+44 1509 440 151 [email protected]
Instagram Marketing Strategies for 2023

Instagram Marketing Strategies for 2023

Instagram is a competitive social media platform but it is not impossible to gain traction…if you do it right! 

With an active audience of 1.16 billion people, it is no shock that Instagram can be an amazing place for businesses to gain followers and traffic. 

The potential reach of Instagram is only set to grow and did you know that 90% of Instagram users follow at least one business? 

It isn’t only businesses marketing to consumers that can benefit though, over 36% of businesses use Instagram when researching new services and products. 

Think of this as a cheat sheet to use for your business so that you can get your Instagram strategy up there with the best. 

Setting Up An Instagram Account 

If you already have an Instagram account, then you may not need this section but before you can set up a strategy, you need an Instagram Business account. 

Skip ahead if you have a business account already, or look at step 3 if you already have a personal account. 

Step 1: Download the Instagram app 

Step 2: Sign Up 

  • Open the app 
  • Tap either Create New Account (iOS) or Sign Up With Email or Phone (Android) 
  • Enter your email/phone number and click Next 
  • Choose your username and password 
  • Fill out your profile information and click Next 

Step 3: Switch to a Business Account 

  • Go to your profile and tap the three lines at the top right 
  • Click Settings, then Account 
  • Scroll down and click Switch to professional account 
  • Tap Business and follow the prompts! 

Best Instagram Marketing Strategies for 202

Now that you have your Instagram account set up, it is time to look into how you should be using your account and why. 

1: Choose Your Goals 

Before you start posting, you need to decide why you are posting. You can’t use your Instagram account effectively until you know what you are trying to do. 

Instagram marketing isn’t one size fits all, it can mean different things to different businesses. 

Do you want to: 

  • Improve your brand awareness? 
  • Drive traffic to your website? 
  • Get new leads? 
  • Sell products? 
  • Establish brand authority?  

You can even use multiple of these goals to build a strategy unique to you. If you are unsure of what your strategy goals are then get in touch now to see how we can help you. 

2: Understand Your Audience 

Once you decide your goals, you need to understand your audience on Instagram. 

In the UK, Instagram statistics show that: 

  • 30.36 million people in the UK use Instagram 
  • Instagram reaches 60% of the online population in the UK 
  • 25-34 year olds make up the largest user group 
  • 76% of 15-25 year olds use Instagram 
  • 42.5% of users are male and 57.5% are female 

From these statistics, you may want to market towards these demographics however this does not mean you have to. 

Whatever audience you want to market to, you need to make sure your content is speaking directly to your audience. 

3: Optimise your Profile 

The dreaded Instagram bio, with only 150 characters, it can seem impossible to make a good first impression and convey your businesses personality. 

Those 150 characters really have their work cut out for them! 

However, there is a shining light, you also have some other fields on your profile which allow you to showcase your brand such as: 

  • Name: up to 30 characters 
  • Username: up to 30 characters 
  • Website: a clickable URL 
  • Category: A business feature where you can tell people what your business is about without using precious bio characters 
  • Contact information: A way to show people how to contact you 

Make sure that all of these features are being utilised and showcase your brand in the best light. Many people will form opinions about your brand from your social media profiles. 

4: Create Content 

Instagram is a very visual platform and therefore your posts need to look the part.  

You don’t need professional photographs or fancy cameras to take good pictures. Just make sure that they are clear, well-lit and in focus. If you are photographing a product then it needs to be well-composed with a simple backdrop reflecting the product. 

If you are using other images such as infographics then make sure that your text is easy to read and not too small, that your colours are cohesive and that they are crisp. 

Once you have some amazing images, you need to make suer that they are serving a purpose. You wouldn’t cook a 5* dinner if no one is hungry! 

Your images need to tell a story, get people engaged or excite people. You need quality posts to make the most out of your images. 

If you are stuck on what content to create then don’t fear! Check out this list of content ideas to get your started: 

  • Videos 
  • Reels 
  • Behind-the-scenes posts 
  • Infographics 
  • Reviews 
  • Quotes 
  • Instructional posts 
  • Company events 
  • Share blog content 
  • Industry news 

5: Use Hashtags 

Hashtags are a great way to increase your visibility and get your profile found by new users. When you use a hashtag, your post will appear on the page for that hashtag. People can also choose to follow hashtags which means you could shows up on users feeds even if they don’t follow you (yet!) 

