6 Smart Ways to Market Your Small Business’ Services on Instagram

January 18, 2018
The following six ideas will refresh your brand’s approach to promoting its services on Instagram’s platform.

When it comes to social media, service-based brands tend to hit a wall when producing content for visual-centric social media platforms such as Instagram. Just because your small business might not have a physical product line to anchor its images doesn’t mean your team should have a lack of ideas for creating engaging online content. The following six ideas will refresh your brand’s approach to promoting its services on Instagram’s platform.

No. 1: Show that your brand is an expert in its industry. The golden rule of content marketing is to provide people (a.k.a. potential customers) with valuable information in the form of useful advice or life hacks. Even if some tips, shortcuts, or myths seem obvious to you, odds are your audience doesn’t have the same knowledge or understanding surrounding your business’ specialty.

Use this opportunity to educate your potential customers about your services and the problems/solutions they face. Tips and life hacks can be overlaid on high-res, captivating photos or implemented in infographics. Videos are also practical for sharing information with potential customers, adding a personable element to your brand.

No. 2: Share your customers’ success stories. Whether it be a written review or audio/video testimonial, sharing the success of your clients and customers exhibits social proof. It’s for this reason that case studies remain the No. 1 most effective marketing tool. Before and after photos are also very effective at garnering the interest of your audience. Just be sure to always obtain the customer’s written permission before publishing their story or image on the internet!

No. 3: Uplift your audience’s feeds with inspirational quotes. Even with feeds filled with quotes from all sorts of sources, users still find them engaging. This isn’t to say that your small, service-based business should only post inspirational quotes, but be aware of their power to boost engagement.

No. 4: Repost a funny image or share a joke. Giving your service-based brand a sense of humor can make it more relatable to your audience. Although you’ll want to make sure your business’ tone remains appropriate while also resonating with users, jokes and memes are a great way to brighten someone’s day in a memorable way.

Try to stay away from industry jargon and rather focus on the universal themes of your potential customers’ lives. This can include needing an extra cup of coffee on Monday mornings and counting down the hours until the weekend starts on Friday afternoons.

No. 5: Give your audience a behind-the-scenes glimpse of your brand’s process. In the age of Instagram and Snapchat stories and live videos, it’s easier than ever to share your brand’s process and daily operations. This is not only engaging for users but also presents the opportunity to build trust and credibility for your service-based business.

If your brand utilizes before and after photos, videos can also be a great way to show the process in between customer results. This approach will allow you to highlight what your business does differently and how you go above and beyond industry standards at certain steps in the process.

No. 6: Mirror your audience’s aspirations and the lifestyle they want through images. It will be important for your service-based business to think about why your audience uses social media and what content they’re looking for. More often than not, your potential customers will be looking for images and information that inspire them to be the best versions of themselves.

With this in mind, you will want your content to not just show off your brand’s offering or solution, but also capture the attention of your audience by showing them who they want to (and could) be.

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