How to start and use Instagram for business: a complete guide in 2023
With over 2 billion monthly active users—roughly one-fourth of the world's population—Instagram is one of the most widely used social media platforms and a fantastic marketing tool for building your brand.
We've put up a thorough tutorial on how to use Instagram for business whether you're new to the platform or want to learn how to effectively sell your company there. We can do it all, from profile optimization to fantastic content creation.
5 steps to using Instagram for business
Instagram is a platform for visual social networking with a focus on picture and video content. Without a visible product, this may seem difficult for marketers, but even B2B companies and service-based brands may profit from this network.
If you stick to our advice, you ought to be able to quickly increase your audience and keep your following interested.
1. Create a business account on Instagram.
Instagram accounts can be classified as personal, creator, or business accounts. The two categories of professional accounts available are creator and business accounts. While brands should create a corporate profile, influencers and content producers should use the creator account.
You may access practical features like the following when you have an Instagram business profile:
- More parts to add to your profile's insights/analytics for Instagram
- Instagram promotion
- being able to link up with a scheduling app
- Instagram shops and posting with product tags
Every feature has the potential to maximize the impact of your company's Instagram presence.
2. Improve your Instagram company profile.
Utilize the other areas in your business profile, as I already recommended. This will provide potential followers a tonne of information upfront and give them a clear understanding of what your firm does and why they should follow you.
Utilize the following fields to enhance your profile:
- Use your company logo as your profile photo for optimum results so that people can quickly recognize your brand.
- Name: Use the same name for your company that appears on any other social media pages for your brand.
- Your company name should also be your username. Keep in mind that there can be no spaces in your username.
- Pronouns: Although they are included on every profile, you should only use them if you serve as the public face of your company.
- Website: On your Instagram page, this will be the sole clickable URL. Most companies either link to their most recent promotional page or utilize their website. A link in the bio tool may be used to link to several sites as well.
- Your Instagram bio is where you may get other users' attention. Here, you may either explain what your company does, promote your website, or use your brand's motto (or all of the above, actually).
- Page: Link your Facebook business page to your Instagram business profile.
- Choose the category that most accurately reflects the sector or range of goods and services offered by your brand.
- Contact choices: Include links to all of your contact information, including your phone number, email address, and physical address.
- Button actions Put a call-to-action button, such as "Order food," "Book now," "Reserve," or "Get quotation," directly on your Instagram profile.
- highlights of an Instagram story Add highlights from your tales to your profile and classify them according to the kinds of narratives your company usually produces.
Here is an illustration of a business with a completely optimized Instagram profile:
3. Establish a successful Instagram marketing plan.
Every marketing platform where you have a presence needs its own unique strategy, and Instagram is no exception. Due to Instagram's emphasis on visual content, a significant portion of your approach must be on locating or producing the photos you publish.
There are a few other things to keep in mind, though.
Identify your target market.
Make sure your target audience will be interested in the material you provide first. But in order to achieve that, you must first identify your target market. Look at your current consumer persona, then look for accounts on Instagram that fit that persona. Observe them and evaluate the information they share. Examine the brands they follow and the sharing of material they make.
Utilize those evaluations to inform your personal Instagram content strategy after that. Keep track of which of your articles, stories, or reels have the most views so you can start producing more material that is comparable.
Set objectives and KPIs.
What do you want Instagram to do for you? The most likely goals can be like these:
- Revenue Website Visitor Engagement Followers
- User-created material
- Influencer collaborations
You can easily complete all of the aforementioned tasks, but you must change your Instagram strategy for each one.
For instance, if you want to use social media to increase sales, you should create an Instagram store and tag your items in all of your posts. If increasing website traffic is your aim, use the link sticker in your Instagram stories as well as a link in your bio page with several links to your website, blog articles, and sales pages.
Create a plan that fulfills your goals and KPIs after outlining them.
Monitor your stats and performance.
You get access to built-in insights, data, and analytics with your Instagram business account. Use this to your advantage to monitor the effectiveness of your approach. Look at your most popular posts, the level of interaction with each one, information on your followers, and more.
You can also use Sprout Social's social media analytics dashboard to gain even more detailed information about the success of your Instagram account:
Make a publication timetable and content calendar.
