Each one of us know about the power of Instagram. Huge international brands like Coca Cola, Nike, Puma, Starbucks are successfully dominating the space with high engagement rate and results. But how about the brands that are new in this online space. I’m sure if you are reading this article it is because you want to know how can you use Instagram for business that are new and small, compared to the already established companies and brands. Well, if you are new to Instagram and wants to know how to stand out with Instagram then you are at the right place. Here in this article, I am going to talk about various important topics which includes how to set up a free business profile, how to create content on Instagram and how to use this platform to grow your business.
Why Instagram For Business?
Before moving forward to the important details for which you are here. Let me make your mind clear on why you should use Instagram for business. Well, as we all know different people from different countries come on Instagram to be inspired and discover things they like and care about. This includes content from brands, businesses, and influencers. Below I am sharing few points on why you need Instagram for your business?
- In case you don’t know, Instagram have over 200 million+ active users and atleast one instagrammer visit one business profile daily. If you calculate the numbers, you can know it yourself how many potential clients you are getting on daily basis for your brand to get noticed by them.
- As per some stats, almost 60% of people say that they discover new products on Instagram. If you use Instagram, you must have notice that you always get to discover about some new brand or product everytime when you scroll through your feeds or even while watching stories.
- There has been an increase of about 80% in watching videos on Instagram and 1/3 of those video stories are from business. You know this is a huge number.
Though I understand, the small businesses might struggle to brand themselves on this platform at the start, but with so many opportunities it will be a big loss for them if they miss out to explore the benefits that Instagram can provide to their business. Instagram is no rocket science and is a lot easier to get started, no matter how popular you are and what size of your business is.
To achieve the level of success on Instagram like big brands which includes, Bon Puf, Puma, Pepsi, Simple Green, etc., all you have to do is what they did. Build a loyal following and get the most out of Instagram. But before getting to the strategies on how you can get the most out of Instagram, lets’ get to know about the quick setup of business account on Instagram.
How to get an Instagram for Business account?
Below I am sharing step by step points on how you can set up your business profile on Instagram:
Step 1- First download the app. For iOS (Apple store), Android (Google Play store) or windows (Windows Phone store). Once you have installed it on your device, simply tap to open it.
Step 2- Now sign up, Enter your email address and Tap Next. You can also Log in via your Facebook account to sign up with Facebook if you want.
Step 3- Once you’ve signed up, go to settings and scroll down to the option (Switch to Business account). When you create business profile, you get various options of adding information about your business like opening hours, business address or even phone number.
Step 4- After you have successfully added all the information, you can start posting contents using the relevant hashtags for your business. You can also start following the similar accounts like yours to know what they are up to and how they are promoting their brands.
How to Convert Personal Account into Business account?
In case you already have an account which you want to convert into business, then follow the steps mentioned below:
Step 1- Log in to your personal account from your device.
Step 2- First tap on your profile icon to go to your profile.
Step 3- In profile, tap on the three lines icon that is given on the right side to the screen. Once you click on it, go to settings.
Step 4- In settings, select the Account option and scroll down, then Tap on Switch to Professional account.
And this is it. With a simple click, you can switch to professional account within few minutes. In case you want to connect your Instagram account to your Facebook business page, you can do so by following the instructions as given there.
How can we use Instagram for Business?
Now we know why we need Instagram, how to set up business account and how to convert personal account into professional, now lets move forward to other important topic i.e., How can we use Instagram for business?
Well, there are many ways on how one can use Instagram for business or to build their brands. Here we’ll talk about the most important ones like:
- How can you set up a great Instagram business profile
- Best Instagram Practices That You Can Follow For Your Business
Now, lets’ dive in.
How can you set up a great Instagram business profile?
Below I am sharing 3 important tips on how can you set up a profile that looks good:
Write a killer and eye catching bio- One of the best tips to enhance your Instagram profile is to create a killer bio. This is important because it is one of the first things that people notice when they click on your profile. It only takes few seconds for someone to make an opinion about your brand based on their first impression of your content.
Include a link- Instagram allows everyone to add a clickable link in their bio. This link can be very valuable to your business especially if you are into real estate business. Many brands use this link to drive traffic back to their original site or product.
Using a recognizable brand profile image- Its very important for people to instantly recognize you when they visit your Instagram profile. Therefore, most businesses keep their logo, logomark or mascot as their profile pictures. You can also choose any one of them so when next people visit you, they can recognize your brand the quickest.
