Instagram Best Practices You Should be Following in 2020
Every year, it seems there is a new way to engage users on the ever changing landscape of social media. One of those changing landscapes is Instagram, a favorite social media platform of our’s to showcase your brand authority, personality, and build a community of engaged users.
These are the 10 best practices that are the key to improving your Instagram’s results in 2020.
1. Establish a business profile
Establishing a business profile on Instagram is a crucial first step. You’ll be able to build your brand image, following, and sales funnel in ways a personal profile won’t allow.
Brand accounts can:
Include convenient call-to-action buttons, which visitors and followers can tap to make contact or do business with you.
Earn a verification badge from Instagram certifying your authenticity.
Access real-time data you need to understand how well your organic content is working for you.
Launch and track ad campaigns.
2. Spruce up your Instagram bio
In 150 characters or less in tandem with your photo or logo, you need to capture your brand’s identity to users. Who you are. What you offer. Why you’re different. In 150 characters or less in tandem with your photo or logo, you need to portray your brand’s identity to users. It can be a simple bio that conveys big ideas or can be used to drive traffic to a specific call to action, especially useful when paired with a link in your bio.
And, a great way to build your brand’s trust is to gain a verified badge. We recommend applying for Instagram verification.
3. Make it easy to do business with you
Do you sell goods? Make shoppable content a must in your Instagram strategy. Although checkout is still in beta testing in the U.S., you can tag products in photos, videos and stories for more exposure.
A restaurant or service related industry? Take full advantage of the action button on your business profile which allows users to reserve a table, buy tickets or book an appointment all within the app platform.
4. Get creative by mixing it up
Always shake up your content with new images, experimenting with various media and editing tools. Here are some of our favorite ways to mix things up:
Experiment with visual effects by using filters. Play around with the look and feel until you find the perfect fit. Add stickers, templates and GIFs to your story features.
Shake up your content with different mediums. Try videos, take followers behind the scenes, offering step-by-step tutorials, ask followers to submit questions and get feedback.
Video is key! Take advantage of the latest video features. When you upload a new IGTV video, the first 15 seconds will be visible on your feed. For longer videos, you can post a 60-second preview in your feed along with an invite to watch the entire video. If your video is part of a series, viewers can tap on the name of the series to watch other episodes.
5. Rock Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories feature photos or short video loops that followers can view at the top of their app for 24 hours. Stories might contain text, links, and even GIFs.
The new stories layout feature offers five new layout options with multiple frames. And of course, there are plenty of great stories apps for iOS and Android. Experiement with filters, drawaing tools, Boomerand and Hyperlapse.
With Stories, you can:
Drive traffic to a new Instagram post or product page
Use the “Ask me anything” feature to invite questions and share your responses
Conduct a poll to create buzz around a new product or brand development
You can also include Story Highlights (which don’t expire) on your profile page. This is a great way to invite visitors to get to know your brand.
6. Set reasonable goals
To drive results over time, you’ll need to set S.M.A.R.T. goals (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely) and determine how you’ll measure success.
7. Create a content calendar
Life is more manageable when you have a calendar right? So, why would your social media be run any other way. While, spontaneous posts are fine when opportunity strikes, be disciplined in organizing posts and scheduling them in advance.
Here are some of our favorite things to consider when creating a calendar:
Have fun with national holidays or themes. They can be seasonal, reflect current events or trends, or play on your target audience’s lifestyle and/or values.
Choose the right formats - stories, multiple images, video or collage. Post the type that delivers your intended message the best.
Write the captions ahead of time. You should always be ready to post, even if your publishing schedule gets thrown.
Timing is everything! Have an event or promo coming up? You’ll need to give yourself plenty of time to post for followers to see your promotions.
Make scheduling part of your to-do list. Carve out a dedicated block of Instagram time.
8. Expand your reach with hashtags and geotags
Instagram users search for and follow content using hashtags. By including relevant hashtags in your bio and your post captions, you’re exposing a lot of potential new followers to your brand and products. Plus, if you’re a brick-and-mortar business, utilize geotags to help make those local connections. These small details can gain a lot of added exposure for your brand.
9. Analyze your Insights
Your Insights page, which you can access through your profile, offers a detailed view of how your content is performing. Insights for Stories are available for up to 14 days after Stories appear. Pay attention to trends and look for outlier posts to help you fine-tune your messaging and design.
10. Turn awesome organic posts into marketing gold
If an organic post is seeing heavy engagement, it could be worth promoting. Branded content, a relatively new Instagram feature, allows you to partner with individual creators of organic branded content and promote their posts as Instagram feed or Stories ads.