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Build Your Digital Presence for Free using Instagram Marketing

a person inside instagram post frame taking a selfie with notification icon, share icon, message icon, attachment icon around here

Enroute Digital Dominance!

 

Instagram, a visually driven platform, according to Statista, marketers reached 1,850  target audiences in 2022.

Instagram ranks as the 2nd most utilised social network, with 79% of marketers using it to build an online presence and conduct social media marketing.

Let us see how small businesses can promote their web presence using an Instagram account.

a social media infographic guide for Instagram marketing campaign

 

 

1. Digital Engagement: A Bird’s Eye View

 

a hand touching a hologram globe on a phone

 

Instagram boasts 2 billion monthly active users and is the second most engaged network, followed by Facebook. More than 60% of users log in daily, making it the 8th most visited website. While 90% of Instagram users follow a business account on Instagram,  83% of the audience uses Instagram to discover new products and services.

 The engagement rate of customers with brands on Instagram photos before making a purchase is approximately 58 times higher than that of Facebook and 120 times the rate of engagement on X. Over a third of Instagram users make online purchases using their mobile devices.

 

 

2. Instagram is the New Portfolio

 

a hand breaking the pink papper while holding a cell phone showing Instagram feed UI

The platform’s emphasis on captivating imagery ensures businesses can leave an indelible impression and captivate their audience with unparalleled visual experiences.

Instagram empowers brands to unleash their creative excellence and craft visually stunning narratives that resonate deeply with their target market.

A study suggests that image posts shared on the Facebook feed through Instagram receive higher engagement than those posted directly on Facebook.

 

 

3. Serve Eye Candy like Sephora

SEPHORA logo png

Sephora, a leading Beauty and Wellness brand, has captivated a massive audience of 21.4 million followers on Instagram. Sephora’s dedication to prioritising customers is reflected in their swift responses, resulting in an impressive average of 4.8K likes and an engagement rate of 0.02%.

Their social media account is a treasure trove of unbiased content, featuring educational step-by-step guides and makeup tutorials that empower confidence in beauty enthusiasts.

With every social media post, Sephora celebrates individuality, fosters a united community, and allows customers to make informed purchase decisions.”

 Additionally, the Sephora collection collaborates with a diverse range of makeup moguls, who share reels filled with joy, inspiration and expertise. By partnering with Instagram creators to promote their new fragrance ads, they gained a significant increase in ad recall by 17- points and a 1.3-point  lift in purchase intent.

 

 

4. Online Presence Management

 

Instagram encourages authenticity and storytelling. Crack the layer of complication by adapting to algorithmic changes with a well-articulated posting schedule.

Showcase your brand story and core values, giving a gist of what the audience can expect from your profile and engaging the audience in a productive way.

 

 

5. Make Your Brand ‘IG Famous’

 

With over 1.6 billion global active users, you can benefit from a higher discoverability and reach rate among your target audience.

This allows brand owners to advertise their products and services without the effort of hard selling. As per a survey by Hubspot, 45% of users unfollowed a brand due to self-promotional content.

 

 

6. Your Ticket to SEO Stardom

 

Did you know that 70% of hashtags on Instagram are branded?

By utilising hashtags effectively, you can consolidate all your content in one place, boosting engagement by 12.6% and improving content discoverability and search engine rankings.

 

 

7. Ads that Blend and Stand Out

 

Business owners can seamlessly blend ads with organic content by setting up a professional account. These ads appear on users’ homes or explore pages while maintaining transparency with labels such as ‘sponsored’ or ‘paid partnership’.

This approach increases the credibility and trust of viewers. Numerous ad formats cater to different marketing objectives.

Business owners can monitor performance using analytics to track metrics such as reach, impressions, engagement, click-through rates and conversions. Doing so allows individuals to run optimised campaigns for better results.

 

 

8. Your Personalised Catalogue

 

Instagram allows users to save posts to view later. This feature is similar to the boards on Pinterest, providing a convenient way for users to organise and revisit content that they find interesting.

It is particularly beneficial for businesses as it enables users to save the desired products or services, creating a personalised catalogue of items they want to explore or purchase.

