Why You Should Be Using Instagram to Drive Traffic

Instagram is the place to be for product and service-based businesses, e-commerce sites and physical locations, and even people who do not have a website yet; there’s something for everyone.

Instagram in numbers:

80 million photos shared daily (Seeking Alpha)

70 percent of users under 35 (GlobalWebIndex)

60 percent of daily active users (GlobalWebIndex)

44 percent of active users use Instagram for brand research (GlobalWebIndex)

90 percent of the top brands in the world have an Instagram account (Simply Measured)

Instagram accounts for 35 percent of social media interactions (Luxury Daily)

Instagram is perfect because it’s mobile, it grabs attention quickly, and it’s constantly growing. Think of Instagram as your favorite magazine. As you’re scrolling through pictures and short videos on the mobile app, it's a lot like flipping through your favorite magazine and being inspired by what you see.

Here’s what you can do with Instagram:

Multiple accounts

• The more you segment your content, the more followers you will get. This is why Instagram has made it easy for you to have multiple accounts.
• Example: Gary Vaynerchuk has 4 Instagram accounts, and each account is specifically segmented for a particular audience: @winedeals to sell discounted wine, @winelibrary to showcase the available wine selection, @VaynerMedia to show his corporate culture of his social media empire, @garyvee, his personal account.

Focus on your niche

• What makes you stand out from your competitors?
  • Show your unique qualities on Instagram!

4 Main Focus Areas

• Clear Brand Representation

• Logo/Headshot in profile picture
• Core values
• Brand colors
• The look and feel of your brand
• Quotes aligning with your brand
• Make your brand message crystal clear

• Visual Interest

• Make your photo fabulous for better engagement
• Great lighting and angles
• Use filters

• Strategic Descriptions

• You can use up to 2200 characters in the description - figure out what works in your business
• You could write a microblog to build off of your blogs and drive traffic to your website
• Use symbols or emojis

• Active Engagement

• Comment on every single post
• Engage with your audience
• Comment on other people’s posts
  • Keeps your avatar top of mind in comment feed
  • Stays there forever

It really helps to have a link to your website (if you have one) in your biography. The key component to success on Instagram rests solely in using your creativity to shine bright. The more laser-focused you are with your Instagram content, the more successful you’ll be.

Here’s what will drive more traffic to your website:

More followers

• Post daily
• Use geotags (location tags) and hashtags
• Collaborate with others (tag people)
• Consistency is key on any social media platform.
  • The more you engage with others, the more they will engage with you.

Smarter visuals

• Show more than what you sell.
  • Include photos displaying your team culture
  • Share your landing pages and blogs with a relevant deposit photo
  • Find some other engaging way to reach your followers
• Don’t post it unless it is something you’d want to see.

Clear descriptions

• Make sure the text is formatted so it’s easy to read.
• Stick to a consistent word flow so your followers know it’s you.
• Clearly state exactly what you want people to do.
• Direct your followers and viewers to the link in your bio.

Optimized landing pages

• Everyone loves “free” stuff.
  • Give your followers and viewers something valuable in exchange for their email address.
• Your landing page must be mobile-friendly.
  • Remember, the majority of Instagram users are on a mobile device.
• Nothing should be complicated.
  • Keep everything simple, or people will not follow your profile or keep returning.

Instagram has done some amazing things since it first launched: they are already at 1 billion active users! Instagram is the place to do market research, hashtag searches, and scope out your competitors, thought leaders, authors, and motivators. Everyone can use it to market their business. Pictures are worth a thousand words, so get out there and put your creativity to good use!