This week we offered 5 things you could do on Facebook and Google+ to grow your business. Today, we wanted to have a bit more fun than usual and conclude with 5 ways to grow your business with Instagram. You can argue there’s no business value on a platform where people post gym selfies, lunch pics, or motivational quotes. However, Instagram is a great platform for your business to really tell its story. Now let’s get visual with five ways to start growing your business on Instagram.

Instagram for Business

Instead of diving into hashtags and filters, let’s start with some research on what works. This will go a long way. We do the digging on the latest news for you. But if you’re looking for something very specific within Instagram, there’s no better place to start than Instagram’s own blog. You will receive announcements, updates, and all sorts of other stuff when you visit Instagram for Business.

Use Instagram as Your Visual Strategy

We can’t stress this enough. Social media marketing is going visual. As attention spans become shorter, businesses need to start honing in on their visual strategy. The most important tip in creating a compelling visual experience is to focus on lighting. Seriously…lighting makes all the difference between an awesome #PicOfTheDay and a blurry image no amount of filters can repair.

In addition, be sure to keep up with the latest content creation tools. In case you didn’t already check out Instagram for business, you need to know about Hyperlapse. It’s an app that allows you to capture a time-lapse at hyper speed. Can you imagine all the cool things your business can do with this? If not, start thinking so we can discuss in the comments below.

Tell Everyone You’re on Instagram

Your friends. Your family. Your networking contacts. If you don’t tell them your business is on Instagram, how else are they supposed to know? The same is said with potential customers, leads, and your general audience. Make posts on the platforms you’re already on and update your website to link users back to your Instagram profile. If you really want to create some buzz, creating a contest is never a bad idea. Most contests require audiences to participate by sharing images and relevant hash tags. That brings us to our next point.

Using Relevant Hashtags

Nothing turns off Instagrammers like #irrelevant, #awkwardly placed, or #overly used #hashtags. Instead, do a quick search and determine what the most relevant hashtags are according to your industry, topic of matter, and purpose. In creating a strategy for which hashtags to use, keep in mind your business wants to have a balance. Using too many popular ones may get your images more exposure, but they will also drown in the noise of other photos. That’s why you should use a range of 2-7 hashtags with mixed popularity levels to ensure your exposure is prolonged. Hashtagify.me and Top Hashtags are quick and easy resources to determine which hashtags to use. Another way way of researching is to simply look on Instagram and see what comes up! Come to think of it, you should probably do this anyway.

Giving Love is Getting Love

Everyone loves recognition. Whether you’re looking at it personally or from a business perspective, it always feels good to be seen, heard, and most of all, loved. These rules exist on Instagram believe it or not. Spending just 10 minutes a day exploring and liking other photos will almost always result in getting some love back. If you want your photos to be seen and liked, you have to start by giving first. No wonder #love is the most popular hashtag on the platform. After all that’s what Instagram is all about! If you stick with it, your business will surely start to grow.

Visual marketing doesn’t need to be headache inducing. With amazing social media platforms like Instagram, your business is able to reach masses of visually engaged audiences. More importantly, with a large growing number of consumer power in millennials, Instagram will soon be a standard in marketing to this demographic. Either way, you can do some amazing things here. Already using Instagram for business? Share your thoughts and let us know what is or isn’t working for you!