Every small business owner wants to create social media content that converts. There is no question that small business owners are latching onto the power of Instagram. The question is whether or not your small business has an Instagram strategy.

Instagram provides everyone with a free platform that you can use to organically market your brand and grow your business. Simply having an Instagram account for your business isn’t enough. You need to do more than just post a photo with a descriptive caption. To improve your Instagram marketing strategy as a small business, you’ll need to start utilizing your content marketing knowledge.

If you’re unfamiliar with the basics of content marketing, I’ll explain. Content marketing in simplest terms is an effective way to highlight your expertise through free education. While you’re not selling directly to your followers on Instagram with content marketing, you’re providing your followers with valuable free information. 

Content marketing helps to generate leads, establishes thought leadership, and increases brand awareness. As your small business continues to publish free content on Instagram, the content will effortlessly guide your followers deeper into the customer journey. 

Here are three powerful content marketing tips that will improve your Instagram marketing strategy, allowing you to take full advantage of your organic social media content. 

Structure Your Instagram Captions Like Mini Blog Posts

Each Instagram post you publish has the potential to reach millions of users. Treat each Instagram post as a short, complete story. Just as you would create a blog post or a podcast episode, your Instagram content needs to have structure. 

Attract the viewer with a headline or a hook that will get the user to click “Read More” in your caption. You have minimal characters to entice the user to read more, so use this space wisely. If you fail to create a hook that gets the user to expand your caption, the rest of your caption is null and void.

After you successfully get the user to click and expand your caption, provide them with valuable information. This is the meat of your post that needs to provide value. When writing this section of your caption, remember that Instagram is a fast-paced app. The content shouldn’t be difficult for the user to digest. I suggest creating a few bullet points which you can do with emojis. Use line breaks to space the text for easier readability too. 

The final portion of your caption is where you add your call to action (CTA). Just as you would include a CTA in any other piece of content, you should also do this in each Instagram post. CTA’s can be as simple as telling the user to like or comment on the post. Or you can ask the user to take a little more effort and share the post, send you a DM or click the link in your bio. As with any piece of content you create, you never want to leave the reader without a next step. Help guide your reader to take the next step in the closing line of your caption.

Integrate Infographics, Illustrations, & Data-Driven Visuals Into Your Feed 

A picture is worth a thousand words. Don’t just rely on imagery with captions to tell your brand’s story. Integrating digital graphics into your feed that include infographics, illustrations, or other data-driven visuals provides your content with an advantage. What’s the advantage? Shareability. 

Saves and shares on Instagram are basically super likes to the platform’s algorithm. Users are more likely to share a fun infographic or meme than a standard photo. Think of the content people share on their Instagram stories. Can you create something similar for your small business? By creating shareable content, you’re able to hack into that user’s audience. When this happened you reach a whole array of new people who otherwise may not have heard of your brand. 

If designing content isn’t your specialty or you don’t know where to start, the monthly templates delivered in my Content Catalyst Membership are a perfect starter solution for you. There are currently dozens of different Instagram graphic templates included for your small business marketing efforts. The membership will also help you get a jump start on all your other Content Marketing needs too.

Create Engagement & Encourage Your Followers To Interact With You

The best part about social media marketing is getting to interact directly with your followers. Social media is meant to be social, of course. Use every interaction as a valuable tool and direct insight into what type of content your customers need from you. 

What type of content are your followers reacting to? What content sparks questions and invites you to dive deeper into the topic? Analyze your user’s behavior to determine which type of content resonates and fulfills your audience’s needs. 

In addition to helping with content idea generation, your follower’s responses will help guide your future marketing efforts. Take note of the language they use when asking questions or explaining concepts. You can then take their words verbatim and integrate them into your sales copy. This simple technique will take your copywriting to the next level. Your customers will read your sales pages and feel like you’re in their heads because it’s the exact thing they need. 

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Instagram is continuing to dominate the social media world with over 800 million users on the platform every month. Improving your Instagram content strategy will help you reach a greater portion of users on the platform. The best part about the three tips in this article is that they don’t cost you a dime. By integrating content marketing strategies into your social media marketing, you’ll be one step ahead of your competition. 

It doesn’t take money to succeed on Instagram, it takes strategy.