You are able to use up to 30 hashtags in a post however we would recommend using around 11 per post.  

Make sure that your hashtags are relevant to your business and specific to your niche. 

6: Use Instagram Stories 

Video is quickly becoming a large focus of social media strategies and over half of business use stories. 

A third of the most viewed stories on Instagram are posted by businesses! 

Stories are a great way to be open and raw with your audience as they disappear after 24 hours. It allows you to post whatever content you want without it clogging up your social media profile. 

There are a few uses for stories which we think all businesses should make use of: 

  • Show behind-the-scenes clips of people at work 
  • Answer FAQs 
  • Link out to your website or useful resources 
  • Tell a story 
  • Talk to other people 

Let’s Summarise Instagram Marketing

In your social media strategy, you should: 

  • Use a business account 
  • Choose your goals 
  • Understand your audience 
  • Optimise your profile 
  • Create valuable content 
  • Use hashtags 
  • And use Instagram stories 

Do you need help creating an Instagram marketing strategy for your business? Get in touch now to see how we can help your business to flourish on Instagram. 

Why Is Digital Marketing Important 

Why Is Digital Marketing Important 

We all know that the internet is big right? Right?! So, what if I told you that the number of people who go on the internet every day is STILL increasing? 

That’s right, “constant” internet usage among adults has increased by 5% in the past 3 years. This has also meant that people are shopping and purchasing more online than ever! 

You need to market to where your customers are looking, which means if you aren’t already, it’s time to go DIGITAL with your MARKETING

Digital marketing is important for a variety of reasons because it connects your business to your online presence and your ever-growing digital customer base.  

Digital marketing is effective in all industries and all businesses should utilise it as such, if you aren’t using digital marketing then it is time to jump onto the bandwagon and get rolling! 

Utilising digital marketing allows you to connect with ideal customers through search engines such as Google using search engine optimisation, through social media using social media marketing and through email using email marketing

So Why Is Digital Marketing Important? 

1. Affordability 

If you want bang for your buck, then digital marketing is for you. It is considerably less expensive than more traditional forms of marketing, however, this is dependent on what you are doing, but generally, overall spending tends to be lower with a higher impact. 

It is also more affordable as you can narrow down where your money needs to go by selecting the correct platforms. If your followers are most active on Instagram, then you should focus your efforts there and not on Twitter. If you are looking to advertise to other businesses, then try LinkedIn rather than Facebook.  

Digital marketing can save you time and money by excluding people who would never buy from you and digital marketing agencies can often be more affordable than hiring a marketing team for your business. 

2. Mobile-Friendly 

Mobile-friendly - Why is digital marketing important?

Did you know that over 48 million people in the UK use their mobile phones to go about their business such as mobile shopping and social networking? If you are looking to reach this large audience, then you will need to hone in on this mobile market. 

When someone is interested in your niche, business or product, the first thing they will do is take to the internet to research you. In the age of mobile phones, this can be done with just a few taps on a screen making it even more important to take care of your online presence. 

If your customer can’t find you online or finds you have a subpar online presence then they may assume your business is illegitimate, inactive or just not worth buying from. 

You need to make sure that your website is mobile-friendly so that visitors can experience your content easily. You do not want large blank areas or cut off text boxes, no one likes having to scroll to see full images or menus. This may involve creating a different page structure for desktop vs mobile. 

Look at your website from a user perspective, what would you change? 

3. Flexibility 

When you market yourself digitally, you open a wide range of possibilities for strategies, and with your marketing strategy at your fingertips, you can make real-time changes such as stopping poorly performing campaigns. 

You can make tweaks and changes depending on the interest you receive; this is something you would not be able to do if you used a different form of marketing such as using paper leaflets. 

Flexibility also means that you do not have to wait to produce leaflets, flyers and posters. You can create content and post it immediately, perfect for keeping up with special dates, doing flash offers and even amending typos. 