 

 

9. Amplify Brand Reach with Partnerships

 

One of the few things that comes to mind upon hearing the Instagram is ‘influencers’. More than 70% of marketers work closely with creators on Instagram. Many features embedded in the app make the platform a centralised ‘hub for influencer marketing’.

Connecting businesses with micro-influencers creates opportunities for endorsements by public figures.

 

 

10. Storytelling to Selfies

 

Hold discussions about the talk of the town frequently instead of just posting direct branding or product promotional posts. Instagram provides various interactive features like comments, direct messages, and customer testimonials to facilitate direct engagement with your audience.

Generate excitement with shoutouts and gifts because who doesn’t enjoy prizes? This will create a buzz around your product/brand. Ensuring two-way communication helps to build a lasting relationship and gather valuable feedback.

 

 

11. Retail Therapy Made Easy

 

Instagram’s integration with Facebook allows businesses to sell products directly on the platform. Entice your customers with irresistible promotion updates and in-app exclusive deals.

With features like the shop tab and product tags, you can make the most of Instagram shops to simplify purchasing and provide a seamless shopping experience.

 

 

12. Zero Fees, Maximum Reach

 

Instagram is a great marketing tool because of its straightforward account creation process. Fun fact, currently, there are over 200,000 million business profiles on Instagram. And over 90% of Instagram users follow at least one business account. Reaching over 2 billion monthly active users for free is possible!

 

 

13. Revealing Tips to Drive Organic Traffic

 

One of the strategic ways to drive traffic to your company’s website organically is including CTA’s such as ‘swipe up’ and ‘learn more’ in a prominent location below the post to help redirect users to view the full description.

Business owners can also embed links in their Instagram stories and organise them in the profile highlights. Customised action buttons like ‘Book now’ and ‘Shop now’ are valuable to increase conversion rates.

 

 

14. Becoming a Viral Sensation

 

Consistently posting on Instagram for a month can result in an impressive gain of up to 2,800 new creator followers.

Adapt to algorithmic changes on this visually-driven platform. It is a powerful tool to boost your social media presence.

 

 

Profile Features That Make You Stand Out!

 

 

  • Create content

Create, edit, post images, reels, or IGTV from scratch using in-app tools.

  •  Live Broadcast

Broadcast and have one-to-one interactions with audiences and surprise them occasionally with behind-the-scenes moments.

  • Instagram Shop

Showcase and sell products directly.

  • Instagram Professional Account

Take advantage of additional features such as Call to Action, place redirection links and set up automated messaging after switching to a Professional Account.

  • Instagram User Insights

Utilise valuable data from Instagram’s professional account insights to make strategic decisions effectively at no cost.

  • Instagram Sponsored Ads

Expand your brand’s reach by leveraging the paid advertising options for Business Accounts.

 

 

Content is King

 

Leveraging the power of Instagram goes beyond marketing; it allows businesses to tap into a dynamic ecosystem that nurtures growth, creativity, and long-term success.

In this digital epoch, where attention spans are short and competition is fierce, Instagram offers an opportunity to cut through the cacophony and leave a lasting impression.

It’s a platform where creativity knows no bounds, and brands have a chance to shine, no matter how big or small.

Whether you’re a budding entrepreneur, a passionate artist, or a forward-thinking marketer, fortify your Instagram with the best strategies!

 

 

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Personal Branding vs Corporate Branding

Personal Branding vs Corporate Branding

Corporate and Personal Branding

Is there a difference between the two? 

Yes and no.

Branding over time

The concept of ‘brand’ first originated amongst farmers and ranchers to designate the cattle which belonged to them. The branding technique was used throughout history in several countries, and the method is still used today. Branding cattle helped one to identify cattle among others.

Personal Branding vs Corporate Branding
Source: https://www.hestanto.web.id

Gradually, it gained corporate meaning as well. Corporate branding started with its logo and gradually evolved to include the entire company, its activities, corporate individuals, products and services. In other words, the concept has taken a holistic and more inclusive meaning. By holistic brands, we refer to identifying an individual or an entity by the attributes of their brands, their intrinsic values.

