Instagram has become a vital platform for independent creators to engage with vast audiences and monetize their skills. Companies also gain from maintaining a presence on this social network, which is widely used for discovering new products.
With over two billion active users monthly, Instagram remains a preferred tool among marketers aiming to connect with potential clients. Despite the popularity of TikTok and Snapchat among the younger Gen Z demographic, forecasts suggest Instagram will expand its reach within this group by 2025.
Looking to enhance your business or personal brand? Utilize Instagram's tools for businesses and creators to tap into audience insights and other functionalities that aid in expanding your follower base and driving sales. This comprehensive guide outlines steps to craft a successful Instagram marketing strategy, complete with tips to maximize benefits from the platform.
What is Instagram marketing?
Instagram marketing involves leveraging the social media site to boost a business or personal brand, aiming to increase follower count, drive traffic to a website, enhance brand recognition, or generate sales.
How is Instagram used for marketing?Like other social media marketing practices, Instagram provides a visual arena where brands, businesses, and creators can engage with users. It includes options such as Instagram Ads, sponsored posts, partnerships, and organic marketing through Instagram Stories, Reels, and regular posts.
Why use Instagram for marketing - ideas?
Over half of Instagram’s users are between the ages of 18 and 34, making it a crucial channel for engaging with Gen Z and millennial demographics. The platform is also becoming more popular with Gen Alpha, particularly as teens increase their usage, even with TikTok’s growth.
When promoting your business on social media, target platforms where your audience already spends their time. If your potential customers frequently use Instagram to explore products and brands, marketing on Instagram can effectively transform them into paying customers.
With the right approach, Instagram marketing can foster trust and loyalty among potential customers and help you grow your audience. Instagram users generally don't come to the platform for ads; instead, they seek meaningful connections with brands and prefer content that is entertaining, creative, and informative. This is advantageous for businesses with a compelling brand story or unique perspective.
Indeed, Instagram marketing yields significant results. Marketers have noted that Instagram offers a substantial return on investment compared to other social platforms.
Tips for creating an Instagram marketing strategy
Within these tips, you'll discover examples of brands effectively using these strategies to reach their target audience and boost their business. Let these examples of Instagram Stories, Reels, and posts inspire your own Instagram strategy.
Define and understand your audience
Identifying your audience is a critical component of your overall branding and marketing efforts, but it's important to focus specifically on the segment that uses Instagram. What distinguishes this segment? What kind of content do they engage with?
For instance, 50.3% of Gen Z social media users indicate they use Instagram for product discovery. Therefore, content such as product demonstrations, customer reviews, unboxings, and exclusive product launches would be particularly appealing to this group.
The Ordinary exemplifies a brand that deeply understands its audience. From the tone of its Instagram bio to the content at the top of its grid.
Optimize your Instagram profile
Part of your Instagram marketing ideas would be to ensure your profile presents a professional image. Include a bio, avatar, and your website link to help users quickly grasp what your business offers. Incorporating keywords in your Instagram bio can enhance discoverability, and a link-in-bio tool can facilitate sharing multiple URLs, such as landing pages, campaigns, or new collections on your website.
Create an Instagram content strategy
A content strategy goes beyond merely planning content; it addresses why you're creating content, who it's for, and its objectives.
Begin by setting goals for your Instagram marketing efforts. This will assist in developing a reservoir of content ideas and campaigns to meet those goals. Then, lay out your content on an editorial calendar, considering major events, holidays, and shopping seasons relevant to your business. Allow flexibility in your plan to adapt to trends, memes, and global events as they occur. Take Bogner, for example. Its Instagram profile provides all essential information about the brand at a glance and the images are professional shots form the slopes.
💡Tip: Track your performance regularly and let the data guide your strategy as you progress.
Post Instagram Reels
Similar to Instagram Stories, Reels are a type of Instagram post that doesn’t automatically appear on your main profile grid (though they can be added if desired). The key difference is that Reels are visible to users within the main Instagram feed, allowing you to attract views from non-followers. Reels are short-form videos and can be more informal than the polished content in your main grid.
