Probably the most significant marketing tip that will work for you on Instagram is actually very vague and generic – but once you figure it out for your brand, you will succeed admirably. The secret of Instagram success is to post the right content for the right audience at the right time on the right days. Get that right, and you will be an Instagram superstar.

1. Change Your Instagram Account to a Business Profile

Obviously, if you are a business, it should be an easy decision to turn your Instagram account into a business profile. However, any serious Instagrammer should have a business profile, whether they consider themselves a business or not.

This may seem counter-intuitive, with some people claiming that the Instagram algorithm favors personal profiles over business ones, but it is crucial. Most serious Instagram management tools are limited to business profiles.

The benefits we see are:

• Access to Instagram Insights
• Ability to add a Contact button
• Your industry will show on your profile
• Able to advertise on Instagram and make Promoted Posts
• Ability to add links to Instagram Stories

The first and last benefits are vital to Instagram success, particularly if you wish to use the platform for marketing purposes. And of course, you can’t advertise on Instagram if you remain as a personal profile.

2. Use Instagram Insights as a Serious Tool

As its name indicates, Instagram Insights provides a highly useful insight into the operations of your account. Instagram Insights allows you to view a plethora of statistics about your account, including vital stats such as impressions and engagement data.

It shows you a detailed demographics of your followers, which will help you determine whether you have promoted your Instagram account to the right kinds of people, i.e., the same types of people as your target customers (or whomever else you target in any marketing goals).

Instagram Insights also gives you data for each post you make. It shows you any impressions and engagement. It also highlights your top posts over a period, which can give you ideas on how to replicate their success.

There are also many other Instagram analytics tools available to meet your needs. Some are free, although most others require a subscription.‍

3. Create Instagram Stories

Although Snap Chat was the first social network to feature stories, Instagram has found the most success with the concept. Instagram Stories are an excellent way for brands to tell more of their story than any album of individual photos on Instagram can. They offer great flexibility, as a brand can tell its own story, pay influencers to do so, or create an Instagram Stories sponsored ad. Instagram Stories allows a brand to tell its story using a combination of pictures and videos. They feature at the top of Instagrammer's feeds, so don’t get lost by the Instagram algorithm. And they disappear after 24 hours, so you don’t have to worry about outdated information turning up in online searches. Best of all, they’re the one pale on Instagram where you can include a clickable link.

Although your stories “disappear” you can save them on any of your devices and reuse them for future promotions.‍

4. Post at the Right Times on the Best Days

Although logic may suggest that the more you post on Instagram, the more success you are likely to have, data doesn’t support that view. You can annoy people if you overpost on Instagram. There is little point making a post if it doesn’t provide benefit to anybody.

CoSchedule analyzed the research and discovered that the best times for B2C firms to post on Instagram were 8am, 1pm, and 9pm. Their B2B analysis was similar, but their best times were 12-1pm, 5-6pm, and 8-9pm. They found that Friday was the best day to post.

Importantly, they also found that most brands should stick to a single post per day on Instagram, consistently using a single filter.

5. Encourage Your Fans to Create User-Generated Content

If you’re stuck for ideas for content on your Instagram account, you can encourage your users to create material for you. User-Generated Content (UGC) has increased in popularity phenomenally over the last couple of years.

If you create a suitable custom hashtag, you could encourage your followers to upload relevant photos using that hashtag, and then you can regram the posts to the rest of your followers.

Your followers will often be happy to create content for you if you promise to tag them in your regrams.

Some brands, such as GoPro, even make a competition out of user-generated content.

Of course, when you choose posts to regram make sure that they fit the style and tone of your Instagram account. Don’t just regram every mention of your business or use of your custom hashtag.

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Use these tips to become an Instagram pro for your practice. Want more social media help? Reach out to us today and we'll take your social media to a completely new level.

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