4. Creativity 

Creativity - Why is digital marketing important?

If you are looking for creativity, then digital marketing will steal your heart! You have the opportunity to create banners, email campaigns, social media posts, blogs, and the list goes on and on! With digital marketing, you have the creative freedom to bring your visions to life using your brand colours and style. 

Your creativity should flow across all of your digital marketing streams to create a cohesive brand image. When a user views your social media or a blog post, they should instantly know it is your business. If you are interested in creating a social media strategy, then click here to find out the best strategies for social media marketing in 2022. 

Top Tip: Avoid using different names, colour schemes and writing styles as this can give the impression of different businesses which have the same/similar names. 

5. Tracking 

As well as connecting and communicating with customers, digital marketing allows you to track their activities. You can see how many people open your email campaigns, how many people engage with your social media platforms, where people spend time on your website and how they get to your website amongst other things. 

This is valuable information to hone in on your target audience and find out what is or isn’t working and adjust your strategies accordingly. 

When dealing with an audience, a marketing strategy which you think will do amazing could flop or vice versa so it is vital to keep track of how each part of your strategy is performing. 

Digital marketing is a valuable asset to any business and is important in all the previously mentioned ways, it can however be time-consuming to get right especially since you will need to research and implement an effective digital marketing strategy to get the full potential out of your marketing. 

Yes, unfortunately, digital marketing isn’t a one-hit-wonder and needs constant work

If you are a business owner who wants to improve their digital marketing but doesn’t have the time or expertise, that is where digital marketing agencies such as CREATIVE in TiME come in. 

We understand the people, the resources, the processes, and the tools that go into making your business run smoothly and we get the struggles which businesses experience in the world of digital marketing. 

Do you need help with your digital marketing? Get in touch now to find out how we can help you. 

Strategies for Content Marketing in 2023

Strategies for Content Marketing in 2023

Picture this, you have a business (old or new), and you are ready to smash your target market but have you considered your content marketing strategy? 

Your strategy, which worked in 2020, may have been successful then, but the likelihood is that it will not be successful in 2023. Traditional marketing methods of the past are becoming less desirable, irrelevant paid ads are a great example of this.  

People want to search for solutions as and when they need to. This is where content marketing is king, and creating an effective strategy can leave you victorious. 

So, what is content marketing and why does your business need an effective strategy? 

What is Content Marketing? 

Content marketing is a form of marketing that involves creating and sharing online content such as blogs. The objective of content marketing is not to explicitly promote your brand but to pique interest in your services/products and build your authority on the topic. 

When people consistently notice your content being informative and worthwhile, your business will be at the top of their minds when they need to buy what you sell. 

Now, you may be thinking, “Great!” but still be wondering what content marketing actually entails. 

Different Types of Content Marketing 

There are many forms of content marketing but that does not mean your business needs to utilise every single one to be effective. You need to know which forms of content marketing are appropriate for your business, audience and products. 

To help you along this journey, let’s look at the most common and effective forms of content marketing which you may wish to implement for your business. 

Blogging  

When you think of content marketing, I’m sure the first thing that came to mind was blogging, and for good reason, blog posts are the most popular form of content marketing and the easiest to start with. 

All you need to create blog posts is a website and content. 

Blogging is an ever-growing market and the need for information from the internet is constantly increasing. There are currently over 600 million blogs in the world! 

Well-written blogs are key for both your business and your users. For you, they provide more traffic to your website, increased lead generation and build site authority. For your users, they provide useful information, create trust and become a source of information in the future. 

The main reason businesses avoid blogging is because they don’t know where or how to start. If you want to find out how to start blogging in 2023, just click here

Video content 

Video content is the up-and-coming new kid on the block in terms of content marketing. It has swiftly become one of the most popular forms of content marketing, and that is down to one platform, YouTube. 

Where blog posts can often lack creativity and engagement, videos soar and thrive on their interactivity and ease of distributing information.  

