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Starting A Local Business In A Small Town? Here’s Why Instagram Needs To Be A Part Of Your Growth Strategy

The social media site, Instagram, currently has over a billion users worldwide and has become the most popular platform among youngsters, adults, and businesses.

Although Instagram started as a photo-sharing service, in recent years, several companies have begun marketing their products and services through Instagram.

6 Reasons To Make Instagram A Part of Your Marketing Scheme

1. Instagram Promotes Visual Content

There are many modes of conveying a message: through text, sound, or visuals. As you can guess, visual content is what generates the highest number of views on any platform on the internet, and Instagram is no different.

When you want to draw attention to a small business, you need to ensure that the content people see automatically registers in their minds. Instagram stories are the most effective means of communicating a catchy message.

These 15-second posts can consist of photo slideshows or small video clips that appear at the top of the newsfeed that users can view without scrolling down. So, by compressing your message to 15-45 seconds, you have the perfect opportunity to grab the viewers’ attention.

2. You Can Engage With the Community

The difference between marketing on Instagram (or any social media platform) and a website or TV is that the former gives you a chance to interact with the target audience directly.

When you launch a new local business, your best shot at establishing a brand name is to connect with the people and convince them why your products or services excel.

Whenever you post content on Instagram – be it stories or regular posts – your followers can comment, share, or send a message to you about the content or the product.

By promptly replying to their queries and feedback, you have first-hand knowledge of the audience’s reaction to your brand image. You can also start conversations and encourage people to join in as a means of engaging your followers.

3. Instagram Posts Incorporate SEO

In today’s times, when the internet is flooded with content every second, visibility of your posts is as important as generating the quality content that goes into them. The nature of Instagram posts automatically ensures it handles the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) component of your posts as well.

The primary elements that enable SEO are hashtags and geotags. Small businesses are unlikely to have brand ambassadors or big names to endorse them, so their best bet is to have good SEO techniques.

By using these tags correctly, your customers have a better chance of finding your content online when searching for that particular topic.  Hashtags are textual elements that you add to your content, usually in captions or comments, that act as keywords relevant to your post.

Geotags are similar keywords but those which specifically mention a geographical location. When people search for the hashtags and places you have included in your post, they will see your content on Instagram.

A word of caution regarding this point: the ideal number of hashtags per post is around 10 or 11. Overusing hashtags or using words that are banned can negatively influence your post, or Instagram can even take it down.

4. You Can Track Your Progress and Outreach

In the initial stages of brand promotion, every follower or share or instance of publicity you get is valuable. So, it is crucial to precisely know what your target audience is interested in, what they search for, and what captures their attention.

This process involves enormous data collection, but luckily, Instagram does most of the work for you. Every business account on Instagram gets access to an inbuilt tool called Instagram Insights.

This feature gives you information like when your audience is most active, the keywords that are trending, and so on. Insights are free but have relatively limited features compared to some of the third-party analytics tools.

With some other similar apps, you can also monitor your followers on a daily or weekly basis and analyze their demographics. Based on the feedback the apps give you, you can curate your content accordingly to reach more customers.

This method of targeting specific customers to achieve a more significant impact is called customer-centric marketing.

5. When Customers Become Advocates

Customers might not readily get attracted to a new business, but if their friends or family recommend the same, they are likely to take notice. Thanks to the popularity of the platform, Instagram is the best place for you to showcase your customers’ testimonials and reviews.

Of course, the product’s official website would have a review section, but Instagram can enhance the outreach and viewership of what customers say. This type of Instagram verification of your brand can be quite useful when you are dealing with a new audience.

If your budget can accommodate it, you can also collaborate with Instagram influencers to promote your content. These Instagrammers have thousands of followers, and a push from their side gets you a lot of recognition.

6. Monitor What Your Competitors Do

One way to learn marketing skills in your early stages is to learn from your competitors. There is a sure chance that they have their Instagram account from which they post content and engage their target audience.

It is wrong to copy their style of content or brand promotion directly, but you can always use it as a benchmark to propel your marketing efforts. Remember to stay unique in your online campaigns: it makes you stand out and create a bond with your audience.

Small Town, One Platform, Big Impact

With users from various backgrounds and demographics, Instagram is the best place for you to start a marketing campaign for a local business.

Extravagant strategies where you flush in thousands of dollars would not be worth it for a specific group of people, but a pocket-friendly yet effective campaign through Instagram can go a long way in boosting your business revenues.

With the right strategies and targeted messages, one IG business account, and sufficient input from Instagram growth service agency, you can kickstart your business successfully.