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As you try to expand the reach and appeal of your business, what is one of the most powerful marketing tools you have at your disposal? You might have answered "social media," and you would be correct. But more specifically, Instagram can be an amazing asset to your business-if you know how to use it as a marketing tool. This post will provide you with the know-how you need to leverage this visually-oriented platform to expand your reach, build your brand, and attract new customers.

Why Use Instagram for Marketing?

For starters, why use Instagram for marketing in the first place? For one, it's one of the largest social networks in existence with 800 million active monthly users and counting (Source: TechCrunch). In other words, it's highly likely that a good portion of your target audience can be found on the platform.

Second, research has shown that Instagram has not one of the highest, but the highest engagement rate of all social networks, by far. Needless to say, if it's your aim to increase the effectiveness of your marketing, you need to master the use of Instagram. But how exactly can you leverage this invaluable marketing tool to reach your business and social media marketing goals?

6 Ways to Turn Instagram into a Marketing Tool

1. Use Hashtags to Boost Awareness

To consistently generate new interest in your business, you need to use hashtags. After all, they are the way that users search for photos of a specific type or relating to something of interest. If one of your posts shows up during their search, they may take the time to explore your account further and may even follow you.

When choosing and using hashtags, though, there are a few things you need to keep in mind. First, while you don't need to use hordes of hashtags per post, you do need to use at least a couple on every post. Which ones? That brings us to the second point.

The majority of tags you choose should be relevant in some way to your industry. That way, more people who stumble across your posts will actually be interested in what you do and offer.

Yet, you should also use a mix of local and trending hashtags. For example, #newyork or #flashbackfriday. These might not necessarily be related to your business or industry and, thus, will likely attract fewer qualified leads. That's not to say that they aren't worth your time. You can still boost awareness of your business this way.

2. Stick To Your Story, Strengthen Your Brand

Consistency is key. You'll have a hard time keeping your followers if you're "all over the map" and they never know what to expect from you. Therefore, each one of your posts should hold to the same theme as the others. Each post should fit seamlessly into the bigger picture-your business' story-like a puzzle piece.

What about those times when you really want to share something without interrupting the story told collectively by your posts? That's when Instagram Stories come in handy, as they'll allow you to share content apart from all the rest.

3. Interact Freely With Your Audience

Engaging with others on Instagram can have numerous benefits. It's a key ingredient in both customer satisfaction and brand advocacy. Additionally, it increases your business':

* Visibility
* Likability
* Memorability
* Credibility

No doubt you'd agree that the benefits are worth the time it takes to interact. Who should you be engaging with, though? Your followers, industry authorities and the followers of those you follow. The more people you engage with, in a sincere way, the better the results of your efforts.

4. Share User-Generated Content

Going right along with the last point, sharing user-generated content is an excellent way to engage and be engaged with. You can come up with fun and creative ways to get your customers to share their pictures, videos and positive experiences with your business.

In turn, others may become customers and share their enthusiasm in hopes of having the same honor. User-generated content is one of the best forms of social proof and one of the best ways to create an air of excitement surrounding your brand.

5. Encourage In-Person Interaction With Location Tags

As you try to nurture the leads you generate, it's important that you find ways to get them more and more involved with your business. Since location tags encourage in-person interaction, they can help you to do this.

What better way to point users to your physical business location? That may be all the motivation someone needs to get in the car and pay you a visit, especially after seeing other images that may be associated with the location you choose.

Also, your location tag could point to a place you are or you want your followers to be, if possible. For example, a workshop or an important conference in your industry.

6. Advertise to a More Highly-Targeted Audience

One wonderful thing about Instagram is that, even if you only have a free account, it can still be an effective marketing tool for you. Yet, if you want to pack an even harder punch, you can use the platform's advertising features as well.

Through Instagram advertising, you can be even more specific in your targeting to really take advantage of the high engagement rate. For more on Instagram advertising, check out the following posts:

* How to Advertise on Instagram
* How Much Does it Cost to Advertise on Instagram?
* Examples of Instagram Ads
* Instagram Video Ad Examples

Meet and Exceed Your 2018 Instagram Marketing Goals

As with any goal, it's necessary to have a plan. Otherwise, you'll struggle to reach your 2018 Instagram marketing goals. Whatever it is that you hope to achieve this year, the strategies above apply. They can and should form the foundation that will help you to meet and exceed expectations. You have a valuable marketing tool at your fingertips. Don't let it-or 2018- go to waste!

