Facebook and Instagram are the most popular social media platforms in the world. With billions of users, celebrities, influencers, content creators, etc., there is no reason not to sign up on these platforms and establish your presence as a budding brand. While Facebook and Instagram have their advantages, the disadvantage is that you have to deal with a ton of competition. However, you can get ahead on both platforms by using the following tips:
Sign up and create an attractive profile
This step precedes everything else that you do to market your brand. Create an account on both platforms with the same brand name to avoid creating confusion. On Instagram, switch from a personal account to business account. This way, your credibility goes up as a brand and people can contact you with ease. Also, choosing a category that suits you makes it easy to identify you at first glance.
You need to make an excellent impression on anyone who visits your profile, which means you need a high-quality profile picture with your logo in it, a comprehensible bio that tells the story, and a link to your website to drive traffic. On Facebook, you need to add a cover photo that has something to do with your business. Also, include your website link and links to your social media handles. If you have an office, include your address. You need to learn how to set up Instagram for business on your Facebook page.
Get as many followers as possible
The next obvious step is to get as many followers as you can. You can use email marketing to get your current clients to follow you. You can invite friends, family, clients, colleagues, etc. on Facebook and Instagram to follow your page. Write a compelling invitational message and ask your followers to like your page, spread the word, and share your posts. This should help increase your engagement.
Put out and optimize content
Your online success depends on the content you produce – quality and quantity. You need to post every day to keep your followers in the loop. At the same time, you cannot afford to compromise the quality of the content.
Putting up a Facebook post, video or image and a story or post every day on Instagram should do the trick. As far as content ideas go, you can put out posts on tips, advice, brand updates, product features and updates, unboxing videos, product reviews, product discounts, etc.
Be sure to optimize your content before you put it out. Consider using keywords and relevant hashtags for your (Instagram) posts. Putting out content and optimizing it is the key to success on other platforms like YouTube and Patreon as well. To optimize your content on these platforms, consider looking up how to use Youtube cards on Patreon.
Get your audience to participate
Engaging your audience online is crucial. You can put out a post every once in a while, asking them how they are doing. You can hold polls and quizzes on Instagram and Facebook and get them to vote. You can answer questions, reply to comments, ask for feedback, get them to tune in for your live sessions, etc. However, make sure you give them a Call-to-Action (CTA).
Use captions
If you are posting images and videos, consider supplementing them with relevant captions that give the viewer an explanation. Your viewers need context to understand your message, which is critical if you want them to stay on your channel. The more value they get out of your posts, the higher their chances of staying on your page.
On Instagram, use hashtags. Use hashtags relevant to your field in every post. Users who follow these hashtags, your target audience, will find your page. If you are launching a product, you can create a separate hashtag and get people to use the same.
Instagram stories are useful
Do not underestimate the value of Instagram stories. Posting tons of content on your feed is not the best thing to do. Instead, put out one or two posts on your feed and post everything on Instagram stories. This way, you can avoid spamming your followers, while at the same time take creative risks since stories stay for 24 hours.
Users are more likely to check your stories than your posts. If you want to save your Instagram stories, save them under highlights and name it. Anyone who wants to view them on your profile can do so.
Hold and promote events from time to time
Conducting events ties into connecting with your audience. Organizing events and promoting them is an excellent way to create hype and interest in your brand and content. Your event could be a webinar, product launch, live session, quiz, or anything else that you plan on doing to further your brand.
Be sure to promote it a few weeks in advance and get your followers to do the same. Also, you need to find out how this is going to benefit your followers. Be sure to mention this and include an incentive or two to get your followers to attend the event. You can send them links to your free ebook, bonus footage, consultation call, discount on your products and services, and so on.
Use Target Advertising
Targeted advertising works well on both platforms. Figure out your niche and target audience based on parameters like age, location, profession etc. and run ads. However, keep in mind that the content itself has to be excellent for your targeted ads to make an impact. Targeted ads are excellent because they expose your brand to a target audience you probably do not know even exists.
Conclusion
There you have it – easy steps to break new ground on Instagram and Facebook (and other platforms). Be sure to create valuable content and optimize it consistently to get the results you want.