Reels have double the reach rate of other types of Instagram content. Given this, and the popularity of short-form video content on platforms like YouTube and TikTok, Reels should be a fundamental part of your Instagram marketing strategy. Reels can also be organized into series, a useful feature that groups similar content for easier discovery.
Publish Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories are another type of post that can elevate your brand's visibility to users. Stories appear at the top of a mobile Instagram feed and are generally used for timely content, given their "disappearing" nature after 24 hours unless saved to Highlights (more on that later).
Since Instagram Stories are more personal—they're shown only to followers—this is an excellent opportunity to keep loyal customers and new followers engaged. Use Instagram Stories to offer exclusive promo codes or announce follower-only access to new collections.
Share your values
Trends indicate the growing importance of social and environmental responsibility among brands, particularly with younger generations who are increasingly aware of social and political issues—and they expect the same from the brands they support. To meet customers where they are, be transparent about your brand values.
Instagram is an ideal platform to share your brand's stance on issues and to be open about your sustainable business practices. Use Instagram Stories and Reels to convey your story, or use your profile to share a charity link.
Turn Instagram Stories into Highlights
Your best Instagram Stories can be preserved on your profile when you organize them into Story Highlights. These are collections of Stories that you can categorize by type, product, season, or purpose.
Develop a user-generated content strategy
User-generated content (UGC) is a powerful tool for earning social proof for your brand. Even better than telling users about your great product are real customer testimonials backing up your claims. Encourage your loyal customers to post about your brand and incentivize this action with a discount or perk.
Collect Instagram UGC and use it on your website. Testimonials, photos, and videos of real customers using your products can strengthen your product pages by giving new customers purchase confidence. You can also re-post UGC to your Instagram account using Instagram Stories and collecting them all in one Story Highlight. Access this article you want to learn more about crafting other types of UGC, including UGC TikTok video.
Run an Instagram contest or giveaway
One effective Instagram marketing strategy is running a contest or giveaway. These types of campaigns incentivize engagement and sharing, giving your brand more reach and brand awareness for a low cost (the value of the prize).
A few common examples of Instagram marketing contests include:
- Like and follow for entry. Ask Instagram users to follow your Instagram account or like specific Instagram posts for entries in a giveaway.
- User-generated content. Ask customers to create content like a review or unboxing and tag using a branded hashtag. Choose a winner from the entries. This has the added bonus of creating testimonials you can share on social media.
- Collaboration giveaway. Partner with a compatible brand to create a co-branded giveaway package. Both brands benefit from the promotion to wider audiences.
Instagram contest rules
There are a number of rules to follow (and ask your entrants to follow) when you set up a contest or giveaway on Instagram. Instagram has its own set of rules and guidelines, which includes setting your own eligibility requirements, tagging content accurately, and asking users to agree to an Instagram release.
Note that in addition to rules set by the social media platform, each country and region (e.g., states and provinces) will have other rules that govern contests.
Use marketing automation
Instagram automation is often used to describe tools that automatically like, follow, and comment on behalf of your account. These are generally not recommended, as they can look spammy, get your account suspended, or lead to a PR nightmare (e.g., liking problematic content).
However, there are several legitimate marketing automation tools to help with other Instagram marketing tasks, including scheduling, publishing, and report generation. These tools can save you time so you can focus on creating great content and engaging with your community.
Work with Instagram influencers
According to one study, 87% of participants reported buying products based on an influencer recommendation. Influencer endorsements not only increase a brand’s reach on Instagram, they also send trust signals to users. You can also create influencer content using Instagram’s “Paid partnership” tag. This way, your brand shows up at the top of the influencer’s post.
💡 Tip: Find influencers who are a good fit for your brand, as they are more likely to work with you and have genuine enthusiasm for your products.
Try Instagram ads
While there are many ways to reach audiences and meet goals through organic Instagram marketing, paid Instagram Ads can offer more reach and better targeting. Boost an influencer marketing campaign, promote a sale, or use ads when you’re trying to reach new markets. Ads appear in Instagram timelines just like user generated photos and videos.
The best ads understand the Instagram audience and blend seamlessly with other content. But straightforward ads can also be effective if the value is high for a potential customer (e.g., a Black Friday sale).
