Instagram Content Strategy, a lot can be said about that.
It pays to have a thought through content strategy for any social media channel, let alone Instagram.
More so for Instagram – simply because it’s a highly attractive, colourful and visual medium. So, you must plan your upcoming photos and videos that are lined up for posting.
And you just can’t get away with typing a few punchy one liners and expect overwhelming responses. It doesn’t work like that.
As a solopreneur myself I have always wondered about the potency of Instagram and its ever-growing popularity. And how to maximize this powerful medium for optimum results.
Small businesses, specially those that have Retail business must look to include Instagram into their marketing mix.
Travel, Food, Fashion, Consumer Durables, Footwear, Jewellery, Books-Music-Gift Articles, Groceries, Home Décor, Boutiques, Supermarkets to name a few are ideal for Instagram marketing.
But how can such small businesses devise a content strategy for Instagram and accrue leads?
This article does not deal with the multiple and mind-blowing features of Instagram such as Reels, Locations, Highlights, Stories, IGTV and similar such.
But here we will discuss the content strategy which is the preceding and most important step for Instagram Marketing. Any prolific user of Instagram can guide you through its countless features.
And we deploy Emotional Marketing as a cornerstone for coming up with a content strategy for Instagram. Emotions are by far the most powerful tool to connect with your customer.
- Comfort: Are you making your target segment comfortable?
This is such a subtle, quiet way of occupying customer mindshare without sweating it all. And I simply love this, only because I would like to be treated so.
Every post of yours must invoke feelings of trust and love so much so you earn customer loyalty naturally. Transparency can help you achieve that – for instance you can go public about your mistakes and how you stand corrected.
Also bring verbiage that assures your customer they can: opt out, return, unsubscribe, experiment, money back guarantee, free trial, extended offer, speak to another customer for validation, swift service and patience with difficult customers have phenomenal staying power with your customers.
- Care: Are you showing how you care for this world?
The pandemic that shook us was an excellent opportunity for us to reach out and be compassionate to our fellow humans. And I would vouch for any organization who does this as it demonstrates a feeling of care and concern.
Include in your content calendar posts that talk about how you looked out for the society in which you are doing business.
It could be sending an ergonomic piece of furniture for your working from home employee or providing food for the homeless. That little extra that you do for the community makes you stand tall in the customer mind.
- Credibility: Are you coming across as a credible organization?
User generated posts earn credibility for any organization instantly. Create a compelling hashtag and organize a campaign around it inviting customers to participate. And I would love to read posts about the product/service from existing customers rather than from organizations themselves.
Also for the customer they would love to be featured, who doesn’t enjoy a bit of spotlight. However, pay attention to not make it a marketing gimmick but a strategic tool to build your brand equity.
You can keep it centered around the customer instead of it always being about you. Any which ways it’s your page and the viewers will still be cognizant of you. So do this well and you will earn top of the mind recall.
- Curiosity: Are you provoking your customer curiosity?
There are countless ways to provide hooks that keeps your customer wondering. And I have always enjoyed such cool curiosity building exercises, it removes the humdrum of life.
Quizzes, crosswords, scrabble, teasers, limited offers, special discounts, lotteries, unveiling soon are some of the few things to keep your customer on tenterhooks and build momentum.
Technology lends itself to innovation so if you plan these activities in the virtual and visual mods you could be a hotshot.
Culture: Are you relaying messages that centre on your culture?
The organization culture drivers are one of the most compelling ways to stay relevant in your customer mind and get them to respect you. And I am always a big fan of knowing an organization’s cultural drivers.
It could be your decades of legacy, your diversity stand, your empathy for LGBTQIA community, your stand on celebrating nature, your client centric approach, your stakeholder management, or the family business that you have firmly built over time.
Highlighting these helps your customer to relate to you and acknowledge your personal side.
Conclusion
Content Strategy for Instagram Marketing that hinges on Emotions is a wide area, and the possibilities are amazing.
It’s just that introspection of your strengths and knowledge of your target audience with a clarity of what you wish to accomplish needs to be sorted. Once you have that coming up with a content strategy that resides on emotions will take you places.
