Best Instagram Tools For Business Growth
Instagram offers immense opportunities for businesses to connect with audiences, grow brand visibility, and drive sales. But managing an effective Instagram presence can be time-consuming without the right tools. From scheduling and analytics to content creation and follower engagement, the following tools can help streamline your Instagram strategy and boost your business growth. Let’s dive into the best Instagram tools, complete with links, descriptions, and examples of how each one can transform your Instagram marketing.
1. Later – For Scheduling and Planning
What It Does: Later is a popular social media scheduling tool that allows businesses to plan and schedule Instagram posts in advance, helping you stay consistent with content.
How It Works: You can upload, arrange, and schedule posts for optimal posting times. The platform offers a drag-and-drop calendar that simplifies scheduling, and it also provides analytics on engagement.
Why Use It: Consistency is crucial for growth on Instagram, and Later ensures your content goes live even when you're busy. The analytics feature also helps identify the best times to post for maximum reach.
Example: A boutique fashion store could use Later to schedule posts featuring new arrivals, promotions, and user-generated content throughout the week. By planning posts in advance, they can maintain a polished and cohesive Instagram feed without needing to post daily.
2. Canva – For Content Creation
What It Does: Canva is a graphic design tool that lets you create professional-quality graphics, videos, and animations for Instagram, even if you have little design experience.
How It Works: Canva offers thousands of templates specifically designed for social media posts, Stories, and Reels. Customise templates with your brand colours, images, and fonts to create branded visuals.
Why Use It: Visually appealing content performs best on Instagram. Canva makes it easy to create consistent, high-quality visuals that align with your brand’s aesthetic.
Example: A fitness coach might use Canva to design branded workout tips, quotes, and promo graphics. They can keep templates ready to quickly edit and post content aligned with their brand’s colour scheme and tone.
3. Hootsuite – For Analytics and Social Listening
What It Does: Hootsuite is a comprehensive social media management tool that provides insights into your audience's demographics, engagement rates, and trends. It also allows you to monitor brand mentions across platforms.
How It Works: Hootsuite’s dashboard lets you track hashtags, comments, and user mentions. You can also view detailed analytics for each post and follower trends over time.
Why Use It: Hootsuite’s social listening feature helps you understand your audience’s preferences and what resonates with them, allowing you to tailor your content and respond to followers more effectively.
Example: A coffee shop could use Hootsuite to monitor hashtags like #coffeelover or #latteart to discover what followers in their niche are posting. They can engage with those posts to increase brand awareness and possibly attract new followers.
4. Sprout Social – For Engagement and Customer Relationship Management
What It Does: Sprout Social is a robust platform for managing follower engagement, tracking conversations, and handling customer relationships on Instagram.
How It Works: Sprout Social’s engagement feature centralises all Instagram interactions, including DMs, comments, and mentions, so you can manage responses in one place.
Why Use It: Quick responses can make a big impact on customer satisfaction and brand loyalty. Sprout Social helps you respond efficiently and ensures you don’t miss important interactions.
Example: An online boutique could use Sprout Social to track and respond to every customer question or comment, ensuring potential buyers receive prompt responses, helping to close sales and build customer trust.
5. Iconosquare – For In-Depth Analytics
What It Does: Iconosquare provides in-depth Instagram analytics, allowing you to track follower growth, engagement metrics, and post performance. It also includes features for scheduling and hashtag tracking.
How It Works: Iconosquare’s dashboard provides insights into follower demographics, top-performing posts, and the best times to post based on historical data.
Why Use It: Understanding analytics is crucial for refining your strategy. Iconosquare offers detailed insights that help businesses adjust their approach for better engagement and follower growth.
Example: A wellness brand could use Iconosquare to determine which types of content (e.g., health tips, testimonials, or promotions) perform best and adjust their content strategy accordingly.
Visit Iconosquare
6. Planoly – For Visual Content Planning
What It Does: Planoly is an Instagram content planning tool that lets you visualise how your posts will look in your feed before publishing.
How It Works: The drag-and-drop feature lets you arrange posts, see your feed as it will appear, and keep a cohesive aesthetic. Planoly also offers scheduling capabilities.
Why Use It: A cohesive feed can improve brand perception and attract more followers. Planoly makes it easy to ensure your grid layout is consistent, eye-catching, and on-brand.
Example: An interior design business could use Planoly to plan a balanced mix of finished project images, behind-the-scenes shots, and mood boards to create a curated and visually appealing feed.
7. Instagram Shopping – For Selling Products Directly
What It Does: Instagram Shopping lets businesses set up a digital storefront, tag products in posts, and link directly to product pages, making it easy for followers to shop directly from the app.
How It Works: After setting up a catalog, businesses can tag products in photos, Stories, and Reels, allowing users to click on products and view pricing and descriptions.
Why Use It: Instagram Shopping streamlines the buying process, allowing businesses to turn followers into customers seamlessly.
Example: A jewellery brand could post photos of a new collection, tag each piece, and let followers purchase directly from Instagram, making the shopping experience simple and integrated.
8. Hashtagify – For Finding the Best Hashtags
What It Does: Hashtagify helps you find popular and relevant hashtags, offering data on popularity, trends, and related hashtags to maximise reach.
How It Works: Enter a hashtag related to your business, and Hashtagify will suggest similar tags and show how popular each one is.
Why Use It: Hashtags expand your content’s visibility, and using the right ones can put your posts in front of a larger, more targeted audience.
Example: A sustainable clothing brand might enter #EcoFashion on Hashtagify and find related, trending tags like #SustainableStyle and #GreenFashion, expanding its reach among eco-conscious users.
Conclusion
Using the right tools can significantly boost your Instagram strategy, save time, and help you reach your business goals more efficiently. Whether you’re looking to improve content quality, track analytics, or increase engagement, these tools are essential for Instagram growth. Ready to take your Instagram marketing to the next level? Contact PRINTFOLD for expert guidance on optimising your social media strategy.
Costs of Instagram Tools for Business Growth
Later: Free for basic use. Paid plans start at £12/month (for additional posts and features like analytics and best time to post).
Canva: Free plan available. Pro plan starts at £10.99/month for premium templates, brand kits, and advanced design tools.
Hootsuite: Free 30-day trial. Plans start at £89/month, which includes analytics and social listening across multiple platforms.
Sprout Social: Free 30-day trial. Plans start at £139/month for engagement and analytics features.
Iconosquare: Free trial available. Plans start at £49/month for advanced Instagram analytics and post scheduling.
Planoly: Free plan available. Paid plans start at £7/month for additional posts and premium planning features.
Instagram Shopping: Free to set up a shop on Instagram; however, it requires an Instagram Business Account and a Facebook catalog.
Hashtagify: Free basic searches. Paid plans start at $19/month (approx. £15) for more detailed hashtag data and analysis.