Use Instagram hashtags
While the Instagram algorithm can be a mystery, you can get more reach for your content if you’re using the right Instagram hashtags. Hashtags can be placed in Instagram captions, comments, and even your bio. Use the Instagram hashtag sticker in Reels and Stories, too. When people click on or search a hashtag, your content could appear in those results.
6 types of Instagram hashtags
- Branded hashtags. Creating a successful branded hashtag relies on using it consistently and incentivizing its use by Instagram followers.General appeal hashtags. There are certain hashtags that are popular among large, diverse audiences. These can generate more reach, but they do tend to be saturated
- Niche-specific hashtags. Each industry will have phrases and keywords that are relevant only to their Instagram target audience. Though they may have less search volume, these are arguably more beneficial, because they drive relevant views.
- Timely hashtags. Current events and seasonal holidays can also make great hashtags, especially when you use them for shopping holidays like Valentine’s Day or Christmas.
- Trending hashtags. These are another version of timely hashtags, where brands jump on a meme or Instagram trend to create content that’s funny, culturally relevant, and widely searched by users.
- Contest hashtags. These are often used to identify contest entries for photo-submission contests and to generate awareness of the contest. Contest hashtags are a great way to gather user generated content.Hashtag best practicesThe trendiest or most used Instagram hashtags aren’t necessarily the best ones for your content.
Look for and use hashtags that meet all the following criteria:
- They are relevant to your brand and content.
- If you run a cosmetics brand, #halloweenmakeupideas, a trending hashtag in October, is a good bet. Not so much if you own a pet company.
- They have usage and search volume on Instagram.
- This means people are actually searching for these terms. A niche branded hashtag won’t help you unless you create a campaign and incentivize its use.
- They’re timely. Aside from evergreen hashtags, there are topics that crop up on Instagram based on seasons, cultural moments, or world events.
- Follow trends and add your perspective to the conversation if it makes sense for your brand. Hashtags like #christmasshopping, #homewaregifts, and #giftsforher are also timely and related to trending searches for the holiday season.
Create community (and engage with it)
Instagram marketing doesn’t involve posting content and forgetting about it. To have success on Instagram, it’s important to follow up, be engaged, and consider the platform a two-way communications tool. One survey found that marketers preferred Instagram over other social media platforms for community building.
A few ways to build community include:
- Liking, commenting on, and sharing content from complementary brands and influencers
- Using Reels and Stories to answer community questions
- Responding to comments on brand contentInviting fans into your process by sharing behind-the-scenes videosRunning polls or creating other interactive content
Post consistently
Be sure your content calendar and plan has enough coverage to keep content fresh and users engaged. Test the frequency and schedule of your posts to find the sweet spot between too much and not enough content.
User-generated content is a great way to keep your grid fresh. It also serves as social proof, with real people endorsing your products, and shows your loyal customers some appreciation.
Work with Instagram affiliates
Affiliate marketing refers to working with influencers, publishers, and marketers to get wider exposure for your brand and products. The affiliate model provides compensation for affiliates when their followers make a purchase using a unique link or promo code. This is a common tactic in Instagram marketing, due to the power of reviews from trusted influencers.
Links can be placed in Instagram Stories and Reels as well as in the profile link. Many affiliates promote several brands and use a link-in-bio tool to manage their affiliate links. Commonly (and due to legal reasons), affiliates will use an Instagram hashtag like #ambassador, #affiliate, or #partner to announce the partnership.
Monitor and adjust your Instagram marketing strategy
As you implement these strategies, the first few months will require a lot of trial and error. But as insights start rolling in, you’ll need to closely monitor the performance of your efforts. Instagram insights can tell you which posts resonate most (based on engagement and other metrics) so you can focus on those content types.
Don’t forget about support
Part of a great Instagram marketing idea and strategy is to acknowledge that consumers will use Instagram as a customer service channel. This means that even if you hadn’t intended it, your Instagram comments and DMs can fill with customer questions and complaints. Your social media strategy should account for this, with guidelines on how to handle customer service on the platform.