Some of the best ways to use video in content marketing are: 

  • Behind-the-scenes videos: people love seeing the people behind the brand. It allows for a human connection and shows authenticity. Customers get to experience your brand and may view it in a new light, especially if you are a small business. 
  • Demonstrations: whether your product is simple or complicated, has two steps or 20, you can bet someone out there needs help using it for the first time! These should be descriptive, informative and clear- imagine you are explaining it to your mum. Would she understand it? 
  • Customer Testimonials: never underestimate the power of a review. Videos of customers are high-quality pieces of content marketing that you can use on all platforms. 

Podcasts 

Following the use of video, another form of content marketing is podcasts. 

Podcasts have the opposite pull than videos as they are solely focused on audio instead of visible information. 

A podcast is the most convenient form of content marketing, all you need to do is press play and listen! This allows your listeners to multi-task whilst listening especially since 69% of podcast listeners use a mobile device to listen. This can be especially important if you are marketing your product to another business, busy people need accessible information otherwise they won’t listen. 

Podcasts are also a vital way in which you can become a thought leader in your industry and build credibility in your business. If you are providing valuable content which helps or educates your listeners, then they will begin to think of you and your business as an expert in the field. 

Try answering customer questions, problem-solving, discussing how the product is made, any industry news which could be relevant, having guests on your podcast to bring in new listeners, and making sure your podcast is engaging and entertaining. 

Infographics 

Infographics are another engaging form of content marketing due to their eye-catching and fun nature. 

This makes them great to use in all forms of content such as the previously mentioned blogs and videos. Being able to repurpose your content is key to success, spreading it to all platforms is vital to reaching the widest audience. 

Infographics have another benefit…they make you look smart! Sharing content that is both colourful, valuable and informative is a sure-fire way to gain interest from other people in your industry, especially on social media platforms such as LinkedIn. 

They are also a great way to show tangible data in a digestible way that people can understand without technical knowledge. Similarly, they can be a game-changer in niches that could be called “boring” as they capture and retain user attention. 

Why is Content Marketing Important? 

We have just explained to you the most prominent forms of content marketing to begin your journey, but why is it important? 

Content marketing is a vital form of marketing, did you know that 70% of marketers actively invest in content marketing? This is because, in comparison to other forms of digital marketing, it has a greater return on investment (ROI) in the long run, exactly what you want to hear! 

Content marketing has many benefits for you and your customers, let us tell you some now: 

  • Improve ranking in search engine results (SEO) 
  • Builds a community 
  • Builds customer relationships 
  • Helps with lead conversion 
  • Raises brand awareness 

So, does content marketing sound like it could benefit your business? Depending on your business, you may wish to implement one of these forms of content marketing or all of them! There is no right or wrong amount as long as they are relevant to your business. 

If you want to start but need some expert help to get you off on the right foot, get in touch now! 

SEO Company in the UK 

SEO Company in the UK 

We are CREATIVE in TiME. A Digital Marketing Agency with expertise in SEO ready to help you rise through the Google Ranking with our organic SEO expertise. 

What other SEO company do you know that has the knowledge and expertise of a Chartered Engineer and an award-winning multi-business creator? 

Fred has a background in Aerospace, rail, hydrogen fuel cell, electronics, IOT, F1, business transformation specialist. Andrea is an award-Winning Business builder, marketing guru, franchise creator. She has 20 years business experience in B2C and B2B and is a networking Queen. 

“I reached out to Creative in time recently for a discovery call and WOW what a chat it was , they came back promptly with a strategy for my SEO and Marketing for a LTD company I have. 

The value from the beginning was fab ! 

I would highly recommend speaking with the team and not sit on the fence  – I only invested a little ‘time ‘ to outline what I wanted and the best thing was they kept it simple !! you truly get VALUE and INNOVATION with this team.” 

Why Do You Need an SEO Company? 

Having an effective SEO Strategy and delivery plan is a high reward investment for your business. Out of all of the different forms of digital marketing, SEO will provide you with the best potential long-term success with your investment as it will not disappear or stop working overnight like other forms such as paid advertising.  

SEO process image

Do you want to improve your web and social presence, bring in more traffic, build credibility and trust with your customers? SEO is at the heart of all of these. 

