Explicit and Hidden Instagram Features and Hacks on How to Promote Your Brand on Social Media

Over 600 million people are using Instagram monthly, and it has about 1.16 billion advertising audiences. Therefore, it is the second-largest social media platform after Facebook.

With such numbers on Instagram is a ready market for businesses; hence, as a marketer or business owner, you must adopt all necessary approaches to enlarge your following on the platform.

In this article, you'll learn the explicit and hidden Instagram features and hacks that can take your marketing on social media to a whole new level.

Hidden Instagram features to promote your brand. 

Business account

One significant mistake most make is the usage of their accounts to promote their brand. The Instagram business account comes with a lot of features missing in personal accounts. It allows you to track your marketing progress and also reach a larger audience.

An Instagram business account provides you with the following

• Instagram advertisement propositions
• Instagram inferences
• Messaging inbox (primary and secondary)
• Purchasing the platform
• The ton of information
• Call to action button

Switching to a business account isn't so tricky; follow the steps below:

• Open your profile and click on the hamburger icon you'll find at the top right corner
• Click on settings and tap account
• You'll be provided with an interface, click the switch to professional account
• Click on business and fill in the required information

Instagram Shop

You'll have access to the Instagram shop when you own a business profile. With this feature, you can create an online store for your product on Instagram.

There'll be a "view shop" button on your profile that automatically directs your followers to your shop without necessarily viewing any post. Instagram has also upgraded its online store feature such that your fans can tap a "Shop" icon on the Explore page to view new products.

Instagram ads 

This incredible feature allows you to push your content before a new audience. The part will enable you to choose your target audience based on location, demography, behavior, and interest. Therefore, your content will be pushed before individuals who may be interested in your brand. 

Instagram ads don't cost so much. Depending on the number of audiences you desire to reach, you may have to spend a token or a significant amount of money. It is one of the best features you can adopt to promote your brand on social media.

Instagram Hacks

Optimize your profile

Instagram provides you with the opportunity to tell people about your brand in just 150 characters. Although it seems like a small number, you can still choose your words correctly to encourage your potential customers to follow your page. 

Fortunately, the platform also provides you with some other fields that further convince your audience. The fields are:

• Your name
• Your username
• Your website
• The information that will help to connect with you
• A business category
• Call to action button

Endeavor to set up your profile appropriately to give your target audience a good impression of your business.

Use a suitable profile photo.

Please don't leave your profile picture empty; it doesn't speak well of your brand. It would be best to use your picture; it makes the page look less formal. What most successful business owners do is use their business logo as the profile picture. Doing so will enhance your credibility. It also makes people realize what your brand is about, which could encourage them to read your bio. 

Instagram displays profile photos at 110 by 110 pixels and stores them at 320 by 320 pixels. Therefore, you should crop your logo to suit that size to perfectly fit in the profile picture. If you use a square logo, you should zoom out to ensure that it is well displayed.

Define your target audience 

Who do you intend to market your product or service to? It would be best if you carried out a little research to know who your audience is so you can understand how to find them on Instagram.

For instance, the most active Instagram users are people between 18 and 30 years. Thus, if your target audience falls within this age bracket, you have a better chance of gaining more customers on Instagram. However, this doesn't mean you can't get your target audience if they are younger or older; what matters is that you find a suitable way to push your content before them.

Use trending topics in your posts.

People often like to check out what others have to say about a trending topic. It would be best if you used this to your advantage. Look for trending topics and incorporate them in your posts. That way, you've taken advantage of what people are thinking. Doing so will get you more engagement, and your content will reach a larger audience. 

For instance, the below picture was posted by Ben and Jerry's (1.6M Instagram followers). It was on a valentine, and they took advantage of it to advertise their products. You can see a love symbol drawn on their chocolate product.

Be an active participant. 

Promoting your brand on Instagram is beyond publishing content; you have to be actively involved as well. Perhaps you've seen some Instagram pages with many followers but with lesser comments and likes. Such is what you should expect if you are not an active participant.

Therefore, when you publish content, you should follow up by engaging in the comment section of your post. If there are questions in the comment box, you should reply as quickly as possible. Doing so will prompt more conversation on your post, which will consequently increase its organic reach.

You should also publish insightful and worthy content of your followers and prospective customers. Remember to @mention their name. This will make your prospective customers develop more confidence in your brand.

Only stick to a brand theme.

Don't just throw different brands on your page; it might get your followers confused. Instead, build your page in a way that by merely seeing the name or logo, a single thing comes to mind, and that is the one product or service you offer.

For instance, you shouldn't combine the two brands on a single business page if you run two different businesses, such as shoe sales and real estate. Instead, it would be best if you open other pages for each brand. Studies have shown that people are more comfortable relating a page to a particular product or service.

Your page will grow quicker if you only stick to a brand theme than dumping everything that comes your way into the page. Shoe buyers might not be interested in real estate and vice versa. You only want to post content that'll interest your potential customers.

Use videos

Videos are great ways to market your products and get more engagement on Instagram. Video contents get more attention than texts and photos. However, you don't want to present your brand cheap before your potential customers. You shouldn't post low-quality videos. If you can't afford a quality camera and a good mic, you shouldn't post low-quality videos.

On the other hand, if you have all the materials in place, don't hesitate to get great content and put up a good video on your page. For instance, Red Bull, a page with 14.3M Instagram followers, often upload quality videos. You can check that out to have an idea of how to go about yours.

Never compromise image quality.

Just like videos, if you post a low-quality image on your page, it'll likely attract no likes or low likes. Ensure that there's enough light to take the picture to upload and use a quality camera. It is also better to allow a professional to take a picture.

On the other hand, if you'll be using graphic images, ensure it is well done and don't give room for any mistakes. Among your potential customers, there will be those that pay attention to the tiniest details, and you don't want to give room for criticism. Such will belittle your brand and should be avoided.

For instance, Bon Puf, a page with about 26.8K Instagram followers, often uploads quality images on their page. You can imitate such. 

Use Quotes

Quotes often get a lot of engagement online, and it owes this to its transient nature. Many things compete for people's attention on social media; therefore, they don't have all day to read through bulky information. If you can put your words together to make a quote, it'll get more engagement.

A brilliant and well-coined quote with an insightful meaning can earn your brand more respect, especially if it's an inspiring one. 

Write captivating captions

Instagram is basically for visuals, but often, you need something to compel people to view what you've posted. A great caption can do the magic in this regard. Your caption should be as short as possible not to scare your audience away.

The caption should say something interesting about the video or picture you've uploaded. Although Instagram allows you to write up to 2,200 characters, your character shouldn't be that long. Experts recommend that organic posts with captions between 138 and 150 characters perform better. On the other hand, for sponsored posts, your caption should be around 125 characters.

However, sometimes you may have more to say; in that case, ensure that every word in the caption is worth it.

Go Live

Going live is one of the best ways to connect with your followers and potential customers. It allows you to answer their questions directly and hear their views and recommendations.

A highly effective way to get a significant number of views when you go live is to collaborate with an influencer or industry expert. You don't necessarily have to be at the exact location with the guest; you can use the "Add a Guest" feature on Instagram and go live simultaneously.

If people are not yet attracted to your brand, they'll be attracted to the industry expert or influencer. The presence of the expert or influencer will make people want to check and participate in your live video. You don't necessarily have to talk about your brand throughout the live video; instead, you can host a workshop in the middle of which you speak about your brand. You should also host a question and answer session to allow maximum participation.

You'll find an excellent example of a live video on Matthew McConaughey's page on Instagram with 5.4M followers.

If you can effectively follow these hidden Instagram features and hacks, you will increase the brand's popularity on social media.