Instagram has seen some major adjustments in the past few years, and these modifications have caused substantial shifts in the way social media marketing is conducted. Learn the benefits to your social media strategy and how to implement these improvements. We asked Erica Jenkins, head of product at Meltwater Social, to explain everything so that you can make informed decisions.
What this implications for your Instagram business marketing efforts
Verification
Instagram only allows verified company profiles to search for hashtags and track and analyse the activity of other verified business profiles in an effort to preserve users’ privacy. By proceeding with the verification procedure and integrating your Facebook and Instagram accounts, you are giving your consent for your company profile information to be made public.
Instagram usernames should be rethought.
Before these updates, social media listening throughout Instagram could be used with both personal and commercial profiles. Verifying your company status is now mandatory. If you’re a marketing professional for a multinational corporation that has a presence on Facebook at the national level in a number of different countries, you might want to set up a separate Instagram account for each of those countries. As each handle may have up to 30 active hashtags, this would provide you access to more accounts and more data about your followers and communities than if you only used one handle for your social media marketing.
Less #hashtags
Instagram has reduced the amount of hashtags you may search for in order to protect the privacy of its users and the larger social media community from misuse. Up to thirty hashtags can be searched at once by Instagram business profiles that have been verified (or, to be more precise, during a rolling, seven-day period). You may now only search for a maximum of 5,000 hashtags per day using your complete company profile, regardless of which app you use or who manages your account.
Comparison to Market Leaders
Businesses with verified social media profiles may now monitor the Instagram activity of other verified profiles, including those of their rivals and key opinion leaders. Thanks to this illustration, you’ll have a better grasp of the kind of content your rivals are putting out there to keep their own audience interested. Influencers should be approached in a similar fashion. Check out their content to see what resonates with their audience. There may be potential for the influencer to help your social media marketing efforts if you find that the interests of their community and those of your following overlap.
Social media marketing in an age of rapidly evolving techniques and contexts
Everyone in the social media ecosystem, from developers to marketers, will be impacted by Instagram’s recent adjustments. Your social media tactics can benefit from the new standard while still protecting users’ anonymity. Here, we’ve outlined a few ways that businesses may still benefit from Instagram users’ insights.
Voice representation
For instance, if your company were in the hotel industry, you might utilise the hashtags #travel and #vacation to draw in a wide variety of posts. As a result, your marketing team will have a comprehensive grasp of a wide range of subject matter. Afterwards, you can use Meltwater’s keyword search to see how much of a presence your brand has in the article’s text. You may also use this method to direct your content advertising efforts.
Tracking public relations and marketing efforts via social media
You can keep looking for the hashtag you’re pushing if you’re running a social media campaign and your marketing team needs as much targeted follower and community data as possible (just be mindful of your 30 hashtag limit). Under the new privacy rules, marketing experts will be allowed to view the content without seeing the writers’ names or any other information about them, but they will be able to view any accompanying photographs or videos.
Keeping an eye on the competition and the market
Competitor analysis and market research are two further applications. Companies should research how rivals market their products and interact with consumers using the same kinds of visually compelling platforms. Is there the introduction of new items that could introduce new competitors? Is there a possibility that your competitors are collaborating with another organisation on a joint promotion? In what ways do they differentiate themselves from you on Facebook and Instagram? Such knowledge is essential for establishing marketing strategies.
Different Brand Management Strategies
Searching for tags and @mentions of your social media handle is a new feature that wasn’t available in the old API. Professionals in social media marketing will be able to monitor their brand’s mentions across all hashtags and respond appropriately. Because of this capacity, businesses have a lot more chances to show off their social media prowess and core values, such their dedication to customer care.
How to Get Ready
Make sure your Instagram business profile is linked to your Facebook page and verified by your marketing team as a top priority. You can’t rely on being able to look up hashtags or rival businesses just because a small blue checkmark appears. The following phase is verification.
Each Instagram company profile will only be able to make 30 hashtag search queries each month, so now is a good time to review internal marketing procedures. Figure out who in your company should be monitoring Instagram hash tags, and work together to come up with your “30.” Keep in mind that this restriction affects all hashtag searches made using your business profile, regardless of the tools your marketing team uses (such as Meltwater, Sysomos, Sprout Social, etc.)
It’s worth repeating that these shifts affect businesses across the board, so if you feel they place too many limits on your marketing team, be certain that your rivals do, too. These steps must be taken for legal access to Instagram regardless of which suppliers you use.