Having a social media presence has become a marketing necessity for businesses of today. Regardless of the size of the venture, to achieve success in brand building, any enterprise needs to have a social media account. Of the many platforms in operation, Instagram is arguably one of the most versatile social media spaces for the purpose. It can cater to a wide variety of industries and a rich range of types of businesses. It also offers one of the most comprehensive marketing functions suited to a wide array of budgetary needs. This makes it a popular choice for small-scale companies to build a brand presence.
However, given its sheer user pool size, it is a big challenge to market one’s business on Instagram successfully. Using video marketing techniques makes the task slightly more accessible, but you must have a fantastic promotional strategy to run this successfully. After all, creating brand awareness is an ongoing process. To have an overall successful result, you must concentrate on and boost your entire video marketing strategy. Increasing views with paid secondary tools will make this process easier.
What to Do to Improve Video Marketing for Your Small Business on Instagram?
To ace the video marketing space, you must pay attention to everything involved in the process. This includes taking care of minute details like how you have set up your camera, what lighting you are shooting in, and what resolution you are creating your videos in. You must further be mindful of the content, the editing, the publishing, and the audience responses to each video you make.
Here are 10 handy tips to remember when you are devising your overall video marketing strategy for Instagram. Regardless of whether you are a B2B or B2C, these tips are sure to be of use for your small business, especially if you seek to generate better ROI, lead generation, and sales.
1. Know your mechanical A to Z
Indeed, you need not be an expert in video creation to make good video content. Still, it certainly helps to familiarize yourself with the technical side of video creation if you will use it extensively to promote your small business. Content is king. In this case, your content is the video itself. Without the proper video technicalities, you will not be able to capture audience interest in the desired manner despite packaging it well with great captions, hashtags, and thumbnails.
Whether using a professional camera or your handheld cell phone camera, understand which format types, resolution, and alignments go best with regular posts, IGTV, reels, or stories. You will use the right kind of video for the right kind of Instagram posts if you know the basics.
2. Check what is in focus while shooting your video
What is the subject matter of your video? Do you have it in focus or out of focus? Unless you deliberately use an out-of-focus shooting technique as part of your content creation for a late reveal or similar storytelling techniques, it is advisable to shoot in focus. Audiences tend to lose interest in out-of-focus videos. Use your auto-focus if you find it difficult to tune your camera manually onto your subject. A good video has clarity of subject matter.
3. Subtitle your content
If you are wondering why subtitles are necessary, the list is endless. Even when your target audience speaks the same language as you, subtitle your videos. Language has accents, and this limits geographical relatability to videos at times. At other times, noise interferes with audible clarity. Plus, several Instagrammers habitually watch videos without turning the volume up as they scroll on their phones. Subtitles help get your message across besides making your video understandable to a broader audience range. You can easily add auto-generated subtitles or use an app that will conveniently add subtitles for you.
4. Do not stretch the length of your content unduly
True, some videos need a more extended duration owing to the nature of the content. However, trying the size of a video unnecessarily is a bad idea. Keep your target audience’s attention span in mind while creating videos. Shorter videos tend to trend more than long videos. Unless necessary, creating long promotional content should be avoided.
5. Cross-post links to your videos
Video Marketing is all about ultimately directing audience traffic to a specific home page or retailing website. You want a turnover for your business, and hence you must find creative ways of putting your link out there with your video. Instagram does not support pasting links as part of a caption. For a link to be clickable, you must either have it up on your bio or use it as part of your Story. Swipeable links can only be added to Stories by accounts that meet specific eligibility criteria so often, and your only option is to direct attention to your bio. It is a good idea to use the video to remind your viewer to check your bio.
6. Pay attention to captions
Use engaging and relevant keyword enriched captions to set the context for your video and the tags on it. A good caption works like a title and teaser for the video. Some prefer to make it descriptive; some use it in a minimalist fashion. Depending on how you choose to set your videos up, you can decide the perfect caption for your target audience. Think of how you can best present the video to your audience to generate traffic for your business.
7. Use appropriate tags
Like your caption, ensure that you are using relevant tags in your video. Use hashtags wisely to maximize audience reach. Likewise, if you tag IG users in your video, ensure that you have twine permission before posting the content up. Understanding the proper protocol for tagging others is essential for an intelligent video marketing strategy. When you utilize the correct tagging, you can increase the reach of your video to include the active audience of those tagged – whether they are people or collaborating businesses.
8. Use eye-catching thumbnails
You can thumbnail your Instagram videos. Whether you choose to craft a special-looking thumbnail, or settle for a still shot from the video, select a thumbnail that makes it identifiable. Like an exciting movie poster, a thumbnail can generate audience curiosity and drive engagement on your video. Good thumbnails are a great way to boost Instagram algorithms in your favor.
9. Use live broadcasts
Live broadcasting is currently only accessible by your followers as it shows up as part of your stories. You can collaborate to increase audience reach. You can further post the content up as part of your IGTV videos once the session has ended. Experiment with going live to draw attention and audience traffic to your business. Most IG users use the live sessions as a video marketing strategy. Consumers prefer live broadcasts as they get to interact with companies in real-time. It builds a sense of trust and credibility. Use it to build brand authenticity for your small business and to attract sales generation.
10. Use insights to plan your future video marketing strategy
An Instagram business account allows you free access to Instagram Insight. This tool lets you keep track of who is watching your videos, when, and where. It also lets you to check how much engagement your video has generated and if this has led to any conversions. Use this information to analyze, revise and better your video marketing strategy to build your brand further. Taking a cue from your analytics and insights can help you rectify what you are doing wrong. It can also help you understand where your strengths in video marketing lie. Adjusting your strategy as and when required is crucial for long-term marketing for any business.
Why Should a Small Business Incorporate Video Marketing in Its Instagram Business Strategy?
Most businesses do not pay much heed to video content generation when publicizing their Instagram page. Perhaps the original photo-based image of Instagram is still strong in their understanding of the platform’s use. However, Instagram has grown into a visual domain that accommodates all forms of video posts. From short reels of a few seconds in length to long episodic IGTV content that can span hours, the site is compatible with several video formats and genres of video content.
Most audience members engage more with video formats than still visuals. Hence most of Instagram’s latest feature additions have been concentrating on facilitating video uploads. All functionalities added recently can be profitably used to market your business with little or no cost. It is advantageous for your business to use the latest trends to market your business.
Should Every Business Have an Instagram Account?
Many businesses wonder if they need to build a presence for themselves on Instagram. Many are unsure if social media is the correct type of digital space for marketing and brand building. In this day and age, having a social media presence is considered crucial for business growth. Hence no matter what your business is or what school of thought your business belongs to, creating an Instagram business account will only benefit your venture.
Instagram can function as a platform for your business to expand its reach to diverse audiences and potential clients. It can operate as a space for curious visitors to check your business out and allow them to learn more about your services. It is also a great space to build social proof for your business.
Considering long-term goals, having your business on Instagram is undoubtedly beneficial. There is no harm in creating an account for your business on Instagram.
Is There Anything Else a Business Should Know about Instagram?
In addition to having a great Instagram video marketing strategy, every business should gauge what works for them on Instagram and what doesn’t. Each company is unique and must have its strengths and weaknesses. This should determine what marketing path they would like to take on Instagram. In other words, what you choose to capitalize on for your marketing needs may not be the same features your competitor decides to build their brand awareness.
Regardless of what you choose to embrace for your Instagram journey, ensure consistent post quality and content. Find the delicate balance of posting just right for your business, and you will have a genuine increase in organic traffic and conversion.