With more than 500 million monthly users, Instagram is a more effective marketing platform compared to Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites because the audience is more engaged. It therefore provides businesses with a great marketing opportunity as they can reach a specific audience without investing as much money as they would with traditional ads.

Whether you’re new to the platform or you’re an experienced Instagram marketer, the following few tips for using Instagram to market your business can prove to be very useful.

1. Be creative when showcasing your business
Don’t focus too much on the products you sell; rather, direct attention to the solutions that you provide. It is important that you show prospective customers on Instagram exactly what value you provide in a way that is aesthetically appealing. Keep in mind that your biggest value on Instagram is how compelling your visual content is.
For instance, if you’re in the service industry, give your followers a sneak peek of the behind-the-scenes process for the services you offer. Share some easy hacks or tricks, use images to portray you mission, and showcase your company culture.
In addition to posting images/pictures, you can also post up to one-minute-long videos and very short gif-like videos. Furthermore, you can make use of Instagram Stories, in which you can add text or color to one or more images/videos. Stories last for only 24 hours and are only available on the mobile application.

2. Post behind-the-scenes content
Naturally, your customers are usually curious about the source of products and how they are made. Through Instagram, you can take them through the entire process of creating your products – everything from raw materials to production/processing to service delivery. Also, if your business offers environmentally friendly products, be sure to feature this in your posts.
If you can’t think of anything to post along these lines, you can simply post something that most people can relate to: black/white boards filled with notes and sketches demonstrating how you brainstorm ideas. Just make sure it is visually appealing.

3. Have a killer Instagram profile
Your business probably offers a number of solutions and provides a number of products or services. Don’t bother trying to squeeze them all into your 150-character bio. Instead, direct attention to the most important product/service.
Instagram lets you have only one clickable link in your bio, so you need to make the best it. Don’t fall into the habit of only including the URL to your site in the link. You can use it to drive purchases and event registrations, for instance.
Make use of the sponsored ads and Instagram Business profile features on the social media site. In addition to allowing you to include your business phone number in the bio, the business profile also provides comprehensive analytics data.

4. Build on your success
Take the guesswork out of your Instagram marketing strategy by looking back and determining what tactics were successful. After researching on great Instagram tactics, try them out and measure the results.

Author Bio:
Evans Walsh is a social media marketing consultant with years of content marketing and a strong knowledge base of SEO strategies. His specialties include email marketing and leveraging followers for Instagram to grow brand awareness.