And since we are talking about Instagram here – sticking to a colour coding, highly striking images, big and bold, bring about a pattern to your visual layouts will be the next crucial step in effecting a successful Instagram marketing.
Mixing it up with Instagram TV (IGTV videos), and snippet stories with all the text overlays and the gregarious GIFs it offers can make your posts viral and visceral.
You can find relevant examples for the above on the internet, as there are countless examples of how various organizations have run innovative campaigns.
I read some interesting work done by
- Swiggy: Voice of Hunger
- Tata Cliq: MallatCliq
- Birla: Flag Without Colours
To be more informed of Instagram Marketing read this article in Forbes A New World Of Marketing Unfolds On Instagram
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While on the subject two students who are prolific users of Instagram tell what and why they like about Instagram and mainly what MSMEs should opt for for their Instagram Marketing initiatives.
Thavisha De Silva, pursuing bachelor’s degree in Immunology, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
What are the best features of Instagram?
Stories, location tagging, hashtags and IGTV in my opinion.
Why do you like them?
- Stories, as they are usually pictures or very short videos, so it’s fun to just scroll through a bunch at once.
- Location tagging, if I see a story or a post with a location tag for something that interests me, I will immediately click on it to check it out and see other related content based on the location.
- Hashtags, because it will redirect me to different pages and posts that will have content that interests me.
- IGTV, having the option of watching a long video on something that appeals to me, which can usually only be watched through other apps like YouTube, without having to go to other apps is quite pleasing.
What would you advise an MSME to use in Instagram for brand awareness?
IGTV, as it enables you to post up to an hour-long video, which can provide lots of information regarding your brand, and will be easier for your viewers as they won’t have to switch to other apps, like YouTube, to watch it.
Instagram live, because you can directly communicate with your followers and answer any of their questions via the comment section, allowing you to be more engaging with your followers. To reveal any new ideas or products you wish to release in the future, therefore getting their thoughts on it before releasing anything that might not interest them as much.
Location tagging, when someone chooses to view a location, which connects your profile to that location, they will be able to view your Instagram page and its content. People can also share the location associated with your brand on their story and posts, which will spread your brand name to other individuals.
Hashtags, by using hashtags in your posts and stories people will be able to click on it and be directed to other posts related to your brand, so it’s important to put both brand specific hashtags, and hashtags that relate to your content so people will be taken to that specific tag page.
Instagram stories, lots of people view stories as it can either be a picture or a very quick video, and to your story you can add other features like surveys, Q&A’s, hashtags, locations etc., which will make you more engaging with your followers. There is also an option of adding story ads, therefore you can promote your content while an individual goes through their stories.
Instagram ads, you can expand your audience by using this feature to show viewers your content, this will greatly improve your brand awareness by reaching out to more people about your brand.
Instagram shop, after the pandemic many people have resorted to online shopping, so if you have any products that you would like to sell, using Instagram shop, people will be able to see what products you are selling via ads, stories, tagged posts etc., and they can either be directed to your page and website to view more items and buy them, or directly buy the product on Instagram without having to leave the app.
Julia Mozdzierska, Pursuing Bachelor’s Degree in of Graphics Design at University of Salford, Greater Manchester, England, United Kingdom
What are the best features of Instagram?
Story Highlights – Being able to save Instagram stories onto your profile account rather than it being deleted after 24hours. You can make different sections for different content.
Why do you like them?
I like this feature because I can make however many highlights, I want to keep it organised, Especially for content that I don’t want to particularly upload on my feed. It keeps your page neat and tidy.
What would you advise an MSME to use in Instagram for brand awareness?
I would advise using Instagram stories and making them interactive, such as using polls and questions, it helps the brand connect with the customers. You can edit and design stories that fit with your brand, you can also see how many people have viewed the story too.
And yes, you can read more of my blogs on Branding and Content Marketing right here. And would love to talk to you to discuss your content marketing goals for your organization – bhuvanarajaram9@gmail.com or + 91 98415 96366 (Whatsapp also).
