Start your business on Instagram and become one of the 200+ million business accounts people visit every day. With more than one billion people using Instagram every month and around 90% of the following at least one business, this means in 2021, it will be easy to use your Instagram account for business. This is because in just over 10 years Instagram has evolved from a photo-sharing app to a hub of business activities.
It has become pretty routine to update the app with new business tools, features, and tips. To unleash the potential of Instagram, it is important to create an Instagram account that successfully captures the attention of the target audience. Read on to learn how to optimise your Instagram business account to generate meaningful business outcomes.
What is an Instagram Business account?
If you are a business that wants to create a following on Instagram and use the platform strategically, you need an Instagram business account. But what is it? An Instagram business account is Instagram’s version of a Facebook page, and it tells Instagram that you are using the platform to market your business. An Instagram business account gives you access to features that are beneficial for engaging with and marketing to your followers, and personal accounts don’t have these features either. These include:
- Access to social media analytics, such as engagement insights, audience demographics, and clicks.
- The ability to pay to promote posts, expanding your reach.
- Clickable call-to-actions (CTAs) on promoted posts to drive people to your website – this isn’t the only goal you can choose on promoted posts.
If you want to be able to successfully market and track the success of your campaigns, the benefits of an Instagram business account are essential. Reach more people, stay connected with your audience and boost your sales through the use of social media today.
Is an Instagram business account good for small businesses?
We all know the power of Instagram and using Instagram for small businesses is a powerful and affordable way to grow your business. You can reach new customers and stay linked to your existing ones, making it the perfect platform for marketing your small business.
5 ways you can grow your business using Instagram:
- Start using Instagram stories: Instagram stories allow you to promote multiple pictures and videos that will appear at the top of users’ feeds, and they can be highlighted for a permanent presence, or they will disappear after 24 hours. Many other features can be used through Instagram stories such as polls, questions, live videos, gifs, and branded filters, all of which are great ways to stay engaged with your audience. For example, polls are great when you want to gauge your followers’ interest in a particular product or ask them what types of content they want to see more of.
- Get familiar with hashtags: Instagram’s search feature enables users to find content through hashtags as well as keywords. Using hashtags for Instagram is a quick way to increase your visibility and attract people who are not already aware of your business. The trick is to use the right hashtags for your business niche, by considering what your target audience is searching for but the real value comes from finding ways to post pictures related to a popular or trending hashtag. This is critical when it comes to social monitoring and engagement as it allows Instagram to find the conversations where your target audience hangs out.
- Start Regramming: Growing your initial audience should be your top priority, therefore sharing other people’s content is one of the best ways to start connecting. Regramming is a quick and easy way to start building momentum. You can do this through user-generated content, which in return increases your online engagement and visibility.
- Use reels: Instagram reels are a new way to create and discover short entertaining videos on Instagram. Use audio effects and new creative tools to record and edit a 15-second multi-clip video. You can share reels with your followers on your feed and get discovered by the large and diverse Instagram community on the explore page. Reels offer people new ways to express themselves, discover more of what they love on Instagram, and help anyone with the ambition to become a creator take centre stage. Read our guide to reels and other Instagram features.
- Encourage other Instagram users to share your posts: A great way to encourage other Instagram users to share your posts is to run competitions regularly. Compared to the Instagram accounts that do not have competition, the Instagram accounts that do can achieve up to 70% faster follower growth. Although there are other ways to attract more Instagram followers, there are very few other ways to increase your following so quickly and with such minimal effort. Instagram competitions receive a high level of participation which leads to better performance in the Instagram algorithm. As your engagement with the initial post increases, the Instagram algorithm will show it to more of your followers and potentially as a popular post in the hashtags you have used in the explore feed.
How to set up an Instagram Business account?
With Instagram being one of the fastest-growing and most popular social media platforms, now is the time to set up your Instagram business account. Are you ready to make an Instagram business account? Follow these simple steps and you’ll be up and running in no time!
Step 1: Log in to your personal Instagram account (or create one)
To create an Instagram business account, you need to have a personal Instagram account and then continue to log in. If you do not yet have a personal Instagram account, download the Instagram app via your phone or navigate to this link and follow the steps to create your account.
Step 2: Navigate to your Profile
Go to your profile and tap the three stacked lines in the top right-hand corner. Once you are here, click on Settings, and then go to your Account. Click on the switch to a professional account and then select a category for your business. Once this is all completed, add your contact details, you can include things like directions, a phone number, and an email address that people on Instagram can use to easily get in touch with you.
That’s it! You have now set up an Instagram business account and are ready to start interacting with your audience.
Why create an Instagram Business account?
Let’s dive into a few of the biggest benefits of using an Instagram business account.
- You’re taken more seriously: With an Instagram business account, you have the option to include your business address, a contact button and filter your account to a specific industry. Having more information and a quick contact button can make your business profile look more professional and help your audience get in touch with you in an easy way.
- You get access to analytics: This is a big one. With an Instagram Business account, you can gain access to built-in insights. You can check your post-performance, track activity and your audience insight, this is a great way to verify the success of your Instagram business account and will give you a basic understanding of how well your content is doing.
- You can take advantage of Instagram advertising: To help you generate leads faster, increase conversion rates and your followers, your business should be using Instagram advertising. If you are working to explain your reach and overcome some of the challenges posed by the Instagram algorithm, paid to advertise can help you target your key audiences.
Does an Instagram Business account cost?
No! Anyone can create an Instagram business account for free. You do not need to prove that you have an officially registered business. An Instagram business account will not only help you schedule your posts but will also help you save time. Think of it this way, are you willing to spend 30 minutes a day exploring your photos, creating captions, adding hashtags, etc., or 1-2 hours a day scheduling Instagram posts for the entire week? All business owners know that time is money. If you want to make better use of this precious commodity, start organising your posts. Not only that, but it will also allow you to see when your audience is most active to post at your busiest times.
For more on how to use social media to its fullest potential, why not read these related posts:
A Guide To Instagram Marketing Features
How Can I Drive Lead Generation Through Social Media?
Contact us today to find out how our marketing experts at LOCALiQ can help you further.
