Instagram Best Practices for a Small Business
--
I began my small clay earring business, Soleil and Clay, in April 2020 after being furloughed from my job due to COVID-19.
Along with being a full-time social media grad student, I added another social media account onto my plate. What started off as fun hobby, quickly turned into selling my earrings on Etsy. With being on Instagram for 9 years and half way through my second semester in my social media program, I had a pretty good understanding of the social media strategy I wanted to implement to market my designs. I began to think back on brands I follow and love for inspiration on what to do and what not to do.
Ideal Character Count
When thinking about what I was going to be sharing with my audience, I instantly knew that I was going to have to push brand awareness for the first few months. With that, I wanted my captions to be easy to read/follow, brief, and informative. I wanted to share quick info on the earrings, where you could buy them, and when you could buy them. Also adding in a few fun emojis when applicable.
Here is an example of an ideal character count for a typical post:
In this post, I used minimalst symbols that match those in our bio and the design style of the earring collection. I let our audience know when and where they would be avaliable. In addition to this post, I created an Instagram Story that would further engrain the launch date and online purchasing site link. At the time of posting this, I believe the account had less than 100 followers, so it performed well.
Here is an example of a post that exceeds ideal character count:
While I believe this post was necessary for the current time it was posted in, this would not be an ideal caption length for a typical post about a new earring or collection launch date. This lengthy caption would only work if the content is necessary to explain a certain issue or bring awareness to a problem within the small business. If a long message needs to be delivered, I believe that it would be best to create an IGTV (Instagram Tevelvision). In this case, I wanted to respond quickly and would not have been able to produce a video to get my messaging across.
Hashtags
Hashtags have been so incredibly helpful for bringing exposure to my small business. They have allowed my business to be shared with other creatives and potential customers. In order to optimize hashtags, I have a list ready to copy and paste into a comment - separate from the caption. I do not want the caption to become overcrowded. If you comment on your own post — right after posting- Instagram will still add your content to the correct hashtag. When commenting, be sure to add five (5) “.” or “-” before copying or typing the hashtags. Instagram will also allow you a maximum of 30 hashtags per comment, although I would just stick to one comment. Below is an example of the correct use of hashtags for Soleil and Clay.
Brand Voice
Soleil and Clay’s brand voice is friendly, personal, simple — but fun, and informative. This voice should be carried throughout all social media platforms, but in the case for Instagram, it will be displayed through captions, stories, and responses to comments.
Customer Service Responses
When responding to customers, Soleil and Clay should utilize their brand voice and alter the tone to be understanding to each situation. Below is an example of a customer question about the type of materials we use. Here I utilized a friendly and informative tone that provided the customer with an honest response, until I could further inform her when I was able to receive hypoallergenic materials. Since I know that this is a commonly asked question, I have included a statement in our bio about the earrings being “nickel free.”
Creating Engagement Opportunities for Followers
Since I am creating a product, I want to hear my customers and/or potential customers opinions on what type of colors or patterns they would enjoy wearing. To do this, I create Instagram Stories that utilize the “Question,” “Poll,” or “Emoji Slider” to receive personal and interactive feedback. This type of content is easy and to produce and it generally creates a quick response.
Creating this best practice guide for my small business will allow for consistency for my social media strategy. If you are thinking about starting a small business or already have one, take the time to look at your overall social media presence on a specific platform and craft some responses like I have above. I guarantee taking a few hours to create a document of best practices for your brand or business will bring much success.
Good Luck!
