Tips and tricks for Instagram success

Success on Instagram can be instant. But it requires some preparation beforehand. Instagram is a great way to take your customer engagement to a whole new level, and a strong presence on this platform will no doubt boost your visual marketing strategies to stratospheric heights. However, before you launch yourself on this channel, here a few quick tips and tricks that will help you make your Instagram campaign a roaring success:
1. It's All or Nothing
Make a commitment. Just because Instagram is a visual media sans long copy does not mean that you should take it lightly. Treat the channel like you would other social media platforms and commit to the campaign with all your heart. Visual media brings in customers and fans faster than other marketing strategies, but even then it may be a while before customers and fans engage wholeheartedly. So make your plans, launch them, and then stay the course. Give it time, and watch your fan following grow.
2. Find the right timing
With Instagram and Twitter, the 'dip in and dip out' behavior of the customers can cause problems if you post messages when no one is around to see them. Make sure you find the sweet spot, and post messages when customers are most likely to see them. With Instagram, as with other social media sites, timing is crucial and you win half the battle when you get the frequency right. You can also make sharing additional campaign-related posts a consistent part of your social strategy.
3. Know your fans
What is your target audience talking about? How can you break into that cloud of chatter and make your presence felt? These are questions that you need to be able to answer before you can proceed with launching your campaign. A little bit of research on the favorite topics to keep your customers engaged and to build an instant connection will help you immensely.
4. Take the test
There's a simple rule of thumb which can help you figure out what you should or should not post on Instagram. It's called the 'Would I..' test. Before you put up a post, ask yourself if you would like to see the picture on your feed as a customer. Would you share it? Would you comment on it? Answering these simple questions would make your task of finding good-enough things to post on your Instagram channel much simpler and more customer-oriented.
5. Use all the help you can get
Celebrity endorsements are welcome, as are partnerships in the virtual world that can help you make your Instagram channel popular. The Indy 500 for example did a stellar promotional for their pre-race campaign by getting driver Josef Newgarden on board. In fact, many of the fans of Indy 500 admit to having heard of the brand only through Josef. Influencers on Instagram are as important as in any other medium and if they can get you the loyal fans, then the partnership is worth it for sure.