In a nutshell, we: ⁠ 

  • Research⁠ 
  • Report & goal set⁠ 
  • Content build⁠ 
  • Page optimise⁠ 
  • Do socials & link building⁠ 
  • Deliver follow up reporting & analysis⁠ 

Let’s look at some of this in more detail… 

Our SEO strategy will involve completing detailed research into your market, industry or sector. 

We will take the time to understand the Google Trends around your target clients, keyword volumes, and create an action plan for moving forwards. 

We will perform a full technical SEO audit of your website and all content hosted on it to analyse where we can make short, medium and long term SEO improvements. Using specialist tools and Google Analytics we can identify improvements and deliver them for you. 

Analysing your website and data helps us to understand who your customers are, what they want, and how they behave. This information is then used to improve customer experience, increase sales, and retain customers. 

When optimising your SEO, we will continually research and update our knowledge to stay up to date on the trends regarding your sector and keywords. SEO is not a short term fix guarantee, it often takes months to achieve the desired results and we will always strive for the best possible outcome for your business, not the quickest fix. 

What Makes Our Company Different? 

We understand the people, the resources, the processes, and tools that go into making your business run smoothly and we get the struggles companies like yours to experience with the technical world of SEO. 

It’s no secret that SEO companies don’t have a great name. The common complaints being that they just don’t return value. We believe that the missing link time and time again is understanding. 

Understanding your business and your goals, understanding your customers and understanding your expectations. Because we spend the time in the beginning asking the ‘right’ questions, we can provide you value and achieve deliverables in record TiME. 

Our customer base is predominantly in the industry sectors of Technology, Information, Manufacturing and Engineering. Just because you may not fall into one of these categories, this does not mean we can’t help you; we help clients in other sectors too! 

“Andrea and the team at Creative In Time have been an absolute breathe of fresh air. Full and consistent transparency throughout the proposal process. They have shown their authority when it comes to PPC and SEO skills both technically and creatively . Creative In Time have offered support and advice for all aspects of Marketing including social media management, search engine optimisation, Google ads (PPC) and graphics/print management. We are only at the beginning of our journey with the team but have every faith that we will enjoy a long and fruitful relationship!” 

Do you want help from our SEO company? Get in touch with us now to see how we can help your business with SEO or check out our selection of SEO blogs below. 

Strategies for Social Media Marketing in 2023 

Strategies for Social Media Marketing in 2023 

Are you looking to up your social media marketing game in 2023? We think you should and now is the perfect time to get started with a new social media strategy. 

In 2023, social media marketing is more important than ever and giving your business a stellar online presence could give you an edge on your competition. 

A social media strategy for your marketing allows you to focus on what IS working and cut out what is NOT working. If you have a social media strategy already then click here to learn how to up your social media game! 

More goes into creating a social media strategy than just making an Instagram account and posting pictures of your product but what else does it need… 

What Are Your Goals? 

Before you create a social media strategy, you need to decide what your goals are going to be. You cannot form an effective social media strategy without targets to achieve. Below is a list of example goals to get you thinking, you may choose one of these or decide on your own. 

Example Goals: 

  • Increase brand awareness – Do you want your name out there? Do you want people to know your brand?  
  • Grow your audience – Do you want more followers? Bringing in new followers means that you are introducing your brand to people who haven’t heard of your brand before. 
  • Generate sales and leads – People don’t purchase your products by accident, they need encouragement and a reason to. Are you showing off your product catalogue? Showing customers new products and promotions? Running new deals?  
  • Boost engagement – Do you want followers to interact more on your social media? 
  • Increase traffic to your site – Do you want more people visiting your site from social media? 

Whatever goal you pick, make sure it is realistic for your brand and size. If you have a small business, then it is unlikely to expect to gain thousands of likes if you are currently only getting 10. Set manageable targets that you can reach, once you have reached them, set new targets and so on. 

Who is Your Social Media For? 

Once you know what your goals are, you need to find out WHO your target audience is and WHO your social media strategy should be for. 

Your target audience can determine which social media platforms you should use, what content you should put out and even what time you should post! 

Looking at your current social media can be a good start, who is currently following you? Who is engaging with your content?  

Many forms of social media have their own insights/analytics section for businesses which can show you your current demographics. 

