Many people don’t know where to start with Instagram. Whether or not you use it personally, it can be frustrating to figure out how to use an image-based app in an industry like doors and hardware. You can search hashtags and find hundreds of accounts that admire and photograph doors and hardware, but these are not necessarily the purchasers of such.
Instagram Strategy
Here is the strategy advice that can be a game changer: Instagram is not just about sharing photos— it’s an online magazine. If you are struggling to find what to post, think of what your buyers would want to read in a magazine. A great photo with 1 to 2 paragraphs of text is ideal, but text can be longer if necessary to tell your story!
Other strategies for gaining engaged followers include using relevant hashtags (if you use more than 4, put them in the comments). You can also visit accounts similar to yours that are experiencing a lot of engagement, then view who is liking and commenting on recent posts and follow those accounts! An app, such as Followers, tells you who is not following you back— enabling you to unfollow those accounts later if you wish!
These last strategies may increase your follower count. However, getting followed by and engaging the people you wish to convert to buyers won’t happen without a solid content strategy, such as the online magazine concept. So keep in mind that while an individual post should stand out on its own, it should also be part of an overall story!
Learn more about Instagram
I highly recommend trying a free webinar from Dean Street Society!
This was originally published in DHI’s Growing Social E-Newsletter