Instagram is one of the more powerful marketing platforms in the digital age. With more than 800 million users, it gives marketers access to a broad global audience. However, a significant percentage of users struggle to draw in leads on Instagram.
Like any social platform, converting followers into customers takes more than just posting and using hashtags. You need an all-round marketing strategy to score leads and drive more sales on Instagram.
In this blog, I'll explore some effective strategies that Instagram marketers can use to boost lead generation.
1. Optimize your Instagram profile
The first step when launching any social marketing campaign is having a well-optimized profile. Your Instagram profile is usually the first touch point for users checking out your profile for the first time. Therefore, it should be a reflection of your brand with an easily recognizable photo or business logo that followers can associate with your brand.
Other than the profile photo, ensure your bio gives users a reason to follow you. Ideally, the bio should be a well-written description of your brand, containing a link to your website or a high-converting landing page.
Here's an example of a well-optimized Instagram profile for Unilever. Notice how it has a descriptive Instagram bio that also encourages users to check out its website.
2. Share valuable content consistently
A rule of thumb when it comes to marketing is delivering value to your target audience. When you share valuable content with your audience consistently, your brand will earn more credibility and trust.
As such, brand owners should focus on value-addition as opposed to being promotional. This involves sharing high-quality and informative content that resonates with your target audience.
By doing so, you're bound to enhance the level of engagement, increase your follower count, and gain more leads. As a marketer, you'll realize that the more value you provide, the more fruitful your lead generation efforts will be.
3. Engage with your audience
Engaging with your followers is arguably the most effective way of growing your Instagram account and generating more leads. If you’re not social, you will hardly enjoy success when it comes to social media marketing.
An easy way to increase engagement is by responding to comments and posts that feature your brand. Whenever your brand is mentioned, always respond with a thoughtfully crafted comment. Use relevant hashtags, emojis, GIFs, and related images to make your comments more human and engaging.
You can also ask some follow-up questions to keep the conversation moving. Anything that makes your brand appear more friendly and accessible on social media will win you more followers, and eventually, more leads.
4. Include a call-to-action in your posts
A clear and compelling call-to-action (CTA) is what encourages viewers to take action. Unlike other social platforms, Instagram is highly visual. As such, most people won’t focus on the caption text, no matter how good it is.
A clever way of embedding your call-to-action buttons into your Instagram posts is making the CTA part of the image itself. The aim is to grab the attention of users as they scroll through their Instagram feed, so get creative with the CTA button. Depending on your marketing goal, you can prompt viewers to sign-up, contact you, click to learn more, or even get directions.
If you’re advertising a mobile app, for instance, you can have “Install Now” as the CTA with the App store as the landing page. This makes it easier for users to download the app without visiting your website or finding a download link in your bio.
We love our customers. We love our Keapers. We love it when our customers love our Keapers! Thanks, Ariel for sharing your experience with our employees💚 pic.twitter.com/xO46WPT3At
— Keap (@KeapGrowing) August 10, 2020
5. Use Instagram stories and live videos
Instagram stories and live videos can be a gold mine for generating leads when used correctly. Thousands of users log in to Instagram every day to check stories posted by their friends as well as favorite brands.
You can use Instagram stories to share valuable content that resonates with the target audience. Instead of posting marketing copy or promotional content, focus on adding a human touch to your brand interactions by sharing testimonials from customers.
Creating videos that tell true stories on how customers have had a positive experience with your brand helps build trust with the online community.
Besides customer stories, you can also use live videos to answer questions or address concerns raised by your audience. All these tactics help generate high-quality leads that have a huge potential of becoming lifetime customers.
6. Collaborate with influencers
Working with influencers is a highly effective lead generation strategy on every other social media platform. By developing partnerships with leading influencers in your niche, brands can increase awareness, generate leads and boost conversions on Instagram.
To get started, identify several Influencers whom you’d want to serve as brand ambassadors. An Ideal Influencer commands a great social following in your industry and can embody your brand’s character.
Reach out to them with your objectives and figure out how the partnership can help you bring more prospects. If the influencer has earned the credibility and trust of their followers, they'll be in a great position to encourage other people to take action.
7. Leverage Instagram lead generation ads
Launching an Instagram ad campaign is one of the easier and faster ways of getting your content to the masses and generating leads. It works well for brands with a large following as well as start-ups with fewer followers.
With Instagram ads, you can target a specific audience that best defines your buyer persona. This involves targeting users depending on their interests, geo-location, industry, job titles, hobbies, and more.
The good thing about creating Instagram ads is that the process is straightforward. You start by specifying your marketing objective, which in this case, is lead generation.
Next, define your target audience and select the desired ad placement criteria (we recommend automatic ad placement). Once done, choose an ad-format and create your lead form. Finally, remember to use a valuable opt-in offer that encourages leads to give you their contact details.
Conclusion
By mastering and following these seven tips, you can perfect the art of marketing and generating leads on Instagram. When working on your campaigns, remember to create a dedicated landing page.
You might have the potential to generate tons of leads, but without a well-designed landing page, it will be difficult for people to sign up or even inquire about your offerings.
As Instagram is largely mobile-based, ensure the landing page is well-optimized for mobile viewing. This way, it will be easier to nudge prospects from Instagram and successfully drive them through the sales funnel.
About the author
Adela Belin is a content marketer and blogger at Writers Per Hour. She is passionate about sharing stories with the hope to make a difference in people's lives and contribute to their personal and professional growth. Find her on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Respected marketing influencer, Neil Patel says the Keap software has helped him grow his business tremendously and saves him time and money. How? Learn more from Neil here: https://t.co/j8tQJt17a4 pic.twitter.com/1CxbALbmVi
— Keap (@KeapGrowing) August 3, 2020
