Instagram has a large contingent of users from Nigeria. One source indicates that well over 12 million Nigerians are on the platform. They utilise it for various reasons—keeping up with the lives of friends, getting updates about celebrities, and tracking product vendors. If you’re a Nigerian entrepreneur, you’ve probably thought about how to grow your business on Instagram.
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While some of the old rules for attracting a following still apply, changes to the platform over time, as well as increased competition, mean that a number of new rules apply as well. In this article, we’ll share the best practices for expanding your business’s presence on what is one of the world’s biggest social networks.
Optimise Your Profile
You could broaden your reach on Instagram if your profile on it is optimised. This requires that you use your business name, your logo or a recognisable brand image for profile picture, and a bio that contains what you sell, your location, WhatsApp link, and a call to action.
Use High Quality Localised Content
Instagram is visual-heavy, and is actually designed to be so. People on the platform expect to see high-quality pictures and videos. If you’re going to draw their attention to your handle, you must use great visual content that portrays your brand and products in good light (literally and figuratively). Photos and videos need to be appealing, communicate Nigeria-specific themes (in terms of food, clothing, trends, holidays, etc.). A good idea would be to use before-and-after shots to showcase the effectiveness of your product or service.
Utilise Instagram Reels and Stories
You can use Instagram reels to display your best products, and Instagram stories to share things about your business and build connections with your followers. These features could help you achieve top-of-mind status with the people you’re selling to. You could also add questions, polls, and stickers to boost your interaction rates.
Post Frequently, and at Peak Traffic Times
Posting 3 to 5 times a day is generally a good idea. Putting up posts at peak traffic times, when they are more likely to be seen, is important as well. On most weekdays, the best times to post on Instagram are between 9 AM and 12 PM, and 6 PM to 9 PM. However, you could use Instagram Insights to find out when your followers are most often online.
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Stay Engaged
Make sure to respond to your DMs quickly. Like and comment on posts from your followers. In addition, consider asking questions in captions to boost interaction. The more engaged you are with your followers, the likelier it is that you’ll maintain high engagement numbers into the future, and even gain new followers. It also creates the impression that your brand is people-centred.
Run Targeted Ads
Sometimes, you will have to pay for ads on Instagram to reach more people. Thankfully, there are features on the platform that enable you to get value for your ad spend. For example, you can run adverts with a limited budget and target specific locations with them. (e.g. Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Onitsha, etc.).
Jump on Relevant Trends
Trends are a driver of activity on social media, especially visually heavy ones tailored to shorter attention spans, such as Instagram and TikTok. So it makes sense that businesses would want to get in front of many people by joining in popular trends and talking points. If you decide to hop on a trend, be sure that it’s one that your target audience appreciates, is in line with your values, and is relevant to what your business does in some way.
Cross-Promote with WhatsApp and TikTok
Encourage your followers on other platforms to follow your business on Instagram. A possible incentive for this would be seeing pictures of your recently stocked products and getting updated on other things pertaining to your business. If they like what they see from you on other platforms, they could follow your business on Instagram. This gives them a unified view of your operations.
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Final Words
These tips for how to grow your business on Instagram are all actionable and will give you an advantage that many Nigerian ventures there do not have. They will set you up for a strong, sustainable performance and pave the way for robust expansion down the road.
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