How Your Business Can Take Advantage of Instagram’s New Keyword Search Feature
In late 2020, Instagram announced an update to its search functionally that gives users the ability to search for specific keywords within the app. Exciting news, this update is now live! Until this point, users have only been able to search for profiles, hashtags, and locations.
While this may not seem like a massive update, it is a huge win for marketers and businesses alike! Now, your content will be more discoverable on the platform, even if you have not used specific hashtags.
Do you have questions on how to get started? We have you covered on everything you need to know about this feature, as well as how you can use it to your company’s advantage.
How keyword search works
The keyword search feature works by allowing users to type in a phrase like “dinner ideas” rather than searching #dinnerideas. Search results will then appear in a grid format, showing posts that relate to the search query. The posts that come up may not contain any hashtags, as the search keywords may only appear in the posts’ caption.
How Instagram selects the search results, however, is still unclear. According to The Verge, a spokesperson from Instagram stated that the team considers several factors, including the “type of content, captions, when posted,” and more to surface relevant results. It also uses machine learning to “find the highest quality content that’s relevant to you.”
How to leverage this feature
1 – Searching relevant keywords
As Social Media Today pointed out, This feature is perfect for discovering keywords your ideal customer might use in their Instagram captions. By searching different keywords related to your business, you can find posts to interact with and build relationships with users you want to convert into customers.
2 – Using keywords in your captions
One of the biggest advantages of the keyword search functionality is expanding your brand’s reach to new customers. By adding keywords to your captions, the chances of your posts getting pulled into search results increases!
3 – Expanding your social listening efforts
This feature is also a fantastic tool to add to your social listening plan. With keyword searching, you can search for mentions of your brand that you may not have seen before. Maybe a customer purchased a product or service but forgot to tag you. Now, if someone mentions your name in the caption, you will be able to find and engage with the content!
Additionally, you can use this feature to keep an eye on your competitors. Check out what their customers have to say about them, good or bad, to learn from what works well for them and what doesn’t. The learnings you find will help your business to craft strategic marketing messaging for future initiatives. Additionally, you may find ways to improve your products and services as well!
Ready to grow your business with the help of social media? Call, DM, or email us at sbellem@bbrookstone.com to get started. We would love to help you reach your full potential, both online and with sales!
