Instagram has recently gained global popularity with over a billion monthly active users. Most of Instagram’s user base is the young demographic. Hence, it proves to be an excellent platform for small businesses. The recent 2021 updates that have made the app more accessible to a larger age group of people is a positive change. Moreover, the updates have made the app more susceptible to better marketing strategies.

Whether it is to build your brand image, showcase your product, or directly sell through the app, the recent Instagram updates have made small business marketing simpler. We have contacted successful Instagram marketers to gain their advice to better leverage the new updates. However, if you aren’t using Instagram marketing updates to your advantage or are unsure of the platform, then here are a few tips to improve your Instagram marketing strategy.

1. Direct Message Automation for Lead Generation

The recent update has made it easier for the business pages to implement bots to automate Instagram actions. Communication bots are software that automates specific responses on the platform, such as commenting, replying with keyword specific responses, offering support, etc. This strategy is especially helpful in improving your email database. Implore your followers to reply to you with specific keywords, and the bot will take the users through a pre-planned series of conversations which will create a background for your business. The bots will nurture and warm up the leads to your business. The best part is that the bot will generate a response only when a specific keyword is identified. You can continue to chat normally with other people, and the bot will keep generating responses in the background.

2. Instagram Live to Create a Personal Connection

Another nifty feature added to improve Instagram’s marketing strategy is Instagram Live. Instagram Live allows the user to record and live stream audio and video from wherever they are. Also, a feature has increased the controls, allowing you to mute your audio or even turn off the video. Video streaming is important for any small business owner as it is the best way to build trust and confidence. Potential clients will be less reluctant to communicate with you if they see your face.

3. Instagram Reels Insights

Reels are the new addition by Instagram. These are vertical 15 or 30-second videos that have gained massive popularity in recent months. The reach of reels has been the highest when compared to any other Instagram feature. This useful Instagram update has improved small business marketing strategy’s effectiveness dramatically. Also, business accounts can get insights from these reels as well. When the insights from reels are combined with the usual business account insights, it gives a very vivid description of the current status of any business.

Reels are especially helpful in finding the right audience as their reach is very high. Changing different parameters such as lighting, content, format, music, etc., will help you find the optimal requirements to create reels that resonate with your target audience.

4. IGTV Monetization

Another Instagram update that will help small businesses’ marketing is the IGTV. It allows the user to upload longer videos and post more content on the platform. To incentivise businesses with a large following, Instagram has decided to monetise their IGTV platform. It makes it similar to that of Snapchat and Tiktok but is an excellent option to make some extra money on the side.

However, IGTV monetisation is only available to pages with more than 10,000 followers.

5. Reel Remix

Reels is such an excellent Instagram update for a small business marketing strategy that it can be used in multiple ways. Another nifty feature of the reels is allowing the user to play an existing reel next to your reel. This essentially expands reels’ reach to a higher level. In addition, remixing reels in this pattern allows the creators to make better reactionary content or do side commentary on events, a topic that has gained widespread popularity in recent times.

This feature also saves time as you can essentially repurpose any reel and create new content. It is great for content creators who are finding it difficult to create new original content.

Whatever might your small business be, if you find the need to market it, then Instagram is where you need to be. The exponential potential reaches possible by marketing on Instagram makes it one of the best platforms for small businesses. Use these excellent tips to improve your Instagram marketing strategy and reap tremendous benefits.