There are more than 33 Million Instagram users in India. The number is increasing day by day as many youngsters are preferring Instagram these days to share their photos and videos. More than 85 percent of Instagram users in India are younger than 45 years of age. So if your targeting young audience on your social media campaign Instagram is the perfect platform for you.
About Instagram:
Instagram was launched in 2010 only for iPhone users. It eventually gets acquired by Facebook in 2012. Instagram introduces features such as videos, direct messaging, and advertising, and grows to over 400 million users. Instagram started insta-stories in August 2016, with Live Stories later added in November 2016.
In December 2016 Instagram announced that it has over 600 million monthly active users worldwide. In Feb 2017 Instagram launches a feature allowing users to post multiple photos in one post, in a slideshow-like fashion.
Check out how these Instagram features can work for your business.
#1 HyperLink your Story Post:
Instagram Stories now allows users to include links right in their stories. You must have a business profile and 10,000 followers. Here’s how to add a link to your story:
- Tap on the link icon found in the top side of your story
- Paste your link
How can you maximize the link in profile for your business? Think strategic. Don’t just link to your website’s homepage. If you’re talking about a specific product or service, go ahead and include that link. If your followers have to click around to find what you’re looking for, you’ll probably lose their attention.
#2 Expand your reach with #hashtags:
Use hashtags to expand your reach. These can be campaign specific or general – all that’s important is that they are relevant. Make sure to also set up your main company hashtag (#yourbrandname), and use it sparingly across Instagram (Twitter is good too). This makes it easier for people to find content related to you as well as your main account.
It’s best practice to use between three to five hashtags, despite the fact that the maximum you can add is 30 per Instagram post. Use your own, campaign specific hashtags as well as the more popular hashtags to increase the discoverability of your content. For example, try adding hashtags like #instagood (used is 300 million posts), or #tbt (Throwback Thursday), and don’t forget about industry-specific ones. If you are in IT, the hashtag #IT or #tech will do just fine. Also, consider how you add hashtags, these can be added at the end of the post, in a comment or worked into the actual post,
#3 Collaborate and mention others:
Instagram is one of the strongest social media channels for highlighting collaborators and sharing customer success stories. Even if you don’t officially partner with a non-profit organization, you can give to charity or do a fundraiser a couple of times a year. It’s all good as long as the cause aligns with your brand values and mission. Take into account that not everyone is monitoring hashtags on social media, so tagging an account is usually a better choice if you want to get noticed.