How to set up an Instagram Business Account
Before you learn how to market on Instagram, you’ll need to set up an Instagram business profile. This is an Instagram account type designed for brands and creators looking to take advantage of marketing on Instagram.
The Instagram business account unlocks features that make it easier for your business to market on the platform. And, according to Instagram, 90% of its users follow at least one business on the social media app. A business profile signals to customers that you’re a legitimate brand worth following.
Creating an Instagram business account
Instagram now offers two types of accounts for businesses: the standard business account, and its newer creator account. Both offer many similar features for brands, with slight differences. These two account types will be covered in this section.
Switching to an Instagram business accountInstagram business accounts offer advanced insights, contact info on profile, and commerce tools to sell on Instagram. Here are the steps to set one up for your brand:
- Head to your profile and tap the menu in the upper right corner.
- Tap “Settings and privacy,” then “Account type and tools,” and “Switch to professional account.” Pick a category that best describes your business type, then select Business.
💡 Tip: While a business account can tell Instagram users that you’re a reputable business, a blue check (Instagram’s verification badge) is another trust signal. Learn how to get verified on Instagram. Here is more about getting started with Instagram SEO for e-commerce.
Types of Instagram posts
Within these formats, there are several content types you can use to mix up your feed, jump on trends, and attract wider audiences. These include:
User-generated content
This refers to content reposted from your customers to your account.Influencer content. Work with influencers to produce content for your brand and post it to your account.
Behind-the-scenes videos
Take followers into your process by showcasing your warehouse or studio.Tutorials and DIYs. Teach your followers something to add value beyond the products you sell.
Contest posts
Run a giveaway or contest to incentivize your followers to take action.Informative content. Teach Instagram users about your product or service.
Topical and trending content
Jump on trends and add your brand’s perspective or humor. These can help increase brand awareness.Meet-and-greet posts. Introduce the founder and your staff.
Announcement posts
Announce new products on Instagram and give followers the first glimpse.Deals and discount content. Offer exclusive deals to followers to thank them for their loyalty. Use Instagram Stories for time-limited deals.Ahead, learn more about these types of eye-catching posts and how you can use them to develop a winning Instagram strategy for your business.
Marketing on Instagram
Instagram analytics tools for marketers
One of the most critical pieces in your Instagram marketing strategy is tracking. Understanding the performance of your campaigns, posts, and ads helps you invest where you see ROI and pivot when you don’t. Your digital marketing efforts are wasted if you’re not paying attention to analytics.
There are a number of marketing tools to help you track your Instagram engagement, get insights on target audience behavior, and assess the success of your campaigns. Here are a few to consider. These include Instagram’s own and third-party social media tools.
Instagram Insights
Instagram Insights is a free feature built right inside Instagram’s platform. When you create an Instagram account for business, you will get access to this suite of tools. From the settings menu, access Instagram Insights to get data about:
Accounts reached. This is the number of unique Instagram accounts that have seen your content at least once in a specified time period, as well as the demographic information of those accounts.
Accounts engaged. This refers to the number of unique accounts that have interacted with your content. It also breaks this information down by demographic.Instagram profile activity. This tells you how many people have visited your Instagram profile and how they’ve engaged with it (e.g., did they click on the Email or Shop buttons?).
Total followers. This insight measures trends across your follower count, including how many followers you’ve added or lost over a given period.Content insights. Explore the stats for each of your Instagram posts, including impressions, likes, comments, shares, and saves.
Start marketing on Instagram today
Instagram marketing is a worthwhile endeavor, especially for businesses looking to reach millennial and Gen Z consumers. It offers brands the opportunity to tell their story, bring potential customers behind the scenes, and launch promos in real time.
You don’t need a million followers to unlock the potential of marketing on Instagram. Even if you’re working with no budget, Instagram still gives you the opportunity to grow your business. A solid strategy that puts your target audience first can drive real results for your brand.
Tracking Instagram Marketing results with Admetrics
Admetrics offers a robust suite of tools that can supercharge Instagram marketing efforts by providing deep insights and precise data tracking. Here’s how you can leverage Admetrics to enhance your Instagram campaigns:
Key Features of Admetrics for Instagram Marketing
Advanced Tracking and Attribution: Admetrics allows you to capture all customer touchpoints and provides multi-touch attribution models. This helps in understanding the full customer journey from initial contact to final sale, showing which Instagram ads are performing best and how they contribute to the conversion path.
