A-List Tips for Marketing your Business on Instagram by @StephanieDMedia

by Stephanie Donegan

Instagram? Really? Yep! And if you think it is just a silly platform to post pictures for your friends to see, think again. Instagram is way more than that. In the last 8 months, I personally have made a mini fortune marketing my products and services on Instagram. Yes, I’m essentially only posting pictures but there is a method to the madness that can drive traffic to your website in droves and get you on the A-list with your loyal followers!

• A-List Tip 1: Allow your pictures to tell a story. Story telling is essential in business. Your customers and clients want to know the story behind your brand, how you got started and day to day life behind the scenes. Ensure that the pictures you post tell a story. Post pictures of products being made, customers shopping in your store, or even packages being packed to be shipped. As a marketing coach, I essentially sell a lifestyle. I often post pictures of meals that my chef has created or luxury vacations. I’m selling a lifestyle therefore I post pictures of the lifestyle that is possible.

• A-List Tip 2: Use hashtags. Hash tagging became wildly popular on twitter but it works just as well, if not better on Instagram. It allows your ideal customer or client to find you when they may not have known that they were looking for you. It’s your job as the business owner to put your brand in the sight of the customer and hash tagging is one of the best ways to do that. Choose hashtags that fit with your brand. I often use the hashtags #marketing #business and #businesscoach. This method has increased my engagement tremendously.

• A-List Tip 3: Actually post pictures. This seems obvious but with apps such as InstaText, the amount of text posts we have seen has gone up. Your ideal customer and client is on Instagram to see pictures. It’s a photo viewing app and that is what your customer expect to see. Leave text posts to a minimum.

• A-List Tip 4: Reply to your comments. This is a pet peeve of mine and will drive customers away in a blink. I’ve seen brands ignore customer’s comments more often than I’d like to mention often times at the loss of sales. People buy from those that they know, like and trust and if you aren’t engaging with them, you aren’t building the trust. In order to build engagement and increase sales, you must be a likeable brand that engages with your fans.

Seems simple doesn’t it? Well, to some degree it is. It only takes a clear thought out strategy and consistency. If you follow these 4 A-List Tips, you will see the traffic on your website spike and sales increase in absolutely no time.

Photo Credit: 3amfromkyoto via Compfight cc

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Stephanie Donegan is a best-selling author, marketing coach and Instagram expert helping women worldwide gain the time, financial and lifestyle freedom that they desire. Visit www.StephanieDonegan.com to get your copy of the free training Video Marketing on Instagram.

Melissa Stewart

Melissa Stewart is the founder of SheOwnsIt.com. She is a Purveyor of Possibility, Entrepreneur Advocate and Coffee Addict. She believes that behind every successful woman is her story. What’s your story?