Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms, second to Facebook, which is used by over 500 million users on a daily basis all over the world. On top of that, Instagram has active global business profiles of above 25 million.
These profiles are followed by around 90% of the users on Instagram, making Instagram the go-to platform for all types of businesses. The role of social media in brand building cannot be overlooked as it helps brands reach a wider and targeted audience.
However, it is not as easy as it seems to run an Instagram business account successfully and engage a wider audience. Therefore, we’ve covered everything for you in a single place. Here is a complete step-by-step guide on how to use Instagram for business.
Create an Instagram Business Account
To create an Instagram business account, follow these steps:
- Start by downloading the Instagram mobile app on your Android or iOS device.
- Once downloaded, proceed to click on the ‘sign up’ option.
- Type or enter your email address or phone number.
- Provide a username.
- Create a password for the account.
- Click on the ‘next’ option.
- Verify the email ID address or phone number to confirm.
- Switch from a personal account to a business account.
- Tap on the ‘complete signup’ option.
Congratulations! You have successfully created your Instagram business account. Let’s start posting and see how to grow it now.
Write a compelling, driven bio.
The bio should be written in such a way that it summarizes all the essential information related to your brand in a limited space of 150 characters. It must be to the point and give a compelling reason to people to follow you.
You can use symbols or emojis in your business profile to catch your audience’s eyes and make it stand out from other common business profiles.
Adding a call-to-action or CTA in your bio is a prompt way to reach out to your potential customers. CTA may include:
- Hyperlinks – For the email address, phone number, or opening hours of your business, or
- Buttons – Like ‘Buy Now’ or ‘Sign Up’ to drive people for registrations, app downloads, or even product purchases.
Clicking on such links helps the customers take some specified action to contact you and your business.
Optimize Your Profile Picture
Uploading a profile picture for your business profile is as important as the bio. There is no hard-and-fast rule about what photo you must or must not choose for your Instagram profile.
However, since it is a business profile, the profile picture should include the logo, icon, banners, flyers, name, or abbreviation of the brand, product, or business you promote. It is also recommended to keep your profile picture the same across all social channels of your business.
Adding organized stories highlights
Yet another way to reach customers is to add story highlights to your Instagram business profile. Once these story highlights are uploaded, they tend to come into sight of the audiences’ Instagram feeds even after 24 hours without vanishing.
Try to make the content of the story eye-catching, well-organized and polished in order to make the readers feel interested in reading them.
Share amazing, high-quality content.
Since Instagram is all about images or visuals, sharing amazing, high-quality content that adds value to your audience is necessary. Some of the tips for creating such content are listed below:
- If your business provides various services, then focus on showcasing behind the scenes of your services. Share your company’s mission, tips, or how-to posts for your product demonstrations, showcase customer stories or highlight your company’s culture.
- To boost the engagement of your posts, include an open-ended question in your caption. Make it easier for people to like and comment on your post by giving them a reason to do so.
- Use a variety of content formats provided by Instagram for your business profile. You can easily use these formats to create images, GIFs, boomerangs, or video clips of any type to promote your product or business.
Post consistently
For any Instagram business profile to grow, it is necessary to keep posting quality-type content on a regular, consistent basis. You need to post consistently so that your audience can expect timely, interesting, and valuable content from you, increasing the reach of your brand.
The best practice is to fix a schedule for a time of day for posting images, videos, or live streams in advance. You can also create a content calendar for Instagram to avoid missing out on important dates to publish your content and never run out of ideas.
The more engaging and frequent the content is, the more likely the customers will hit the follow button.
Engage with your audience
Engaging with the audience is an essential part of any business. Instagram, in particular, measures the engagement of your business with the help of the following interactions made in your profile:
- Likes
- Shares
- Comments
- Saves
- Followers
- DMs (Direct Messages)
- Mentions (Tags)
- Branded hashtags
- Click-Throughs
To increase engagement on your Instagram account, begin by following your industry-relevant influencers and publications. Show about your project collaborations and brands you’ve worked with. In addition to this, it is also crucial to respond to comments and mentions of your Instagram account so that your followers feel motivated to engage with your brand.
All this not only helps to grow the reach of your business but also increases the trust of the customers in your business.
Track your performance
It is important to keep track of your Instagram business account performance, reach, followers, engagements, and advertisements, and that’s where Instagram analytics come into play.
Instagram analytics helps you measure the performance of your business profile and figure out what worked and what didn’t.
Since there is no fixed strategy to grow on Instagram or buy real Instagram followers, all you can do is try different things and measure your results.
Final Words
Running a business profile on Instagram can be a very hectic task. However, once you are able to engage with the audience, you will be able to grow your business in no time.
Hope this step-by-step guideline helps to assist you with your business.
