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How to maximize Instagram for video marketing

You may look at Instagram and see the limits of marketing. It has a relatively small community of users as compared to its parent company, Facebook. It doesn’t have an extensive list of tools for advertising. It’s an app that’s focused on visuals and lifestyle and you may not think it’s a right fit for you brand.

But consider this: big brands are marketing on Instagram, and they’re doing it well. The reason for this is because they know Instagram has its own advantages. When it comes to video marketing, Instagram offers unique ways to leverage your content.

 

Make Use of User-Generated Content

There’s a joke about how “on Instagram, everyone’s lives are better than yours.” The fact is, lifestyle plays a huge role on Instagram. It’s where users post about their clothing with captions that include “#OOTD.” It’s where people post about what they’re eating and where they are. That’s why brands related to food, clothing, and shoes usually have a wealth of user-generated content available to them. Starbucks is one example of the bigger brands that share them often.

But a better example would be Nest. They share user-generated videos of moments captured by the Nest security camera. Their users are happy to share the videos of their pets too.

User-generated video content is viewed 10 times more than a brand video and is perceived as being 50% more reliable. To encourage users to create video content specific to your brand, you could run a contest or provide some sort of incentive. Be sure to create a memorable hash tag for the campaign when you do this.

 

From Partnerships with Influencers

Another unique aspect of Instagram is the prevalence of social media influencers on the site. An influencer is someone with a large following on Instagram that may be hired to promote your brand. Their followers see them as reliable and trust that their recommendations are for brands they actually buy from and like. You can hire an influencer to create video content with your product in it and share it with their followers.

Another alternative is to hire an influencer for an account “takeover.” This is when you ask influencers to create content for your brand’s Instagram account. This would bring the influencer’s followers over to your account for more activity. An example would be when Disney got Luke Evans to post content for the account while he was at the Beauty and the Beast premiere.

 

Make Use of the Tools Instagram has Available

There are a lot of tools on Instagram that could make your video content remarkable. Filters are one of the most popular examples. But there’s also Boomerang, Live, Hyperlapse, and Stories. Other than that, there’s also the option to add call-to-action buttons to your content. These would link directly to your store page or brand website for easier conversion on your video ads.

Instagram also allows precise targeting of audience. Like Facebook, advertising can target audiences depending on location, demographics, interests, and behavior. They also offer the option of running video ads to customers whose contact details you already know. There’s also Lookalike Audiences, which finds and targets users like your existing customers, and Automated Targeting.

The best part? They’re still rolling out more features to make advertising on Instagram an easier and more efficient task.

 

Look up Third-Party Tools

Aside from the features that Instagram already offers, there are also third-party tools you can use to leverage your content.

For example, there’s Later. This is a post-scheduling service that lets you upload your video content now, to be posted to your Instagram account later. Consistent posting is key to keeping your audience constantly engaged. Post scheduling would ensure you always have content on your account.

Instagram is a great platform for video marketing, even if you’re brand’s not in retail. The key is just to know the social media app you’re working with.