Customizable Dashboards: With Admetrics, you can create fully customizable dashboards that integrate data from Instagram alongside other marketing channels. This feature enables you to have a unified view of your marketing efforts and compare performance across different platforms easily.
Real-Time Data and Reporting: Admetrics offers intraday, near real-time data updates, allowing you to see how your Instagram campaigns are performing and make timely adjustments to optimize for better results.
CLV Metrics: Admetrics provides Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) analytics, which help you understand the long-term value of customers acquired through Instagram. By analyzing metrics like CLV snapshots at various intervals (e.g., 7, 30, 60, 90 days) and the CLV to Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) ratio, you can gauge the profitability and efficiency of your Instagram campaigns.
Important KPIs to Track with Admetrics
Engagement Metrics: Track likes, comments, shares, and saves to understand how users are interacting with your posts and ads.
Reach and Impressions: Measure how many people see your ads and how often, helping you to understand the breadth of your campaigns’ visibility.
Click-through Rate (CTR): This metric will indicate the percentage of people who clicked on your ad after seeing it, a direct measure of its effectiveness in driving interest.
Conversion Rates: Track how many of those clicks lead to actual sales or desired actions on your website, which is crucial for ROI analysis.
Cost Per Action (CPA): Monitor how much you spend to achieve an action like a sale or a sign-up, which helps in budgeting and financial planning for future campaigns.
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): Integrated with CLV, you can determine the overall cost of acquiring a new customer via Instagram and assess if the investment is profitable.
Want to explore Admetrics insights for your Instagram marketing efforts? Get started now.
Instagram marketing FAQ
What is Instagram marketing?
Instagram marketing is the practice of promoting a business, brand, product, service, or personal brand on the social media network. It includes both organic marketing tactics and paid ads and sponsorships. Examples of Instagram marketing include product announcements in Instagram Stories, ads in the Instagram feed, and Instagram posts that share a brand story.
How do I start Instagram marketing?
You can start Instagram marketing by creating an account on the Instagram app and converting it to a business profile or creator account. Next, develop an Instagram strategy and content creation plan. You will use this to guide you as you post paid and organic Instagram Reels, Stories, and posts to promote your content.
How do I promote my business on Instagram?
Promoting your business on Instagram starts with an Instagram marketing strategy. Start with these steps: e are some practical tips for Instagram marketing:
- Create an Instagram business profile.
- Define your Instagram audience.
- Optimize your Instagram profile.
- Develop an Instagram content strategy.
- Post Instagram Stories, posts and Reels to promote your business.
- Try influencer marketing.
- Engage with your target audience.
- Track it all through Admetrics insights.
How do you succeed in Instagram marketing?
To effectively market on Instagram, it's advisable to implement various strategies and monitor their effectiveness. This approach helps in refining a successful Instagram marketing plan. Here are some practical tips for Instagram marketing:
- Incorporate pertinent hashtags in your Instagram captions to increase visibility.
- Collect and utilize user-generated content by promoting a branded hashtag.
- Share this user-generated content on your Instagram Stories to enhance engagement.
- Craft your Instagram bio to clearly communicate your brand's message to potential customers.
- Take advantage of Instagram’s shopping features to facilitate easy purchases.
- Plan and schedule your Instagram posts in advance to maintain a consistent presence.
- Post videos on Instagram that provide a behind-the-scenes look at your brand or business.
How much does Instagram marketing cost?
The expenses associated with Instagram marketing can vary widely, from no cost for organic strategies to significant amounts depending on your budget capacity. The pricing of Instagram Ads is determined by various factors including whether you opt for pay-per-click, per impression, or per engagement models. Additionally, costs are influenced by your target demographic, your business sector, and the specific settings you choose in Instagram’s ad manager. When engaging with influencers for marketing campaigns on Instagram, expenses can also vary broadly, starting from a few hundred dollars to potentially over a million dollars for partnerships with high-profile celebrities.
