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Instagram is dead and TikTok is dancing on its grave 💃.
At least, that’s what your competitors want you to believe.
But it turns out rumors of Instagram’s demise have been greatly exaggerated – especially if you’ve got a great Instagram marketing strategy on your side.
Take Dr Becky Kennedy, the Millenial Parent Whisperer. Back in 2020, she had never even touched Instagram.
Fast forward two years, Dr Becky now has 1.3 million followers, a podcast sitting at the top of Apple’s Kids & Family chart, and a membership platform that brings in over a million dollars each year.
Oh, and a book that was #1 on Amazon even before it came out.
And it’s all thanks to relatable, bite-sized parenting tips like this.
When it comes to building a brand, no platform comes close to the marketing machine that is Instagram.
You’ve probably heard 90% of users follow at least one business. And according to recent Meta research:
- Half of all people surveyed have used Instagram to discover new brands, products or services
- 44% of people surveyed use Instagram to shop weekly, using features like shopping tags and the Shop tab
From leveraging links in stories and bios to shoppable feeds, there’s a million ways you can sell. And since people can pay without leaving the platform – or even your chat – it’s never been easier to convert followers into real buyers.
Want to take advantage of the potential Instagram has to offer? Here’s 8 ways you can revitalize your Instagram marketing strategy for 2022.
1. Lean into Reels
Love them or hate them, Reels are a key part of any Instagram marketing strategy.
We saw back at the end of 2021 that Instagram was doubling down on Reels.
Now it’s safe to say Reels are the apex predator of the Instagram jungle.
Sure, there are ways to grow your account without them, but you just won’t get the same amount of traction.
How many Reels should I post in a week?
With the algorithm pushing Reels so hard, you may think it’s best to just focus on video content. But this isn’t ideal for two reasons:
- Making good Reels is a LOT of work
- Your followers like different types of content
In fact, carousels get the most engagement out of any content type on Instagram. So while Reels are great for generating reach, you’ll still want to use other types of posts to nurture your audience.
To strike a good balance, over half your posts should be Reels. If you’re posting every day (more on that later!), you should aim for around 3-4 Reels each week.
Tips for using Reels in your Instagram marketing strategy
Build traction for your Reels in the first hour
Audience engagement is a huge part of the Reels algorithm. If your content consistently gets likes, shares, and comments, that tells Instagram that people like your stuff – and others will as well.
As soon as you publish your Reel, share it with at least 20 people you know will comment. These can be friends, family, team members, loyal followers – anyone with Instagram.
The earlier you start building that momentum, the more likely it is that your content will go viral.
Talk straight into the camera
While trendy dances may earn you lots of likes, they don’t get you that sale.
Remember Dr Becky? These are the style of videos that exploded her business.
Super simple, right? But these Reels are a great addition to any Instagram marketing strategy for a few reasons:
- They help establish you as an authority in your niche
- They differentiate you from your competitors
- They get an extra boost from the algorithm, since it prioritizes original content
You can use these videos to showcase your expertise, challenge misconceptions in your niche, give helpful tips to your customers, and really let them get to know you.
And the best part? You don’t need anything too fancy to make this content – just a phone, a basic script, and your awesome self.
Repurpose your tweets for quote Reels
You could use a generic quote that users have heard a million times and slap it on some stock footage of a sunset.
Or you could use this hack to create eye-catching content that turns scrollers into followers – with the same amount of effort.
Here’s how it works.
- Take a quote that represents you and your brand. You can also screenshot a tweet from your brand’s Twitter account that’s already performed well and resonated with followers.
- Record a video that showcases you or your business on a typical workday. You could prop up your iPhone and film the team busting their asses to deliver amazing service to customers, or showcase how products work.
- Once you’ve got all your assets, edit your Reel and overlay the quote on top of the video. It should only be a few seconds long so you can loop it a few times while people are reading. Make sure to add some trending audio.
And voila!
Here’s some examples I found in the wild.
These Reels are super easy to do and are great for busy social media managers who don’t have a lot of time.