Best Instagram Practices
Below I’ll be sharing some best Instagram practices for business that can help you in strategizing your marketing strategy:
Set some goals
Whenever we enter into any venture, it is important that we have some set of goals to accomplish. Just like that, Instagram is no different. So if you are going to invest your time and money in Instagram, make sure you know what is it that you want to achieve from it. Some of the common goals that you should know are:
- Building up your community
- Increasing awareness for your brand
- Showcasing the values and culture of your company
- Increasing brand loyalty among the people
- Sharing the latest news and updates about your company
Instagram Theme
There are many successful Instagram accounts that have their own theme pattern. They post videos, stories or photos of a set pattern that helps them in creating a distinct style for them. Similarly, you can also think about some brand color or visual style when it come to your business on Instagram. This completely depends on you that how you want to align with your business’s overall color and theme. Read more about Instagram theme ideas.
Be consistent with Fonts
If you have a brand where text plays a key role then it is important for you to think about the font that you are using. Use that font that you think can relate with your brand or products. Using a set of font or layout will help the people to recognize you easily.
Make the most out of your Instagram captions
Never take captions for lightly because they are a chance that can enhance your posts content further. Make sure your caption aligns well with your brand. Even though Instagram is an image sharing app still there are many people out there who likes to read the caption as well. Based on the caption they can even become your loyal follower. However, Instagram has set the caption limit to 2200 characters and if you will add any extra word post that then it will not show.
Post Consistently
Another important Instagram for business practice is to be consistent in your publishing frequency. This can help your customers to know when they can expect new content from you. Though make sure that the timing you choose to post content is best for your brand i.e., it is the time when most of your followers are active. This will help in increasing your engagement rate and will help you keep on track as well. On an average you can post around 1-3 posts everyday at the best time suitable for you.
Take Time To Analyze Your Successful Posts
One of the things you should monitor is to analyze what’s working and what’s not working for you on Instagram. And the best thing to check this is by keeping an eye on your analytics like:
- Which of your posts are getting more likes
- How your shared post on Instagram can influence your engagement
- What are your most commented posts
Instagram provides certain analytics but to get deeper analytics about every post on Instagram, you can go for some paid tools as well. There are many tools available that can help you in getting all the latest and old stats of your Instagram business page.
Respond to Your Comments and Messages
If you are looking for building a strong community on Instagram then responding to comments and DM are the great way for you. It is important that you respond back to them and show them that you are paying attention to what they are saying or asking. In a survey, it was noted that almost 90% of your consumers recommend brands to others after interacting with them on the social media. This is a big number if you look at it with the perspective of getting audience or profit.
Quick Instagram Growth Hacks & Experiment
Below I am sharing few quick Instagram growth experience that can help you:
- Social networking is all about building community and Instagram is also a community building platform for brands. One of the best ways to grow your Instagram is by engaging and following the relevant instagrammers that like brand like yours. All you have to do is to find them. Start commenting on appropriate posts and see who is commenting back, who is asking questions, who is liking your posts and such things. It is a very simple way to let people know about your existence who are likely to be interested in your brand and products.
- Hashtags play an important role in helping you reach your potential consumer. As we know that captions on Instagram are not searchable but hashtags are. Hashtags are a great way to get your content in front for those people who might like your content but doesn’t follow you yet. Hence, keep your hashtag research on point and use them to get the most out of Instagram hashtag feature for you.
- Another point to grow your Instagram followers base is by working with Instagram Influencers. It is one of the best ways to get engaged and loyal followers. You can team up with some Instagram influencer whose fans base might be interested in your brand. Be it a large or small brand, everyone can take advantage of Influencer market to increase their followers and let people know about them.
- One more thing that you can do for increasing your community is promoting your account on other channels that already have a loyal fan base. You can pay other accounts to do a shoutout for your brand, post a video of your brand or anything as you like. Also, you can embed Instagram post in your blog or site to showcase your best content to the people on a larger scale.
So, these are few of the experiments you can go for. There are few others as well like paid ads or campaigns. You can choose any of the option that best suited for you and can apply it for your community buildup on Instagram.
Conclusion
Here you have it. Now you are ready to set up your own Instagram Business account, craft your strategy and put it into the action in your way.
Hope this article was informational and useful for you. If you still have any query related to Instagram for Business account, you can ask us via the comment section given below. We will solve your query shorty. Meanwhile, you can read about the best Instagram mods that offers amazing features and benefits in comparison to the official app.
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