Instagram is a powerful tool for your local business. Instagram has over 500 million active daily users with the possibility to reach new customers endlessly. 

We've all heard about the success stories when businesses or people became insta famous overnight. However, it is usually a bit more complex than just posting a few pictures now and then. We've gathered our best tips for promoting your local business on Instagram:

1 Create a business profile on Instagram 

First and foremost, you need a profile on Instagram. Make sure to create a business profile to be able to add a shop and get performance insights from your profile. Starting a business account is easy. Go to your profile settings and click "Account." From here, you choose the "switch to a professional account." Choose the company category, fill in your business information and add a link to your website in the bio. 

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2 Engage with your community 

Instagram is, first and foremost, a community. You, as a business, want to show that you're a valuable member of the Instagram community. Posting reels and images is a great start. To engage in the community, you need to connect with others, build relationships, and join the comments' conversations. 

• Follow other people and brands
• Engage in the comments sections and spread good vibes among your followers 
• Publish high-quality content, create content around your prospective customers and use the @ to mention them

3 Repost local content and tap into user-generated content 

Enhance your reputation in the local community by reposting content published by followers or tagged by users. This will make the content creator feel happy and appreciated. Sharing content that followers create makes the brand more human and approachable. This will make them feel like your business is a friend, not a business just after followers and money.  

4 Use localized hashtags 

Hashtags usually fit into three different categories, branded, trending, and content hashtags. However, as a local business, its worth hashtags that trend locally and appear in the feeds of the users in that area. You'll be found on Instagram using local hashtags and establish yourself in the community. 

5 Use geotags in your posts

Use geotags to engage with your target audience. Geotags are gathered from physical locations, which allows users to tag their content to the specific coordinates of your business. If there isn't a geotag for your location, you can easily create it through the  Facebook "Create the Location" setting in your Facebook account. Always include the geotag and a sticker on your stories when posting content. Also, remember to encourage users to share content to your locations. 

6 Post at least 2-3 times a week on your Instagram feed   

To post regularly is extremely important to keep your followers engaged and to attract new followers. We recommend you to publish at least 2-3 posts on your feed every week (not more than once a day) and 3-4 stories per week. This can seem like a lot, but you'll come far with a good scheduling tool.   

7 Tell your brand story 

The best stories are the ones that people can relate to. Ensure that your pictures, your copy, and videos are authentic to who you are. You have to be unique but still relatable. By telling your story, you evoke emotions, making people pay closer attention to your posts and engage with your brand. 

8 Use testimonials 

Customer testimonials can take shape in many different formats. It can be case studies, video testimonials, reviews and quotes. When you publish testimonials on Instagram, you provide people with social proof, giving them a more substantial reason to trust your brand. 

9 Image and video quality 

Create and post professional and creative content on Instagram to attract followers and customers. Instagram is a very visual platform, so put extra effort into your content by ensuring high-quality pictures. By posting great content, you will, in the best case, inspire your followers to buy your products or services.  

10 Track and measure 

Always keep track of the content that gets the most impressions, likes, and comments and investigate what the increase in engagements can be a result of. Consumer behavior and attitudes constantly change, which means your followers' attitudes and preferences will also change. 

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Create a free account and start managing all your Instagram profiles from Mobal.

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