As one of the popular social media in Europe and the United States, Instagram is an indispensable platform for small businesses to do online marketing.
- Who is using Instagram?
- What are the operating mechanisms of Instagram?
- How can sellers use Instagram to drive traffic to small business websites?
In response to these questions, we analyzed the relevant operating strategies of Instagram. Let's take a look!
1. Analysis of Instagram audience
Users use Instagram to take photos and videos, add filters and special effects, and then share them directly online to social networks. Instagram has accumulated many loyal fans with its fast, wonderful and interesting sharing methods.
According to Sprout Social data, as of January 2023, Instagram has 2 billion active users per month worldwide, making it the fourth most commonly used social media platform.
- Mostly young users
According to Statista data, as of January 2023, more than half of Instagram users worldwide are 34 years old or younger, and about 16.9% of users are men aged 18 to 24.
Female users aged 18-34 account for 27.8%, and male users account for 33.3%. The core user group of Instagram is young people of Generation Z, who have diversified preferences and are more likely to accept new things and try new products.
If the target audience of the seller's products or brands is the Generation Z group, you can consider deploying Instagram for marketing and traffic diversion. In addition, products suitable for men can also be promoted on this platform, with precise audience groups, so that marketing can be more effective.
- High audience coverage in India, Europe and the United States
According to Statista data, as of January 2023, India has 229 million Instagram users, making it the country with the most Instagram users in the world.
Next are the United States, Brazil, Indonesia and other countries, with 143 million users, 113 million users, and 89 million users respectively, while Brunei has become the country with the highest audience coverage of Instagram.
Sellers in Europe, the United States and Southeast Asia can use the Instagram platform to divert traffic to products and brands.
- Instagram user purchasing power
Many consumers stimulate their desire and inspiration to buy when browsing Instagram. According to Instagram's internal data, 70% of shoppers will turn to the platform for their next purchase, and 62.3% of users research products and follow brands through the platform. Therefore, small businesses are very suitable for brand promotion on Instagram.
2. Instagram advertising types and algorithms
Instagram is mainly divided into 8 types of advertising: picture and text advertising, video advertising, carousel advertising, shopping advertising, creators, Reels, Story, and IGTV. Sellers can choose the appropriate advertising type based on the characteristics of their own products, create exciting content, help brands expand their popularity and influence, and increase product sales.
No matter which type of advertising is chosen, if sellers want to use Instagram to drive traffic to independent sites, in addition to analyzing user groups, they also need to understand the Instagram algorithm.
The Instagram algorithm refers to the platform's ranking of user-posted content based on its own rules. Posting pictures, videos, stories and other content on Instagram, the image, title, hashtag, engagement indicators, etc. of the post are part of the rules of the Instagram algorithm.
In short, analyze the preferences of the audience group, create content that users are interested in, and make the traffic flow more effective.
- Present attractive visual effects
Both picture ads and video ads on Instagram need to show strong visual effects, rich pictures, and appropriate color matching to attract user attention. The posts published by brands on Instagram need to have a unified style and vertical content, which is more conducive to branding and increasing exposure.
- Eye-catching advertising copy
When publishing a post, the theme and copy will be added. What brands need to pay attention to is that the copy content does not need to be too much, it should be concise and concise, and convey the main value content.
Take the fast fashion brand as an example. It recently published a summer new product post on its Instagram account. The post copy contains keywords such as summer, beach, and vacation, which clearly expresses the theme and is eye-catching. The Instagram algorithm will directly recommend the content to interested users to obtain accurate traffic conversion.
- Appropriate use of call-to-action
Call-to-action words include: "click to buy", "first come, first served", etc. The "link to the store on the homepage" in the above picture is also a call-to-action, guiding users to follow the store and buy products.
Graphics or video ads should contain clear calls to action to guide users to the next step and increase their appeal to users.
3. Instagram drives traffic to small business websites
Understanding the Instagram algorithm mechanism, brands can get traffic from Instagram in many ways, so how to use Instagram to drive traffic to independent sites?
- Find overseas influencers suitable for brands
Finding the right KOL can bring traffic and sales to the brand. The influencers on social media have a certain number of fans. Brands can choose influencers suitable for their products and influencers in precise fields. After posting product posts, they can obtain precise users for the brand and improve product conversion rates.
- Create relevant topic tags and brand tags
Instagram's hashtag function can create relevant tags to expand the exposure of posts. When posting a post, if you don't add any tags, it is easy for the post to "sink into the sea", greatly reducing the number of views. Brands can choose tags related to products or topics, or add brand tags, which can attract precise attention users, increase brand exposure and influence, and attract the attention of potential customers.
Some fashion or fashion brands will add product-related tags such as "#fashion" and "#Summer wear". After adding tags, the post will be displayed on the tag page, and users will browse it when searching for tags.
Usually, it is best to use 5-10 tags for an Instagram post, which can get the maximum exposure on the platform. Different tags can also increase interaction with users.
- Create a brand community and increase the frequency of interaction with fans
Instagram is a social media preferred by Generation Z. In addition to trying new things, they are also happy to share and interact on social media. After a brand posts on Instagram, it should update and check messages in a timely manner, actively interact with users, and interesting and lively comments can also increase the platform's promotion of posts.
In fact, real interaction and feedback can bring the most valuable optimization ideas to products. Brands can create brand communities on Instagram.
Consumers can enter the community, exchange purchase experiences with each other, and post purchase reviews in the community, which may help brands optimize products and meet user needs to the greatest extent.
Brands can display Instagram community content on the website, provide users with the most authentic reviews, and hang website links in the brand Instagram account to facilitate users to enter the brand website from Instagram to purchase.
After purchasing a product, users will share it to their Instagram account and brand community. Brands can extract user comments and feedback and post them on the official account and @ this user. Doing so can increase the enthusiasm of user feedback and evaluation, increase the interaction and viscosity between brands and consumers, and leave a good impression on the brand.
In addition, brands can also regularly post voting, lucky draws, likes and other activities on independent sites or social media platforms to give users small gifts, discount coupons and other benefits to enhance interactivity, increase the activity and stickiness between consumers and brands, and increase user enthusiasm for purchasing.