Corporate brands

Personal Branding vs Corporate Branding
Image source : https://cdn.business2community.com/

A corporate brand is a collection of a company’s customer’s perception, purpose, values, performance, corporate social responsibility and market dominance, to name a few. It is an aggregate of what its customers perceive and think about a company. For instance, Tata is known for its wide range of services, products, and corporate social responsibility activities. It is a valued entity not just in the corporate sector, its peers and industry but even for society.

Additionally, a corporate brand also refers to how valuable its products and services are. For instance, Maggi is quite a prominent brand in the instant food industry.

Sometimes, brands become more well-known or prominent than the company itself! Take the Xerox machine, for instance. The Xerox Corporation manufactures it. But their product is so well known that the device is synonymous with photocopying. Very few people know the name of its manufacturing company.

Again, consider the brand Dettol. It is known worldwide as an antiseptic, and this product is available in almost every home due to affordable pricing, marketing, and a host of other variables. However, how many people know the name of its manufacturing company?

For some customers, sporting certain branded items like a Rolex watch or a BMW car show off their status. People love to own products from premium brands to upgrade their lifestyle and position in society.

Personal Brands

Personal Branding vs Corporate Branding
Image Source: https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/

A personal brand is similar to a corporate brand, but it is certainly not the same thing. 

It is similar because it comprises values, purpose, community service, and market dominance. Just like well-known corporate brands like Dettol and Xerox have high perceived values. An individual with valuable abilities is held in high regard. Take motivational speakers, for example. There are many motivational speakers, but the ones at the top have the highest perceived value, and this is due to their skillsets, their public image – that’s their brand. 

One unique thing about personal brands, as opposed to corporate brands, is developing into a devout following. Take personalities like Michelle Obama, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and others. Personal brands influence public opinion, individual’s life and living. People with branded identity have followers who value every word from the influencer; they wait for their next action. 

What is the difference between a Personal Brand and a Corporate Brand?

Image source: https://keydifferences.com

By now, you have looked at corporate and personal brands. While elaborating on them, we have even touched upon the differences.

But there are certainly more differences! 

Most corporate organizations are very conscious of their corporate identity and pay great attention to it. They invest significant resources for building its image according to their agenda, increasing its popularity and creating a desire to own it. Different companies have a dedicated department for their branding. 

On the other hand, most people tend to ignore their personal brand. 

The biggest difference is that most people are unaware that branding involves attention, strategy and commitment. Companies know it, but people either know it or tend to overlook it.

Now that you know about the difference between the two, the next logical question is…

Should you focus on personal branding or business branding?

Image source: https://mbckonsult.com

It is recommended that you begin with developing a personal brand. This is because if you start by building your personal brand, you’ll define your mission, values, vision and message. You’ll also know to whom you are offering your products and services and why. And as you can see, some of these elements overlap with business branding as well.

Thus, developing a personal brand is the primary step to creating a corporate brand. 

As you define your mission and vision and build your personal brand, you start off on the right foot. Your business or company is an extension of yourself. It is also easier to start off by creating a personal brand because, in the beginning, your business or company does not have a personality. When you focus on creating a personal brand, you lend it character.

But creating a personal brand demands a clear vision and persistence, and it may expose your brand to more vulnerability. During adverse situations, there is nothing you can hide. 

If this is not something you want to go for, you can create a corporate brand. 

To begin with, you need to create an appealing story around the brand and personality of your company or business. It will interest your target audience to know about your brand. This can include making an avatar, a cartoon, or something similar. 

Regardless of your path, the content you create should be informative, practical, engaging, and unparalleled. You can’t build a successful brand overnight; it takes years of consistent effort.

Where to begin?

Image source: https://melschwartz.com/

Start by asking yourself these questions:

  • What is your purpose?
  • What are you here for?
  • What do you want to achieve?
  • Why are you offering this product or service?

What’s next?

Image source: https://insightbasedcoaching.com/

Should you build a corporate brand first to earn money?

If you hate the thought of being a public person or an online leader, then yes, start with business branding. 

Personal brand building can be more effective, though, and it certainly brings revenue faster. Besides, it brings in sustainability. We recommend creating a personal brand and transforming it into a corporate brand.