It is observed that the businesses that have a digital footprint perform better overall. However, now, every other business has started using social media, especially Instagram. Therefore, when somebody new tries to promote their business, they are often met with the challenge to stand out.
Are you one of those people? Do you struggle to get traffic to your Instagram? If the answer is yes then you are at the right place. It is very easy to get lost behind the glamour and colors of Instagram. But, if you have the right knowledge, you can turn that curse to your advantage.
How to make your business stand out from your competitors on Instagram?
1. Communicate Through Pictures
Instagram is all about graphics. Here, people join to see pictures instead of reading long paragraphs. Therefore, the pictures you upload should not be random, but highlight different aspects of your business. In this area, you can get the upper hand on your competitors by having a direction when it comes to posts.
If you are a graphic designing expert then well and good. If not, hire a professional who can craft engaging and eye-catching posts that can communicate your purpose effectively. The graphic should be in a way that will make you use the least words about your product or service.
2. Tell Stories
This is the traditional way that never goes out of fashion. A story is what connects us all together. Our whole lives are a bunch of stories themselves. In this regard, whenever you post, you should have a backstory. It should be in a way that reflects what you do. For example, you can post a picture of your team member and tell a story about her. The story can be about how empowering or hard workers they are. In this way, you will be building an emotional relationship with your customers. On top of that, you will be telling them how good your customer service is or the quality of the product without mentioning these words.
3. Use hashtags
If you are not in the business of hashtags then you are using Instagram wrong. Hashtags are the best way to get original and organic traffic to your page. A person who discovers your page through a hashtag most likely will buy from you. Because they had already made up their mind of purchasing, that is why they were searching for hashtags in the first place.
The catch here is that the hashtags should be relevant to your business. If you are putting hashtags of skincare in your clothing business, you can not get conversions. Putting relevant hashtags will also make you appear in searches more than your competitors. On the other hand, you can also start a marketing campaign by incentivizing your customers to use certain hashtags.
4. Signature Colors
The color combination plays a vital role in brand imaging. Colors define the overall message that you are trying to convey. If you use bold and colorful colors that means you are an entertaining, fun, and outstanding establishment. On the contrary, if you use dark and dull colors that means you emphasize more on maturity, sophistication, and aesthetics.
The color you choose should reflect in all of your posts. It can be in the background or in the template that you use. Whenever someone visits your profile, they should observe a continuous theme. This action will make you look more organized and disciplined compared to your competitors. When your profile is pleasing to the eye, the bounce rate will drop and people will stay longer. Which in turn will help your business.
5. Increase engagement
Most of the business just makes an account and does not make any further effort. They will just post once in a while about their products and think their job is done. The reality is the opposite. To retain your customers or potential customers, it is important to constantly upload content so that they feel it is worth it to keep following you.
One of the best tools to engage more people is through Instagram stories. Upload behind-the-scenes of your work or show anything fun that happens at the workplace. By doing this, you will increase the trust of people in you because now you are not unknown to them.
Another way can be to make an IG TV series. In this series, you can tell about the future goals, hardships you faced or teach other people how to do what you are doing. Before posting a new post, you should create hype around it so that people will wait for what you are going to post next.
Last but not least, be responsive all day. Reply to queries of people about your product or service. Try to reply to as many comments as possible. These types of acts will encourage people to participate more which will increase the reach of your post.
6. Utilize Ads
Instagram ads can be the best investment you can make for your business to increase your post likes, Instagram followers, and shares. The return on investment always outweighs the cost. The reason for the success of Instagram ads is that you can target your audience. Consequently, your ads will be visible to those only whom you wish to show. Together with the feature of Instagram insights, which tells all the statistics about your followers, you can be unstoppable.
Conclusion
Only Instagram will not be able to make your business successful. Just like your Instagram profile, your product or service should also stand out. However, nobody can denounce the wonders of effective marketing that can compensate for the compromised quality. Many beginners make the mistake of copying others in order to be successful. This is the most counterproductive step that can damage their reputation.
Always keep in mind that if something works out for others it will not necessarily be better for you. You should develop your own strategy and style. The only thing that makes you stand out in the ocean of other businesses on Instagram is your individual creativity.