There are so many Instagram marketing trends for brands that people forget to utilize all of them. It really comes to finding your own trends and figuring out which ones work for you.
Social media is constantly evolving and it forces practitioners – that wish to grow their followings – to seek the next big thing to keep the momentum growing.
The best way to do that is to read articles like this but to track what you do and how you do it. The problem with social media is the most practitioners are not keeping track of what they do on a daily basis.
The social media experts that spot Instagram marketing trends are the ones that notice the details of what they do.
The best trends are in your own posts
You don’t have to look too far to find out if your posts are gold or duds. To have the Midas touch you need to find out what works with your posts and continually evolve your practice. Simply copying from the “best of the best” will only get you so far.
Focus on what you can do to improve your posts on a daily basis and schedule them well in advice to give your posts the ability to breathe.
The latest trend
Instagram stories are your daily gateway to building a relationship with your following. Good influencer marketers use their stories all the time as a personal public diary. You can use it to update your followers on what you’re doing, but it’s also a way to let people know when you’re going live. That is where the money is at.
If you’re going live and letting people know about it, you’ll build your following very quickly.
How much of a connection can you make with someone with posts and stories alone? People want to meet the master at the top of the mountain. That’s you remember.
In order to really connect with people, you have to be live. You have to perform because people who get watched are entertainers even if you don’t see yourself like one. The sooner you realize that the better you will be.
B2B companies are entertainers too
If you’re a B2B business or someone that takes pride in the professionalism they have created within their company culture, then you should read this paragraph and try to see the other side.
How can a B2B, professional company be the entertainer described above?
Easy. You turn your brand into a visual brand. At the very least your customers will be interested in what you do and buy more of your products because they will trust you more. This will, of course, bring you more referrals, more good will, and more money. Simple, right?
That’s the why. Now, here’s how to make it happen…
On social media, trust is worth more than gold
How does trust get built between two people? With honesty, integrity, enthusiasm, spontaneity, and consistency. It takes time and it is a long-term play. You can’t get someone to trust you wholeheartedly with a post every now and again.
You might think that you need to get people to trust enough so they buy your products. Today, this thought process is completely wrong. Online trust needs to be continually reinforced.
Just getting someone to buy something is a recipe for disaster. Your product has to be good enough that people rave about it. Otherwise, your product will die off and leave you back at square one.
The best companies have nothing to hide when they are in trust-building mode and that is always. They create content that is original and eternal. Yes, the tides change and trends come and go, but the legends never die. That’s what you’re going for.
To do that with a B2B brand, you need to focus on making each post count. It has to be the best possible post you can think of and give yourself the chance to revise it many times. Never repeat yourself and always be honest.
Embrace vulnerability
Another way to inspire trust from customers is to be vulnerable and not be afraid to admit when you’re doing something wrong. The key is to use that mistake as a way to build trust by PUBLICLY FIXING IT. This is exactly what good influencer marketers do and you should too.
By documenting the fault and taking the steps to make a wrong a right, you transmute the chaos into gravity. Gravity is what you need to be at all times.
What is gravity? It’s what keeps you on the ground. In some ways, it’s what keeps you honest and truthful.
When a brand is truthful about it’s faults, yes, there is an initial fallout. “Oh, how could they let this happen?” they’ll say. This is how you create your own destiny.
There are so many companies that have turned their own failures into gold that I’m surprised more companies don’t use it purposefully to raise their stock prices.
I know that may seem a little out there, but hear me out. Check out Domino’s pizza, Marvel, General Motors, Starbucks, and much more. These are some of the greatest company turnarounds in recent history. Click that link for more.
Vulnerability is a good thing, and that means that every bad thing your company is doing right now can be used to draw attention to your brand and get people watching as you turn it around. Just make sure you’re using Instagram’s function to do it. You’ll see your company’s followers grow exponentially.
Find influencers that grow with you
Cheaper Instagram influencers can be great ambassadors for your growing brand if you’re not ready for the expensive influencers. This strategy works especially well in industries that are still small on social media or super-niche in nature.
Industries like woodworking, blacksmithing, and more have gain lots of traction in the most recent years. It’s the influencers that are constantly creating cool designs and teaching their followers to do it too are the ones that can really push your products.
Expand your influencer’s reach by cross-selling products
Don’t be afraid to create a sales funnel with your Instagram account. Use your profile to insert a link to a tightly persuasive funnel and watch the sales pile up.
While you’re doing that, throw in some related products that are less pricey and compliment the main purchase. When you’re selling the main product, include cross-sells that significantly enhance the experience of the user if they include them with their purchase.
Finding that right price point for that cross-sell is essential for the success of selling it. If customers are not purchasing it right away then you know that either it’s priced too high or you’re not giving it the pitch it deserves.
Have your influencers write a book
A book is a phenomenal way to create a buzz around your brand. The best way to do that is to give it away as much as possible or charge a very low price that someone can’t afford to give it away.
Look I know what you’re thinking. It takes a ton of time to write a good book and yes, that is definitely true. I wrote a book and it took a lot of my time, however, a free book that is amazing is the best kind of marketing there is.
It doesn’t cost that much to create it and I’m not saying that you should give it away for free. Make the customer pay for the shipping. When you do this, you’re creating leads. Those leads can be sold products and you can email them until they buy or unsubscribe from you.
Trust me this works. Ever heard of a marketer by the name Russell Brunson. He’s been doing this for the last few years. If you’re not considering this you should.
He’s turned a SaaS product into a $100 million dollar business all by giving away two books. It’s really not that hard to write a book. There is enough information out there to learn about virtually anything and write a book about it.
In-house influencer marketers
Become the influencer you want to hire. One of the biggest trends in Instagram influencer marketing is having a company full of influencers. Did you know that when you decided to buy that smartphone, that you were opening your very own marketing company?
Is that really that much of stretch? I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibilities for any company to start promoting their company, products, and services via social media and linking it to the right hashtags on Instagram.
Instead of hiring an Instagram influencer that demands big bucks, give everyone in your company a free “widget” and use it. They should receive massive value from it, just like your customers. If they love it, and they should, they will undoubtedly tell everyone in the world how amazing it truly is.
For more information on building your brand online, check out this article on why you should use Instagram and Snapchat.
