Instagram Trends

If you haven’t noticed the algorithm changes on Instagram then I’m not sure what social media rock you’ve been hiding under, because across the board, engagement levels are down.

Whether you’ve got millions, thousands or hundreds of followers, no one is immune to feeling the pinch.

Thanks to the never-ending Instagram and general algorithm changes, it can feel impossible to keep up-to-date, whether you’re a micro business owner or a large online retailer.

Follower count does not equate to more eyeballs seeing the latest post in your feed

Instagram is the new homepage

Yes, you read that right. The Instagram scheduling software Later, has some great information and tells us that when someone meets you or wants to look you up online, they’re much more likely to search for you on Instagram than scour Google for your website — a pretty fascinating piece of information…

But what does that mean for brands and businesses?

Well, if you haven’t yet adopted Instagram in a big way for your business you might be missing out on a huge portion of potential customers, especially in the e-commerce space. Changing your perspective on how you view Instagram and learning to use the platform to your advantage can materially impact your business, large or small.

Here are some quick tips to ensure you’re making the most of your Instagram account, for your business.

Hashtags

Don’t be frightened of them and use all 30. Brands are reluctant to appear spammy by over hashtagging their posts but that is exactly why the hashtag was invented — to bring like posts together and enhance the user experience.

Later.com suggests that hashtags with less than 500,000 results work best and when choosing your hashtags, be sure to keep them semi-niche and stick to themes. Basically, hashtags are best used to:

• Describe your business
• Zone in on your target market
• Outline the purpose of your account.

Instagram Stories

Many people are scared of video, but video content is key.

Harnessing the power of Instagram stories is a great way to boost engagement and connect your account or brand with new followers. Using the location tool, hashtags and tagging brands — within your stories — offers you the chance to be featured on the Instagram ‘Explore’ page and increase your reach.

Later.com has also suggested to partner with brands/influencers/Instagram accounts who have a similar audience and participate in activities, such as an Instagram story takeover. Conscious collaboration in this way allows your brand to get in front of an audience you might not have been able to touch before.

Additionally, with only a short character count available for your Instagram bio, that doesn’t mean you can’t utilise the new Instagram Story Highlights feature to showcase more information about your brand, offerings or services so people can easily digest, and get a holistic feel for, your business in just a couple of swipes.

Instagram is the new homepage

Lastly, don’t forget to plug your Instagram anywhere you can. Drop your handle into podcasts, guest blog posts, on to packaging, at events and tradeshows, wherever people are going to see or hear it.

Create an account worth following by becoming excited about the process. Get Instagramming! And follow me @naomisimson.

Also published on Medium.