Let me ask you this, do you monitor your metrics? Do you know if/when/how you are being interacted with? Check out our breakdown of important metrics to watch: 

  • Clicks: This is exactly how it sounds; it is the number of clicks you get on your content or account. 
  • Engagement: This is the number of social interactions divided by the number of impressions. This is how willing people are to interact with your content. 
  • Reach: Your reach is the number of unique users who see your post and how much of your content is actually reaching your users’ feeds. 

What Platform Should I Be Using? 

With the number of social media platforms, it is vital to understand that each social media platform attracts different audiences. Once you know who your target audience is, you need to find out where you should focus your efforts. 

Social media is not one size fits all!  

We have curated demographics for the most used social media platforms so that you don’t have to! It is always imperative to do your own research, but this should guide you in the right direction. 

Demographics  
  • Facebook: 52% of Facebook users are female whilst 48% are male. The largest demographic is between 25 and 34 years old with 11.2 million users in the UK.  
  • Instagram: The largest demographic on Instagram is 25-24 with 30.8% of users and then 18-24 with 23.1%. In 2021, 57.42% of women and 42.68% of men reported using Instagram. 
  • Pinterest: As of January 2021, 75.2% of Pinterest audiences in the UK were female and 19% were male. The main age group using Pinterest is 18-24 with 55%! Pinterest currently has 16.7 million active users in the UK. 
  • LinkedIn: As of 2021, LinkedIn had 33 million users in the UK. 57.2% were between 25-34 years old. 57% of users are male and 43% are female. 
  • YouTube: More than 35.6 million people in the UK use YouTube! 46% of users are female and 54% are male. The main demographic is 25-44 years old. 
  • TikTok: TikTok had over 3.7 million users in the UK in 2021 and the number is climbing. The main demographic of users are between 18-24 which is 26% of all users. In 2020, 65% of users were female and 35% were male. 
  • Twitter: In 2020, 58.5% of users were male and 41.5% were female. The largest demographic group of users is 18-29 which is 37%. The next largest group is 30-49 at 25%.  

Create your Content 

Now, to top it all off, you need to create your social media content! 

Once you have discovered your target audience, the social media platforms you’ll use and which goals you are trying to achieve, it is time to create your own unique content

When creating your own unique content, you should try to stick to a theme. This is something that all well-loved brands do. It means that when you see a post from that brand, it feels like theirs

This could mean sticking to a colour palette, tone of voice, writing style or even using the same fonts in all your images. If you have a website, keep your branding cohesive across all your content. This increases brand consistency and avoids any confusion. 

When building your brand presence on social media, one of our top tips is to respond to followers on social media ASAP. This is especially important for negative comments or questions. Doing this shows that you care about your customers and their experiences.  

Show off your human side! People like people, simple. Show the people behind the business and do not make every single social media post focused on sales. Post behind the scenes images, employee birthdays, the office dog, work get togethers!  

If you need more information about the do’s and don’ts of building an online presence, then click here to read our Social Media Do’s and Don’ts. 

One of the main forms of content which you may consider creating is video content, if you are wondering whether it is worthwhile…well we have a whole section below on it so what does that tell you? 

Video Content  

Don’t underestimate the impact of video! Did you know that 54% of marketers say that video is the most valuable form of content for reaching your social goals? 

Whether this is on YouTube as full videos, stories on Instagram or clips on TikTok, video is the future of social media marketing, and you should definitely include it in your social media strategy if possible. 

One great use of video content is to put faces to the business and show that your values and ethics are worth engaging with. Similarly, to other content, showing your personality and employees can help customers feel welcome and comfortable interacting. It is easier to interact with a person than a faceless brand. 

Is your Social Media Marketing Strategy sorted out for 2023? 

As this guide shows, starting up your social media presence well is more than just posting out content for the sake of it on all social media platforms. Quality over quantity is key here. 

That said, this doesn’t mean that your social media must be a chore. Your social media should serve you however, it can be a long process, if you are strapped for time and want someone else to handle your social media for you then get in touch now! 

See how CREATIVE in TiME can build you an effective and goal-driven social media strategy now through a free SEO and social media audit.

CREATIVE in TiME
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.