Instagram is one of the hottest and most popular visual social media platforms, that brings a more human approach to your online business and website. Since pictures or images have been social surfers’ favorite and drive most engagement throughout the web, the success of Instagram and other such picture-based social networking sites like Pinterest, come as no surprise.
Related: Driving Traffic with Pinterest
According to a recent study by L2 Think Tank, Instagram offers your brand 25 percent more engagement than other social media networks. It has achieved a 900 percent year by year growth since its launch in October 2010 and now has over 150 million registered users. With such immense popularity and ever-increasing fan base, there’s no surprise to why people tout the value of Instagram in marketing. Built on a native mobile-platform, Instagram gives your brand the perfect balance between visual dominance and mobile web for your social media marketing goals. Here are a few ways in which Instagram, can help drive traffic to your business and website:
Using Hashtags
Instagram uses hashtags to organize images and short video clips. Hashtags make searching for images easier and better, and must be used intelligently to link up to your purpose. The better your hashtags, the better the chances of your image getting discovered by users. Some hashtags are more popular than the others but it is recommended to choose hashtags that suit your brand image.
You can also research for popular hashtags and use them in your posts to reach a wider audience. But make sure to target the correct audience for your business as well. Also, be aware that more than required number of hashtags can be a big turn-off and such an image can be interpreted as spam by the users. Some typical hashtags that gain popularity often are : #picoftheday, #instadaily, #follow.
Linking freely to your brand website/blog
Since sharing a blog post or link is not as easy as sharing a picture on Instagram, make sure that you insert good pictures on your blog and then connect with your Instagram followers. Big brands have started the trend of posting banners and links to boost their brand identity using Instagram. Also, learning to add Instagram badges to your profile will definitely help you connect your website to Instagram easily.
The only click-able link that you can place in your Instagram profile is in your bio section. Take advantage of this space and put your website’s address there. Or if you are running a contest, link its website directly. Also, you can change the link often to anything more suitable later. Remember, Google Analytics tracks this traffic as direct traffic and not referred traffic. Because of this, you will not be able to know how much traffic you’re actually generating by your Instagram link. But as an alternative, you can use link shortening tools like the one that Google offers to shorten your web link and then get a count on the number of clicks made.
Running campaigns and contests
Running a campaign or starting a contest are the best ways to get your customers involved with your business or brand. A determining factor while increasing your followers on Instagram is how well you manage your brand contests and campaigns. An amazing brand contest on Instagram should have the following elements:
- Right incentive by giving people what they wish for.
- Pick unique and relevant hashtags.
- Select a theme for your brand’s focus.
- Involve users and post their submissions through your profile.
There are plenty of handy tools to manage contests and campaigns on Instagram like Candid, Statigram and Olapic.
Stimulating curiosity
Instagram can help you build brand anticipation and product awareness. Also, through structured and intelligent content selection, you can pique a positive curiosity amongst your followers. Here are a few ways to stimulate customer curiosity towards your business/brand:
- Post preview pictures and sneak peaks that will attract traffic to your website.
- Post product previews and release dates to hike product anticipation.
- The recent addition of ad features to Instagram will also allow you to post advertisements to drive more traffic and engagement.
Share and advertise – creatively
Other than just plain pictures, Instagram provides you an opportunity to share your website in creative and real-world ways.
You can add user-generated Instagram photos to your website. This way, the customers feel connected to your brand and it will certainly fetch more traffic to your website. Involving your customers in your brand campaigns will generate more faith for your brand.
At the end of the day, Instagram is all about using the relevant ways to engage more people and share fascinating images that grab your follower’s attention. While using Instagram, remember, that it is not just about getting higher number of visitors. The end goal is to reach closer to your audience and make them like what your website offers.
Topics: Social Media Marketing
Instagram is one of the hottest and most popular visual social media platforms, that brings a more human approach to your online business and website. Since pictures or images have been social surfers’ favorite and drive most engagement throughout the web, the success of Instagram and other such picture-based social networking sites like Pinterest, come as no surprise.
Related: Driving Traffic with Pinterest
According to a recent study by L2 Think Tank, Instagram offers your brand 25 percent more engagement than other social media networks. It has achieved a 900 percent year by year growth since its launch in October 2010 and now has over 150 million registered users. With such immense popularity and ever-increasing fan base, there’s no surprise to why people tout the value of Instagram in marketing. Built on a native mobile-platform, Instagram gives your brand the perfect balance between visual dominance and mobile web for your social media marketing goals. Here are a few ways in which Instagram, can help drive traffic to your business and website:
Using Hashtags
Instagram uses hashtags to organize images and short video clips. Hashtags make searching for images easier and better, and must be used intelligently to link up to your purpose. The better your hashtags, the better the chances of your image getting discovered by users. Some hashtags are more popular than the others but it is recommended to choose hashtags that suit your brand image.
You can also research for popular hashtags and use them in your posts to reach a wider audience. But make sure to target the correct audience for your business as well. Also, be aware that more than required number of hashtags can be a big turn-off and such an image can be interpreted as spam by the users. Some typical hashtags that gain popularity often are : #picoftheday, #instadaily, #follow.
Linking freely to your brand website/blog
Since sharing a blog post or link is not as easy as sharing a picture on Instagram, make sure that you insert good pictures on your blog and then connect with your Instagram followers. Big brands have started the trend of posting banners and links to boost their brand identity using Instagram. Also, learning to add Instagram badges to your profile will definitely help you connect your website to Instagram easily.
The only click-able link that you can place in your Instagram profile is in your bio section. Take advantage of this space and put your website’s address there. Or if you are running a contest, link its website directly. Also, you can change the link often to anything more suitable later. Remember, Google Analytics tracks this traffic as direct traffic and not referred traffic. Because of this, you will not be able to know how much traffic you’re actually generating by your Instagram link. But as an alternative, you can use link shortening tools like the one that Google offers to shorten your web link and then get a count on the number of clicks made.
Running campaigns and contests
Running a campaign or starting a contest are the best ways to get your customers involved with your business or brand. A determining factor while increasing your followers on Instagram is how well you manage your brand contests and campaigns. An amazing brand contest on Instagram should have the following elements:
- Right incentive by giving people what they wish for.
- Pick unique and relevant hashtags.
- Select a theme for your brand’s focus.
- Involve users and post their submissions through your profile.
There are plenty of handy tools to manage contests and campaigns on Instagram like Candid, Statigram and Olapic.
Stimulating curiosity
Instagram can help you build brand anticipation and product awareness. Also, through structured and intelligent content selection, you can pique a positive curiosity amongst your followers. Here are a few ways to stimulate customer curiosity towards your business/brand:
- Post preview pictures and sneak peaks that will attract traffic to your website.
- Post product previews and release dates to hike product anticipation.
- The recent addition of ad features to Instagram will also allow you to post advertisements to drive more traffic and engagement.
Share and advertise – creatively
Other than just plain pictures, Instagram provides you an opportunity to share your website in creative and real-world ways.
You can add user-generated Instagram photos to your website. This way, the customers feel connected to your brand and it will certainly fetch more traffic to your website. Involving your customers in your brand campaigns will generate more faith for your brand.
At the end of the day, Instagram is all about using the relevant ways to engage more people and share fascinating images that grab your follower’s attention. While using Instagram, remember, that it is not just about getting higher number of visitors. The end goal is to reach closer to your audience and make them like what your website offers.
Topics: Social Media Marketing
Published on April 1, 2015
About the Author: Ashley Bardonaro
