It’s understandable that Instagram is usually associated with entertainment, fun and the inevitable pics of food, but many companies have discovered and used its great potential for business purposes. And their number is rising rapidly.
Whether its main role is to inform the existing customers about your new products and services or to attract new ones, Instagram has become one of the most powerful social media tools around the globe. Since September 2017, the number of users has increased by 20%, from 300 to 600 million monthly active users, after Jun 2018, already reach 1 Billion.
Such development and surge in the number of people using it have also brought about a huge breakthrough in the number of tools helping you maximize your use of this platform. Here are just some of them that you might take into consideration.
1. Snapseed
This is one of the most popular editing tools for your pictures. The results in terms of contrast and color are really excellent and it’s no surprise so many people are using it.
Also, you can use other photo editing app, and One of the most interesting features of this app is the ability to save the editing history and redirect to any action taken before. Also, you can opt to save filter combinations you’ve used for future use.
2. Facetune
If your business requires that you post pics of people, either your employees or customers, this app will let you work on portraits and create the best possible image of the picture you’ve taken.
It’s quite intuitive and user-friendly. So, if you want the profiles on your posts to have perfect skin or teeth or to look even better than they do in real life, this is one of the most popular apps. It’s available for both Android and iOS.
3. Repost
As the name suggests, this app is designed to share user-generated content, i.e. posts, on your Instagram account. It also allows you to save images and videos for later reposting, find breath-taking photos by hashtag or user and automatically credit the creator – all with a single tap.
Such content should be selected very carefully, having your goal in mind and being aware of your business’ image. When it comes to Instagram, current brand positioning trends suggest that images are becoming more daring, reflective and thought-provoking, which means you should try to select the content that boasts such features, but is still very relevant to what you do.
4. Layout
You can’t go wrong with Instagram’s own app used for visual editing. It’s pretty much down only to your creativity and imagination to make the most of the visual content you’re planning to share. Another selling point of this tool is that it’s free and available for both Android and iOS.
5. SocialRank
If you’re looking for a tool that will help you understand your follower demographics, look no further. SocialRank will easily pinpoint your most valuable followers and influencers.
It uses information about all your followers and lets you organize them in any way you wish. You may sort and filter them according to your needs and wishes, depending on what you’re trying to achieve.
In terms of managing, you can have the demographics of your followers broken down and various lists of followers saved and/or exported.
6. Wishpond
This is a premium platform, which contains a plethora of useful tools, such as Instagram Hashtag Contest. You can organize a hashtag contest and collect all photos attached to the hashtag in question. It can also filter those who’ve followed your brand in case that’s one of the requirements to take part in the contest.
What you achieve by such contests is the active engagement of your followers, who, in turn, are followed by those who still don’t follow you. This is an excellent way of boosting the number of your followers and your visibility.
7. Yotpo
This tool allows you to manage the user-generated content and combine it with your advertising, which is one of the main reasons you’re using Instagram. Yotpo can give you more ratings and reviews, which improves the traffic and hopefully sales.
The moderation dashboard lets you discover and get permission for user-generated content, which is a potentially powerful advertising tool that you can use to promote your service or products through this modern word-of-mouth.
8. Facebook Creating Ads
Since Instagram is owned by Facebook, it makes sense to utilize Creating Ads with Ads Manager to run “sponsored” posts on Instagram. Instagram’s ads platform is a relatively new addition, but it has already become extremely powerful and effective.
What can this tool do for you?
Well, you can tailor your Instagram ads based on location, gender, interests, age, and income of your target groups, to name just some of the parameters. A “call-to-action” button is added to point to an outside URL, where your followers can learn more about your offer.
Another important issue is that you can limit your daily expenditure on advertising and the prices start at a dollar a day. That amount won’t give you a lot of coverage, but it is reassuring to know that you’re completely in control of the process.
Final remarks
It has become quite clear that social media, including Instagram, have become the main players in terms of advertising. There is sometimes a great difference between the results achieved by two companies with a similar offer, but with one of them utilizing social media much more effectively.
Understandably, a lot of people are simply overwhelmed with various platforms, tools, and options. For them, as well as for all those who like to keep abreast with the latest developments, Instagram is offering a business blog providing help to those who want to make the most of it. Have a look and see what combination of tools is right for you since universal solutions no longer work.