4 Instagram hacks for small business

Social media is one of the best marketing tools a small business can use to grow their online presence. While it can sometimes be confusing with new updates and features continually being added - having a strong social media strategy can be the difference between reaching new followers and simply depending on word of mouth.

Back in 2016, Instagram changed the way images appeared on a user’s feed.  Posts were no longer coming through in reverse chronological order. The reasoning behind this was to provide a better experience for the account holder, categorising images based on user activity. 

To create a more tailored newsfeed, Instagram introduced an algorithm that collected data based on likes, saves, reacts and even shared posts to prioritise content that would be more suited and enjoyed.

This new algorithm changed how businesses scheduled their posts and how everyday users interacted with the accounts they followed. It may seem intimidating to try and make an algorithm work to your advantage but once you understand how it operates, there are some tips and tricks that can be used to ensure your Instagram presence is at its most effective.

Making the switch to a business account from a standard user account will make the biggest difference when it comes to understanding your followers.

One of the best features that a business account holds is that you will have access to Instagram Insights. This additional feature is an information dashboard that provides analytics related to your profile and posts.

With this data breakdown, you’ll be able to view how your audience engages with your content, the types of responses received and it will even generate a metric on who your followers are including information such as location, age range and gender

When switching over to a business account as well, it’s always a good idea to set up your contact details, call to action button and Instagram Shop/ link to website.

Posting frequently establishes your online activity and in turn informs your followers that you are an active business.

Whist it is important to remember that consistency is key for small businesses to grow – it should always be quality over quantity.

Posting more often may grow your reach but if your content doesn’t encourage audience participation (such as commenting) or declines in appeal, your engagement as well as following will most likely drop.

So don’t post content for the sake of meeting deadlines rather think strategically and produce a post that invites conversation.

The recommended amount of times a business account should post is between 3-4 times a week. This will allow enough time to help make a calculated decision/ planning and will not overbear your following.

Having a large number of followers may seem impressive at first but if your audience is not engaging with your business then it is essentially just a number.

Engagement is the real measurement of how successful a social media strategy is going. The engagement rate is a combination of the amount of likes, comments, shares and saves a post receives. This number is then divided by the amount of followers and then multiplied by 100. The result provides clear data on what works and what doesn’t reach as well.

One of the biggest traps that small businesses fall into is posting content that is only relating to themselves or promotions. Not every post should be an advertisement - it would be beneficial that some content encourages followers to engage.

Some examples to inspire interaction can include running competitions, asking questions and even using humour to get a reaction.

To further increase the engagement rate and build a loyal following, business accounts should also interact back with their followers. Whether that’s commenting on their post or simply liking their image, the algorithm will recognise this activity and increase viewership.

Even though the reverse chronological order has been removed from Instagram, timing is still significant when it comes to building a social media plan.

Instagram Insights will provide a chart of activity to help advise on engagement rates. This will include when followers are most active, the day and time your post receives the most engagement and will even provide time zones to consider.

A good social media strategy is a planned social media strategy. Posting at the rights times will not only increase viewership but will also maximise engagement.

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