In the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, many business owners, entrepreneurs, and self-employed professionals realized that their social media strategies were in need of a tune-up. What many of these individuals also realized is that their Instagram profiles significantly lagged behind the competitive curve, and this is a mistake they should not be making as they look forward to doing business in 2021.
The bottom line of Instagram for branding in 2021 is as follows:
* More than 500 million Instagram users check their feeds at least once a day.
* More than 800 million users check their Instagram accounts on more than two occasions per month.
* According to Sprout Social, 70% of Instagram hashtags are related to brands.
When you consider that the total number of Instagram accounts in 2020 surpassed the 853 million mark, the statistics above justify the need to explore the marketing potential of this social network. If you already have an account, here are some actions you should be taking towards building true engagement in 2021:
Learn to Take Great Instagram Photos
When you look at some of these engaging Instagram photos, you may think they were taken by a professional photographer. While it is true that brands are known to hire professionals to take pictures and create videos for their social media accounts, the reality of Instagram is that many users learn about photography on their own. Completing an online course about digital photography as it relates to Instagram can go a long way towards adding spice to your profile, thus making your brand stand out. Udemy is one learning platform where you can find Instagram photography classes.
Do Not Treat Instagram as an Echo Chamber
This is a mistake that many brands make not only on Instagram but also across all their social networks. Let’s say you operate a neighborhood bakery; if your Instagram content is limited to images of products and their prices, you will be doing your brand a disservice. On the other hand, if you take the time to follow home bakers and comment on their posts, you will come across as a sincere user of the platform. A good New Year’s resolution for 2021 would be to pay attention to your Instagram feed, follow some of the accounts of users who follow you, and make a commitment to reply to at least half of all the comments your posts generate.
Learn How to Master Instagram Hashtags
Just about all social networks make use of the hashtag feature in order to organize their vast collections of content and conversation threads, but Instagram stands out as the network that is most sensitive to hashtags. The images and videos you post on Instagram are just as important as the proper use of hashtags because this is how the content discovery algorithm works. Instead of fixating on the most popular hashtags, you should think about targeting highly relevant ones, particularly those that you can truly claim as belonging to your brand.