Create caption templates
How much time do you spend on your Reel captions?
Whatever your answer is, it’s far too much.
When watching Reels, people tend to skip the captions altogether. So if you’ve been investing hours into writing long, detailed copy, that time could be better spent elsewhere.
To speed up the process, create 3–5 templates you can rotate through with different CTAs depending on the topic and what you’re promoting. This means you can focus more on actually making your Reels, engaging with your audience, and refining your Instagram marketing strategy.
Play the long game
Now, I know I said you want to get more traction for your Reels early on.
And while this certainly does help your engagement, it turns out Reels have a much longer shelf life than other Instagram content.
This means even if you don’t get a huge response in the first couple of days, a Reel you made weeks ago can suddenly get a huge spike in views.
Basically? The more (quality) Reels you put out, the more chances you have to go viral and bring in a bunch of new followers.
To make this process a little easier, you’ll want to use software that can schedule Reels along with the rest of your posts and stories. That way, you can regularly put out content without worrying about what videos to create every day.
2. Change your #hashtag game for 2022
Back in the day, optimizing for discoverability on IG meant loading up your posts with the full 30 hashtags (even if they weren’t totally relevant 🙈).
But these days, Instagram’s a lot smarter than we give it credit for.
In fact, your post can appear without any hashtags at all.
To see just how good Instagram’s SEO actually is, I decided to search for some ‘handmade jewelry’.
Now, most posts did include #handmadejewelry or #handmadejewellry (interestingly, Instagram picked up on the different spellings).
But I also got a few outliers like this post from a small Italian boutique:
Or this post from the more established Freywille:
Or this post from Molten Store, a fairly big Australian jewellery brand.
In these cases, it’s actually the caption that tells Instagram what these posts are all about.
And it’s not just in search where we’re seeing big changes. According to Zuckerberg himself, Instagram is doubling the amount of AI-recommended content users see in their feed.
This means if you have the right Instagram marketing strategy, you may just be able to put your business in front of more eyeballs than ever before.
So with all this in mind, here’s how you can start to optimize your posts for discoverability.
- Include short, descriptive captions
If you have a certain keyword you’d like to target (say handmade jewelry), make sure this appears in your captions.
- Add alt text
This is a simple step many people forget in their Instagram marketing strategy. But adding alt text to an image tells Instagram exactly what that content is about, which helps it recommend your post to the right people.
When writing alt text, try to include your keyword if it fits naturally. If not, aim for a detailed description of what’s happening in the image.
- Don’t forget the hashtags!
As we’ve seen, you don’t have to have hashtags. But they certainly make life a lot easier – for both you and the algorithm.
Even though Instagram recommends having up to five hashtags, you can include as many as needed. To make sure Instagram knows who to recommend your content to, you’ll want to have:
- A broad category hashtag (your general industry)
- A niche hashtag (what you specifically do)
- Hashtags relating to that post in particular
When evaluating your hashtags, make sure each one is relevant and will help the algorithm understand your post better – and not confuse it.
3. Use your pinned posts wisely
Back in June, Instagram announced a new feature that allows users to pin up to three posts to the top of their feed.
So what’s the best way to customize this valuable real estate?
We suggest the following configuration.
- This post (either a carousel or Reel) should explain who you are and what you’re all about to a new visitor. It should also tell them what to do next – whether you want them to download a lead magnet, sign up for your newsletter, visit your site, or just follow you on Instagram.
- This place should be reserved for any content (typically a Reel) that’s been getting a lot of traction. You can pin it here and give it an extra little boost.
- This spot should be left open for your most recent post, so that it still has a chance to get the attention it deserves.
4. Leverage your location.
This July, Instagram announced a brand new Map feature.
Users can either tap location tags in posts or Stories or search a certain area and see recent stories and top posts.
And although this feature is relatively new, you can already see the potential.
For example, I live in Paris. If I’m out and about and I get hungry, I could easily use Instagram to find some delicious macarons. Like this place 😋
I can see their posts, as well as posts from people who’ve tagged them.
