Instagram Marketing
Instagram is a top-rated app, with more than 1 billion global monthly active users. Given the size of its user base, businesses have valuable opportunities on the platform to generate an audience, build a community, and drive sales. To help learn more about how to grow your business on the app and create an engaged community, the HubSpot Blog surveyed more than 1,000 marketing professionals that use the platform. Here are some of our key findings. How Marketers Grew Their Following in 2021 In 2021, marketers reported that the key to growing an account to the first 1,000 followers on Instagram was by creating shareable content with high-quality captions. Growing their following past 1,000 followers involved posting engaging Stories, engaging with users, and partnering with influencers, all of which we’ll discuss in more detail below. If you’re having trouble growing your following, or are losing followers, marketers report that this…
In 2021, Instagram reported over 500 million users viewed Stories. Since launching in 2016, the Stories feature alone has made Instagram more popular than other Story and mobile video platform competitors including Snapchat, TikTok, and its owner’s own platform: Facebook Stories. Even if you’ve already published a handful of branded Stories, you still might want to up your game by making them even more engaging. After all, Stories can provide great benefits related to audience engagement, brand awareness, and even purchase-related conversions. Despite the growing number of benefits that Instagram Stories offers brands, crafting good content still takes time, energy, and brainstorming. Even when you put your best efforts into creating a Story, you might still find that it falls flat, sees a high drop-off, or shows other signs of low engagement. As you build your social media content strategy for 2022, you might be asking yourself, “What type…
According to HubSpot Blog Research, 14% of Instagram marketers report losing followers from 2020 to 2021. If you’re a part of that 14%, you may be panicking trying to figure out what’s causing the decline. Don’t fret – we’ve got you covered. Below, we’re covering the top reasons why brands lose followers on Instagram and how to regain them. Why am I losing so many followers on Instagram? 1. You’re not posting often enough or posting too much. When we surveyed Instagram marketers, 40% said that not posting enough is the number one reason why brands lose followers. Meanwhile, 33% said posting too much can have the same impact. When it comes to posting, it’s all about striking the right balance. You want to post enough to make sure you’re reaching your target audience and not disappearing in a sea of posts. However, you don’t want to post too much…
Does anyone remember the days when all we saw on Instagram were poorly lit pictures our friends took and memes we didn’t want our parents to see on Facebook? Well, we’re long gone from then. The platform has evolved from a simple image-sharing social platform to a money-making content curation one. With the addition of Instagram’s shopping tools, it’s steering more toward ecommerce and less on the social aspect. So what does that mean for brands? We surveyed over 500 marketers to learn more about their Instagram strategy. Find out below what we found out as it relates to the social platform’s shopping tools. The Benefits and Challenges of Instagram’s Shopping Tools When we asked marketers the biggest benefit of using Instagram’s shopping tools, their number one answer was the increased product discoverability. In the past, users had to navigate to a brand’s website to get product or service details.…
Did you know you could schedule your Instagram posts in advance? Or optimize your bio to appear in the Explore tab? There are countless lesser-known Instagram features, settings, hacks, and search options to help take your Instagram game to the next level. And we’ve compiled them all, here. Whether you’re a recruiter looking to showcase your company’s culture, a marketer in the e-commerce industry, or an individual who’s just looking to use Instagram in the best ways possible, there are Instagram tips and features here for you. Note: Before getting started, make sure you’re operating on the latest version of Instagram. At the time of publishing this guide, the latest version is 15.1.1 on iOS and on Android. Please also note that although this article might demonstrate each tip below using an iPhone or Android device, all items on this list are available for both operating systems and can be…
As a marketer, you’ve probably wondered which Instagram video format would perform the best for your audience. To help you, we asked consumers what type of video formats they watch the most. Plus, we surveyed marketers to discover their Instagram marketing strategies. You’ll also learn what video format users like to watch on Instagram as well as the size, length, and aspect ratio you should be using. How Marketers are Leveraging Video on Instagram In 2021, we surveyed over 1,000 global marketers to understand which trends they currently (and plan to) leverage. The first thing that stood out to us is that marketers who leverage video content on Instagram are 16% more likely to say their Instagram strategy was effective last year. We also found that 82% of marketers post video content on Instagram and the content formats they use most are video-based. The main difference we see in how…
Contrary to what your friends’ photos suggest, Instagram isn’t just a social network for selfies and brunch pics. In fact, Instagram has over 200 million businesses that use its platform and 90% of users follow at least one of them, according to recent data. In a time when visual content remains a crucial part of any brand’s marketing strategy, Instagram marketing presents a unique opportunity to showcase your brand identity. Ready to get inspired? Check out this list of brands that are thriving on Instagram right now, and why their posts set them apart. Best Brands on Instagram What makes a brand great on Instagram? We polled 301 users across the United States, and asked “Which of the following describes the brands you follow and enjoy on Instagram?” These were their top answers: Data Source While this data is from a small sample, it does highlight what we already…
“After we got verified [on Instagram], it was a great asset to our social media team,” says Samantha Lim, Community Manager for monday.com. “Along with the trust it establishes when people interact with our brand, the features we got from Instagram helped with our campaigns.” monday.com is just one of many businesses using Instagram to build a presence on the app, attract an audience, and inspire loyalty. monday.com is also one of many businesses on Instagram that can be threatened by impersonation and fake accounts, which is what makes verification so valuable. In this post, learn more about why an Instagram verification badge is important, when you should seek verification, and how you can go about getting your account verified. What is an Instagram verification badge? An Instagram verification badge is a blue checkmark on an Instagram profile page that appears in someone’s profile, as well as in search results.…
Instagram is an undeniably powerful tool for businesses. In fact, 63% of people say Instagram allows them to form meaningful connections with brands, and roughly 80% say Instagram helps them conduct research on a product and ultimately decide whether or not to make a purchase. All of which is to say: If you’re not using Instagram to reach new audiences, increase brand awareness, and ultimately grow sales, then you could be missing out. In this post, we’ll review how to make an Instagram business account, and the benefits of having one. Plus, how to switch back-and-forth between a business and personal account. 1. Download the Instagram app. To get started, you’ll need to download the Instagram app on your phone or go to the Instagram site. If you don’t already have an Instagram account, you can either download the app and click “Create New Account”, or open the desktop version…
On social media platforms, the more exposure you can get, the better. Like many others, Instagram has a search and explore page to help users discover new content. Most brands already leverage timeline posts and Stories to reach their core audience. However, not enough leverage all the opportunities these features offer. Let’s dive into what those are and what you can gain from using them. How Instagram’s Search and Explore Feature Works To start, there are five main search categories on Instagram: Top – This includes top posts related to your search term, regardless of the type of post. Accounts – This lists the accounts that match your search term. Audio – This features songs and artists on the platform with the same name as your search term. Tags – This shows the hashtags related to your search term along with post volume. Places – This refers to the locations…