tuned bio
Your profile is going to provide the first impression of your overall brand. Not only should it make a lasting impression on the viewer, but it should highlight why your brand should be chosen over every other and how it stands out. While statistics might seem cool, they don’t really serve to be captivating bios. Your bio is likely to be more welcomed and catchy if it follows an informal undertone go ahead, connect with the audience with the puns, jokes, or some humor there!
- Tag your location to make it simple for people to find your business
Your company must continue to be reachable both online and offline. Here, the location tag assists the potential client or customer in identifying your precise address. When people are nearby, the location tag makes it easier for them to locate you in Instagram searches, which increases visibility.
- Create an aesthetically compelling Instagram feed that reflects your brand identity
While aesthetics are not as easy as it is shown to be, it is perhaps the most important of all. The definition of aesthetics depends solely on your niche and what your brand stands for and represents. All of these should be artistically reflected on your page. It is important to connect with the audience through the human yet masterfully creative and visually pleasing pictures and videos you post, inciting desire among the viewers.
- Put on your Thinking Cap(tions)!
Captions provide context to the pictures and really need to be catchy yet informative. The salesman who walks you through each and every product in a store? That is kind of what your Instagram caption should be! Just less annoying!
- Study and be aware of the strategies employed by competitive brands
It is very important to be aware of how competing brands are marketing their brand. You might want to seek inspiration from what you think they are doing right and avoid the mistakes they are (most likely) unaware of. Insights into their strategies would help
- Employ and utilize clever hashtags
Many users search hashtags and go through the content directly. People might come across your page through the hashtags, and Instagram’s algorithm also uses hashtags to segregate and accordingly put up your content on the feeds. It is, thus, very important that relevant, popular and multiple hashtags are used. You can also go for location-specific tags to get customers from a particular location.
- Focus on the target audience
What is all this for? If the target audience’s priorities, needs, demands, requirements and appeals are not taken into consideration before setting out to move, it is hard to imagine what this whole effort is for!
- Add as many carousel posts as you can
Studies on Instagram’s engagement patterns have found that carousel posts provide significantly higher engagement. With carousel posts, you can show a product and its multiple aspects, which will help then be familiarised with the product.
- Post Stories!
What better way to keep reminding the viewers about your presence and show up on their feeds than by adding really catchy and engaging stories! Using various features on Instagram stories where you can get the users’ feedback, reviews, and suggestions all while entertaining them would be a very smart move, not going to lie!
- Keep track of your engagement
Instead of blindly following the trends, it is always advisable to check which posts have gained maximum as well as the least traction. Promoting the post that people have most engaged with is always a smart idea. Losing track of your engagement on social media would be just as bad as losing track of your accounts while planning finances!
Here is a free template for your use!
The abovementioned tips are tried and tested methods of strategizing marketing on Instagram.
However, there is no textbook rule that these are the only ways you can plan social media marketing. One can always play with the algorithms and is creatively free to explore as much as they can and want to!
