Instagram is one of the best social media sites for marketing, but it takes some research to get the most out of the platform. We’ve already talked about how to set up your business’s Instagram profile; now, let’s dive into some best practices for the site.

Don’t put links in captions

Unlike most social media sites, your posts can’t include links. If you do put a link in your post’s caption, it won’t go anywhere. So, what’s the alternative? It’s an extra step, but if you want to promote links, the best option is to put it in your bio under “website link.” Many businesses and influencers with multiple links use sites like Linktree; these platforms put all the links in one place for your followers to see all of them at once. For example, you can put your website, a tutorial video, and other social links on Linktree.

Find the sweet spot with hashtags

Have you ever seen those huge hashtag blocks on Instagram? Most times, many of the hashtags don’t even have anything to do with the post or the account. It might seem like adding more hashtags means more exposure, but Instagram’s algorithm actually doesn’t like that, and it can prevent exposure. Those blocks will do more harm than good.

On the other hand, too few hashtags won’t do enough. So, where’s the middle ground? About 11 to 15 hashtags are the way to go, but the maximum is 30. You can put them in the caption, but some people choose to add them in a comment instead. Also, try not to use the same exact hashtags in every post, and make sure they’re relevant to the content.

Make sure the photos are relevant to the caption

Speaking of relevance, you should make sure the photos and videos you post make sense to the captions you’re planning. It can be confusing to followers to put a photo of the cheeseburger you had for lunch and then talk about your new makeup product drop in the caption.

Engage with your audience

It’s great if your posts are getting a lot of comments and likes, but you also want to make sure you’re responding to those. Of course, you probably can’t reply to every comment, especially if there are thousands. But try to stay online for a few minutes after posting to make sure you can engage with some early commenters. Additionally, you might want to take some time to scroll through your feed to like/comment on fellow small business posts. Share the love!

Keep up with the latest trends

This is true of any social media site, but make sure you’re up to date on the latest Instagram trends for business. You can cater your marketing tactics to what’s hot at the moment. For example, according to Influencer Marketing Hub, some trends for 2021 include Stories ads, vertical videos, and interactive content.

Contact October Dreams Marketing for more social media tips.