Your Guide to Marketing Dietary Supplements on Instagram
With over 1 billion monthly users and 25 million business profiles [i], Instagram is the fastest- growing social media platform today. 80% of Instagram users follow at least one business, and 72% of users say they have purchased [ii] a product they have seen on the platform.
From humans to their dogs and cats, Instagram has really captured the world’s imagination by offering humanized [iii] experiences. Users check their Instagram feed multiple times in a day, sometimes out of habit and at other times to look for brands and products.
Marketing dietary supplements on Instagram has quickly evolved from being optional to mandatory for today's supplement brands and businesses. It allows businesses of different kinds to promote their brand identity and advertise products or services without hard selling. With almost all of them trying to inspire their customers by offering content that is humanized and compelling, being active on Instagram is now imperative to market themselves and inch ahead of their competition.
Getting Started with Instagram Marketing
The personalized outreach of social media marketing calls for a custom approach to every platform. On Instagram, it is important for supplement businesses to create a good-looking profile that stands out (it all started with photo sharing on Instagram), connects with the right audiences and offers them interesting, relevant and regular posts/content.
How to Set Up An Instagram Business Profile
- First things first – you need to start by setting up an account [iv] on Instagram.
- Download and install the Instagram application
- You can either login with your Facebook credentials or sign up with your email or phone number. We recommend using your business email to set up the Instagram profile.
- Enter your business name and choose a username (for instance, @xyzsupplements)
- Upload a profile picture (960x960 pixels). This should ideally be your brand’s logo.
- Review your account settings and story settings to make sure that your content is visible to everyone.
Marketing Supplements on Instagram
Once you are satisfied with all of the above, draft both a short- and long-term Instagram content strategy for your supplement brand.
The Power of #Hashtags
Businesses get really witty with Instagram captions and hashtags, so it is important that you put in a lot of thought and effort into researching and writing great content. Think of your hashtags like keywords that are central to your business and terms that your customers might be looking for online. There are several hashtag tools available (hashtag generators, hashtag creators, hashtag analytics) online which can help you find the most popular hashtags and also create unique ones for your business. Using the right hashtags can increase the visibility and reach of your posts and stories, thus potentially improving engagement.
Outline Your Instagram Marketing Strategy [v]
- Define your objectives for marketing on Instagram
- Use a funnel approach to identify potential customers
- Conduct a thorough competitor analysis to analyze what your peers are doing on Instagram
- Draft and finalize your content marketing calendar (daily, weekly, monthly, and bi-annually)
- Follow industry influencers and potential collaborator profiles on Instagram
- Work out a strategy to grow your follower base on the platform
- Make sure your messaging is consistent and reflects the brand identity
- Convert followers into customers and engage them to turn them into loyal buyers
Types and Formats of Content You Can Post on Instagram
Instagram is primarily a visual medium that allows you to leverage the power of images and videos to connect with like-minded people or in this case, potential customers. Here is a list of media formats and types that the platform supports:
- Posts: Pictures, memes, inspirational quotes, infographics, banners, GIFs, videos (less than 1 minute in length)
- Stories: Photos, images, memes, infographics, banners, GIFs, videos
- IGTV: Videos (uploaded footage up to 10 minutes in length)
- Live: Live videos (filmed and uploaded in real time)
You can also pin your best posts or stories at the top of your profile, meaning, anyone visiting your account will see this first. As a supplement business, you can leverage a combination of these formats to deliver informative as well as engaging content to your target audience – becoming a part of their ‘Instafam’.
Supplement Advertising on Instagram: Do's and Don'ts
Just like Facebook and other social media channels, it is possible for businesses to run advertisements for a variety of purposes. For your supplement business, you can explore the following types of Instagram ads:
- Regular ads: Sponsored posts with an image/video and text
- Carousel ads: Sponsored posts with multiple images and custom text
- Story ads: Sponsored stories with images, video and text
You can use the Ad Manager plug-in to set up, run, edit and analyze your ads. You have the option of enabling your visitors to shop right there on Instagram or driving them to your website. Instagram’s built-in analytics tool also helps you track the performance of your profile, posts and ads. It can provide you with essential information about your followers, impressions, reach, and engagement.
It is important to ensure that your ad content does not violate the Instagram Community Standards. In the case of supplements, you can only target people who are at least 18 years of age when promoting dietary and herbal supplements. Your ads cannot promote unsafe supplements like anabolic steroids, chitosan, comfrey, dehydroepiandrosterone, ephedra, and human growth hormones. Misleading or false content related to claims or offers is also a strict no-no on Instagram.
For instance, you cannot make claims like:
- “Consuming this supplement is a surefire way to cure diabetes.”
- “Lose 25 kilos in a week with this supplement!”
Click here to view all the guidelines and Instagram’s advertising policies for supplement businesses.
5 Bonus Tips for Marketing Your Supplements on Instagram
- Partner with celebrities or influencers from your industry to promote your supplements. Influencer marketing ensures greater reach since your products and brand are exposed to a wider set of audiences. However, it is important to choose your influencers carefully. It is best to collaborate with an influencer who people already know, who shares your brand's philosophy, and who does not burn a hole in your pocket - in other words, don't expect Kim Kardashian to promote your product unless you're willing to pay $500,000 for one post.
- Ensure that your posts and stories are unique, consistent, and fresh in terms of design and content. Try and achieve the fine balance between engaging and educational content. Here are a couple of examples from brands whose Instagram is pretty strong:
- Use strong emotional triggers in your posts and stories. People love humor, so funny content can go a long way in attracting and retaining your potential customers’ attention.
- Respond to your followers’ comments and answer their queries. Use emojis, hashtags, and a language that they speak and understand.
- Share user-generated content; for instance, pictures of your customers with your product, or video testimonials by your supplement users.
Start Marketing Your Dietary Supplement on Instagram Today!
Marketing your supplement business on Instagram is a must for today’s businesses, since the platform is a hot favorite among internet users (especially the younger, health-conscious generation). If you haven’t begun exploring this space yet, get started now!
Looking for more expert insights to ensure your supplement brand is successful on Instagram? Be sure to check out these related blog articles:
- 5 Tips to Make Your Brand a Social Media Hit
- Successfully Marketing Your Nutritional Supplements Line
References:
[i] https://business.instagram.com/blog/25-million-businesses/
[ii] https://business.instagram.com/
[iii] https://www.hubspot.com/instagram-marketing
