Given that social media has assimilated into the contemporary business landscape, it is crucial to talk about entrepreneurship and social media. Small business owners and entrepreneurs can use social media to market their products and services, interact with clients, and develop their brands.
A company’s success in the modern digital world can be greatly influenced by its social media presence.
In this article, which is a part of our series tackling social media for entrepreneurs and startups, we will go over some Instagram tips and tricks to benefit from this platform and to market your startup in 2023, look at some of the free online tools that can be used to build a strong online presence, and discuss the challenges that entrepreneurs encounter when establishing their brand and online presence.
Instagram To Promote your Startup
Instagram is a crucial tool for entrepreneurs who want to grow their brand, engage with potential customers, and promote their startup.
Entrepreneurs can use Instagram to increase traffic, generate leads, and sales with the right tools and tactics. They can also increase their Instagram presence and gain more followers by posting engaging content frequently, making use of significant hashtags, and responding to customer questions.
In general, Instagram can be a potent tool for small businesses, offering a special chance to interact with clients and present their products and services to a large audience.
Ten Free Tools To Use on Instagram
Here are ten free resources entrepreneurs can use to expand their Instagram presence and attract more followers without making a sizable investment:
- Hashtagify: Using this tool, you can find popular hashtags in your niche and monitor how they perform on Instagram.
- Later: You can plan, schedule, and publish your Instagram posts in advance using this scheduling and planning tool.
- Canva: You can design graphics and images for your Instagram posts using Canva, a graphic design program.
- Hootsuite: With the help of this social media management tool, you can control several social media accounts, including Instagram, from a single dashboard.
- VSCO: You can use a variety of filters and tools in the photo editing app VSCO to help you produce beautiful photos for your Instagram feed.
- LinkTree: Using the tool LinkTree, you can design a clickable landing page for your Instagram account where you can promote your products, services, and website links.
- Snapseed: Offers you a variety of sophisticated editing tools, such as filters, adjustments, and touch-up tools, are available in the photo editing app Snapseed.
- InShot: Is a feature-rich mobile photo and video editing app that enables you to drill down into a wide range of editing and enhancement options, making it ideal for producing captivating short form videos and reels.
- Planoly: You can preview and schedule your Instagram feed ahead of time using Planoly, a visual planning and scheduling tool.
- MOJO: Helps you create incredible Instagram stories, reels, and social media posts using the app. It has over 500 unique animated templates, original text styles, background music and so much more.
Hundreds of free tools such as the above are constantly evolving, so it’s critical to stay updated with the newest trends and best online tools in order to maximize the potential of growing your brand on Instagram.
Instagram Challenges for Startups
Entrepreneurs need to adapt their Instagram strategies in 2023 to better reflect audience preferences, behaviors, and habits as Instagram keeps releasing new features and increases usage of the short video format REELs.
We’ll talk about the top five challenges that Instagram startups are having and the solutions to those problems.
- Hashtags: Instagram heavily utilizes hashtags. It is critical to know how many you should use since they can be challenging to crack. Leaning into niche communities is preferable, because despite having fewer posts, niche hashtags typically have a more devoted community following them.
- Influencer Marketing: When you’re a startup, you typically don’t try to spend a lot of money to partner with influencers who are well-paid because it might seem like a waste of money. Consider collaborating with bloggers who may have fewer followers but a more active community (known as micro influencers).
- Post Timing: Targeting the right audience at the right time is more crucial than ever, given that social media algorithms favor recent content.
The HubSpot Instagram Engagement Report provides some clear insights:
Source: HubSpot
- The most popular content is posted between 6 and 9 o’clock in the evening.
- The least engaging hours are from 5 AM to 12 PM in the morning.
- The engagement rate is roughly the same from Monday to Friday, but the weekend has a slight advantage.
- Captions: Lead with your startup voice, this is the most crucial “rule.” The first error you can make is to ignore the caption completely. Remember that your captions need to be less technical and more compelling and memorable.
- What type of post to share: Do not assume that images are the most engaging type of content on Instagram. Understand the shift towards REELs and long duration story sharing, and keep a keen eye on the Carousel Posts, which contain a variety of media (video or images) that users can scroll through.
Finally, remember that social media can help your startup achieve its communication objectives, follow your social media strategy, get good use from free online resources, avoid bombarding your followers with irrelevant posts, and maintain your focus on achieving your specific goals to tailor your Instagram presence.