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How to Use Instagram as a Marketing Tool | ThriveHive

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As you try to expand the reach and appeal of your business, what is one of the most powerful marketing tools you have at your disposal? You might have answered "social media," and you would be correct. But more specifically, Instagram can be an amazing asset to your business-if you know how to use it as a marketing tool.

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Kari DePhillips is the owner of The Content Factory and co-founder of Workationing. She's been featured everywhere from Fast Company to Forbes to NBC News for her management style and digital marketing expertise, and Thrive calls her a "limit‑breaking female founder."

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16 Reasons Why Social Media Marketing Is Important For Any Business

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Kari DePhillips is the owner of The Content Factory and co-founder of Workationing. She's been featured everywhere from Fast Company to Forbes to NBC News for her management style and digital marketing expertise, and Thrive calls her a "limit‑breaking female founder."

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The explosive growth of social media in the last few years has been well documented, and for many, a life without Twitter and Facebook is inconceivable. It's hard to believe that social media as we know it has only been around for little longer than a decade and it has already fundamentally changed the ways people communicate and interact with each other. This is not only true for conversations with friends and family, but also, increasingly, for companies looking to discover the value that social media can add to their marketing operations.

For many businesses, using social media to market their brand has been a challenge. In recent years, the public has not only grown savvy to established marketing techniques employed by companies, but has also almost become immune to these tactics. Ads, leaflets, direct mail and email just don't have the same impact as they used to have. With this awareness increasing amongst target audiences, companies have to come up with new ways to make an impression and differentiate themselves from the competition.

One thing's for sure: by using social media, brands have the chance to create a strong media presence by interacting with customers online. Social tools can also help to strengthen brand perception by communicating core values to a wider audience. This, in turn, opens up the opportunity to start conversations, grow business partnerships and expand the online community to win new followers and potential customers.

To do that however, it is key not to fall in the same trap as with traditional marketing tactics - repeating the same old strategies over and over again. Businesses need to harness the possibilties online platforms have to offer and present the audience with fresh and original ideas. It is important to consider that, after several years of social media, people have grown accostumed to the new media.

Today, one of the most characteristic traits of both social media, and its users, is its fast-moving nature. Organisations today know that is no longer enough to tweet every so often or update their Facebook page with their latest press release. The audience consistently craves news and innovation.

What's clear is that as part of the ongoing quest to stand out from the competition, companies must listen and learn from their audience and have to map their findings against what else is going on in the social media sphere. They have to go above and beyond what already been there and translate their corporate objectives into exiciting and original social media activities.

For example, at HCL we've recently used as an online recruitment tool, not only to uncover new talent, but also to build brand awareness. Another campaign saw the launch of a LinkedIn application aimed at encouraging users to go above and beyond the scope of existing contracts. The application allows users to log in and acknowledge professional relationships that they feel have gone 'the extra mile' by adding a personal note of appreciation.

This shows the direct impact social media tools can have on modern businesses and is a creative way of demonstrating digital savviness and innovativenes to a large audience. It also shows how thought leadership on social media can take B2B engagements to the next level and help forming meaningful business relationships via social media.

Actively using social media is one of the easiest ways to reach a large audience and get the company or brand name in the heads of exisiting or potential customers. Not only does an already established network help to create new contacts, it will also help to deepen connections that have been formed. Even though this sounds very familiar to traditional marketing techniques, social media has given them a new twist. Companies that fail to adopt to a new more connected and interactive market, will inevitably fall behind.

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How Can Social Media be used as a Marketing Tool?

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The explosive growth of social media in the last few years has been well documented, and for many, a life without Twitter and Facebook is inconceivable. It's hard to believe that social media as we know it has only been around for little longer than a decade and it has already fundamentally changed the ways people communicate and interact with each other.

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How powerful is Visual Content in Marketing?

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Visual Content Marketing: Capture and Engage Your Audience

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How to use Visual Content Marketing for your Brand or Product