And if I want to know more, I can tap ‘View information’ and get the address, opening hours, price range, and website.
So if your brand has a brick-and-mortar store, here’s a few things you’ll need to consider in your Instagram marketing strategy:
- Are your business details complete and up to date?
- Does your profile picture work well at such a small size? Is it clear what you do before someone taps on you?
- Are you tagging every post with your location?
- Are you encouraging your customers to tag your location in their Stories or Reels?
5. Collab with content creators in your niche
The best way to reach your audience? Partner with someone they look up to.
Even as audiences grow more jaded, 61% of users trust influencers’ recommendations. And when you compare that to the 38% of people who trust recommendations from brands, it’s not hard to see why influencer marketing is such a powerful part of your Instagram strategy.
To make sure you get your bang for your buck, use the Collab feature. Any posts you do in collaboration with an influencer appear on both accounts, doubling your exposure.
Plus, this feature makes it super easy for users to see a collaborator’s post and get to your profile. Instead of being hidden in the tags, a brand’s name is in the header – all users have to do is click.
6. Optimize your carousels for sharing
We’ve already mentioned that carousels get far more engagement than any other post type. But if you go the extra mile and prime your content for sharing, you’ll see even better results.
- Do an audit of your most shared content
Look at what topics and visuals perform. Are there any patterns or similarities?
You can also look at which Reels have gotten the most engagement and turn these into carousels (more on that later).
- Choose the right aesthetic
If you have a relatively broad audience, you may opt for a more neutral design that anyone can share. But if you have a more feminine or masculine following, you may want to lean more into your design.
Bossbabe is a great example of this.
- Make sure each slide stands on its own
While carousels are meant to be viewed as a whole, you’ll also want to make sure that each slide can stand (and be shared) on its own. This increases your odds that someone will share one of the images in their Story.
7. Repurpose other content
You’ve probably already got a treasure trove of high-quality, on-brand content. Use it!
Now, you may already be cutting your YouTube videos into bite-sized Reels or using Twitter threads as carousels. And we’ve already talked about turning your tweets into quotes.
But it’s also a great idea to repurpose your existing Instagram content. Try turning your carousels into Reel scripts (and vice versa).
You can also easily convert your top-performing Stories by taking highlights and converting them into Reels as is, or by using the Reels editor.
These posts often get the same amount of attention as ones you spend a lot of time and energy on – and free you up to spend more time elsewhere.
8. Keep it consistent
You probably know that you have to post regularly to see any growth on Instagram.
I’d like to propose an amendment:
You need to post as much as you can without sacrificing quality or consistency.
We’ve done a complete breakdown of how often to post on Instagram, including how often you should post Reels, Stories, and what times of day will get you the best results. But long story short, you should be posting at least once a day.
You should also be posting on the same topics so Instagram can easily classify your account and share it with the right people. By narrowing your focus, you not only hone the type of audience you attract, but build your authority on those topics.
To see how well this Instagram marketing strategy works, just look at Vanessa Lau, who was able to gain 10,000 followers in just ten days. And all she did was experiment with how much she posted.
Now, posting every single day on a regular basis is obviously pretty time-consuming. To make sure content production stays on track, you need a streamlined social media tool to keep everything organized.
With Kontentino, you can create posts, get them approved by your clients or higher-ups, schedule them, and analyze the results. And to make life even easier, you can now schedule Reels and stories!
With an efficient content workflow like this, you’ll be able to keep putting out great content and grow your business.
Final thoughts on your Instagram marketing strategy
Hopefully, the tips and tricks we’ve explored above will help you make the most of your Instagram marketing strategy for the rest of 2022.
It’s worth noting the algorithm is always changing, so you’ll need to keep refining your tactics and experimenting as you go. Who knows – you might just discover the next hack everyone will be using in 2023!
Want to spend more time on strategy? Kontentino saves you 20 hours per month that you can reinvest in growing your brand on Instagram. Try it for free for 14 days and see just how fast you can bring in business.
