Instagram is a powerful platform for small businesses, allowing you to engage with your customers, build a loyal following and grow your brand. In fact, Instagram is the fourth most popular social media platform. That's why it's more important than ever to include Instagram in your social media strategy.
Let’s look into some of our tips on how you can make your business successful through Instagram:
1. Set up a business account
To start using Instagram for business, you should create an Instagram business account. If you’re already using a personal Instagram account for your brand, change it to a business account now. An Instagram business account provides dedicated features that’ll help you market your brand and analyse your activity.
2. Create your profile
Now you've got your business on Instagram, you'll want to set up your professional profile so users can identify immediately that you’re a business. It can also persuade users to explore your page and follow your brand.
Let's take a look at some of the components of an Instagram business profile:
- Business name – keep your Instagram profile name the same as your business name to help users find you easily.
- Business category – select the industry category that best captures your business. This tells users immediately what to expect from your account.
- Profile picture – use your logo so customers can identify your business straightaway.
- Contact information – adding your phone number, email address and physical address (if you have a physical location) provides users with a quick way to contact you. This can help you give your business profile that extra touch of professionalism.
- Your bio – this is your opportunity to showcase your business. Describe your brand and highlight your voice. If your tone of voice supports it, consider using emojis.
3. Research your audience
It's vital to research your target audience on Instagram before you get started on the platform. This can help you better understand their interests, behaviours and preferences, allowing you to tailor your content to their needs and reach them more effectively.
4. Find your content mix
Sharing diverse content types and themes is important to keep your Instagram audience entertained and interested in your brand. A varied content mix can lead to higher engagement rates, increased exposure and more conversions.
5. Optimise your link in bio
You’re limited to one permanent link in your profile's Instagram bio, so making the most of it is essential.
Select a link relevant to your brand that provides visitors with valuable information about your business, like your website's homepage.
6. Schedule your posts
It's important to have a consistent presence on Instagram. That's why scheduling your posts is vital. Scheduling posts can help you increase your engagement while establishing your company as trustworthy. What's more, planning your posts can save you time and effort, helping you stick to that consistency.
7. Geotag your posts
You can include the location (either a specific address or general area) in your Instagram posts. This is referred to as geotagging. Instagram compiles the posts tagged at that location and organises them into 'top' and 'recent'. This helps users explore content about a specific place.
8. Use the 'save post' feature
Something caught your eye? You can save Instagram posts and come back to them later. Curating a collection of content can inspire your own content creation.
9. Tag your products
Tagging your products with shopping links to your external e-commerce platform can help your customers discover your offering and allow them to purchase easily. Making your Instagram business account shoppable can give you that edge to stay ahead of the competition.
10. Connect your product catalogue
Create a Meta Business Manager account to connect your product catalogue to Instagram. Next, you can assemble your product catalogue containing all the products you want to sell on Instagram.
11. Use Instagram Shopping
Products added to your catalogue? You can now turn on Instagram Shopping. Now, you can tag your products in your posts and Stories, making it easier for users to discover and buy them. This can help drive much more engagement and sales.
12. Use Highlights to showcase what your business is all about
Highlights are the Instagram Stories you choose to feature on your profile page. Although Instagram Stories disappear after 24 hours, Highlights are showcased on your profile permanently.
13. Create Guides
Instagram Guides are a feature that allows you to share curated content in your profile. You can choose from three options: posts, products and places. This gives your business several ways to share more editorial content.
14. Use captions
Captions provide more information and context for your content. You should use your brand's voice to help reinforce your message. Plus, including hashtags in captions can improve your content's exposure in Instagram's search results and increase discoverability.
15. Use Instagram Live
Streaming live video content in real-time can be an excellent way to engage your followers. You can use Instagram Live to host Q&A sessions to answer questions about your products or services with your audience.
16. Run Instagram promotions
Instagram promotions are an effective strategy if you're looking to grow your following. Promotions are a type of paid advertising, so you’ll need a budget to benefit from this feature.
They’re different from Instagram ads because they're focused on building engagement. You pay to boost your content, which will then appear in users' feeds who don't follow you. Promoted posts can also appear in Stories and the Explore tab.
17. Host a giveaway
Running an Instagram giveaway can be a powerful tool for increasing engagement, boosting brand awareness and growing your following. Make sure your giveaway entry requirements align with your business objectives. For example, to increase your following, you can ask users to follow your page to enter the giveaway.
18. Host a takeover
You can invite a content creator or another business to temporarily 'take over' your Instagram account, usually for a day or a week at a time. They’ll then create content on behalf of your brand.
19. Use direct messaging
Direct messaging allows you to communicate with your customers more personally and directly. Other users won't see these messages. This can be particularly useful for customer service and support.
20. Track performance with analytics
You should track the performance of your social media activity to understand the success of your content. You don't need to access additional tools to do this. Find your performance metrics through Instagram Insights via your profile.
Here are some key metrics to consider:
- Engagement rate – measures the interaction your content receives from your followers, including likes, comments and shares.
- Reach – the number of unique users who have seen your content.
- Impressions – the number of times your content has been viewed.
- Click-through rate – the number of clicks on links in your posts or Stories.
- Hashtag performance – the performance of your hashtags.
21. Learn from your results
It's crucial to learn from your results to make data-driven decisions to improve your Instagram strategies.
Analysing impressions and engagement rates will give you a better understanding of how your audience engages with your business. This can help you determine what type of content appeals to them.
Did you find these Instagram tips helpful? Let us know in the comments.
