How a Small Business Can Get Ahead of the Insta Game
As social media marketing becomes a must for most businesses, many small businesses are wondering how they can get their share of the pie when competing with the big guys. Here, San Diego social media marketing experts highlight 5 ways a small business can make its Instagram standout from the rest.
1. Work Weekends
One of the main benefits of working traditional hours is being off on weekends. But less than 10 percent of big companies post on Sundays, making it the least competitive day of the week to post to your IG account (Saturday comes in a close second). Moreover, posts on Sundays are engaged with more frequently than posts any other day of the week.
2. Forget 9 to 5
When it comes to Fortune 500 companies, 88 percent of their photos on Instagram were published between the hours of 9am and 9pm. However, most engagement happened between the hours of 10pm and 3am. Make your business stand out from the competition by posting outside of traditional work hours. This can help increase user engagement, too.
3. Use Filters
Photos with the Mayfair filter see more engagement than photos posted with any other filter, including just leaving the image as is in its original state, but less than one percent of big brands use this filter. Hefe, Ludwig, and Lo-Fi are also at the top of the leader board. What does this mean? Spend a little time on each photo.
4. Hashtags, Not Exclamation Marks
Using exclamation marks in an Instagram post can actually reduce engagement, whereas using relevant and thoughtful hashtags and question marks provides a marginal boost. Consider creating a branded hashtag, and spend a few minutes thinking about what you’ll use in the caption.
5. Geotag
One benefit of being a small business is you can geotag your location, which is particularly beneficial for retail stores, mom and pop shops, and restaurants and bars. This will let people in the immediate area know where you’re located and allow them to check-in, it can attract new customers who are browsing geotags to see what’s in the area, and lead to user generated content.
Managing a comprehensive social media marketing campaign is no small task. If you could use a little help, reach out to Saba SEO in San Diego by calling (858) 277-1717. We are a full-service boutique marketing agency specializing in PPC, SEO, social media, and web design. Call today.