Choosing the sorts of material you'll produce, creating a social media content calendar, and starting to schedule your posts are the last steps in developing an Instagram strategy.
This will most likely include product images for e-commerce firms, as shown on Bloomscape's Instagram below:
For firms that offer services, this may include additional branded imagery, as we can see from Planoly's feed:
Start by identifying the content categories that make the most sense for your brand.
4. Share just the greatest Instagram material and adhere to industry standards.
We briefly discussed content, but because Instagram offers many chances for sharing fresh stuff with your audience, let's delve a bit more. To get the greatest results, you should also be familiar with Instagram's best practices.
utilize the newest Instagram features.
It shouldn't be shocking that Instagram keeps adding new features. Whether it's Instagram Reels, link stickers in stories, or anything else, it's a good idea to test them all to see which ones your followers respond to the most in order to make the most of the platform.
Discover the best apps and tools for editing or creating Instagram posts.
You may use a variety of Instagram features to help you produce even more beautiful content. Some are suitable for picture editing, while others are better suited for producing branded graphics.
Consider the following tools for Instagram posts:
- Canva
- some
- synapses
- Sysco
Try out a few different applications to see which ones your staff will find most convenient to use.
Composing interesting Instagram captions
Writing an effective Instagram caption that encourages your audience to interact with your post, follow you, and make a purchase takes skill. Here is some tried-and-true advice:
- Be succinct and to the point. It doesn't always have to be 2,200 characters just because it can.
- Increase the likelihood that viewers will comment by posing a question or sharing a story.
- Use emojis or social media jargon.
- Use hashtags to make your post more discoverable on Instagram.
Here are 50+ Instagram caption ideas to help you find additional inspiration.
Examine the different Instagram post formats.
Make sure you're using the various options Instagram offers its users for content creation and sharing. Users may find it monotonous to visit your Instagram post and often view the same kind of material.
Instead, make a change. Share information such as articles, films, reels, guides, branded visuals, live video broadcasts, and more. Each unique piece of content should be added to your content schedule so you can plan ahead and maintain a healthy mix.
Utilize shoppable posts to boost sales.
Through shoppable posts, e-commerce firms can maximize their Instagram engagement. Make it simpler than ever for consumers to make purchases by setting up your Instagram store, tagging items in your Instagram pictures, and more.
Your followers may tap on a product they see in one of your posts, click on the item listing in your Instagram store, and then make a purchase without ever leaving the app thanks to shoppable posts.
5. Increase your Instagram following
Finally, you must begin expanding your Instagram following. Even while your bottom line is more concerned with engagement and conversions than follower count, it's still a smart idea to concentrate on increasing your follower count. You may be able to reach a larger audience on the platform and it will assist with social proof.
A few strategies for increasing your Instagram following are as follows:
- Comment on Instagram posts from users that appear to be your target market.
- In order for people looking for certain hashtags to locate your material, utilize relevant hashtags in your postings.
- Share a wide variety of material kinds and post frequently.
- Work together with influencers to reach their audiences.
- Through your website and other social media channels, cross-promote your Instagram account.
- Keep an eye out for the stuff that generates the most interest and produces more of it.
- start making Instagram advertising for brand awareness
commonly asked questions about Instagram for businesses
Interested in learning more about how to use Instagram for business? A few frequently asked questions are provided below to assist you.
Can businesses use Instagram for free?
Yes, setting up a business account on Instagram is costless. You will only ever be required to pay if you decide to run advertisements on the site.
What is the value of Instagram for small businesses?
Absolutely! Small businesses can really make a splash on the platform if they utilize all the features that are offered to them.
Which Instagram account is the most suitable for business?
A Professional > Business account is preferable to a personal or creator account for enterprises. This provides them with the greatest brand attributes, enabling them to grow their fan base and increase their sales.
Use Instagram for business now.
Don't worry if your Instagram company account hasn't yet launched.
Instagram has established itself as a mainstay of social marketing rather than a passing fad thanks to its engaged, constantly expanding user base. There is still room on the platform for businesses with a compelling visual narrative to share and the ambition to build a community of devoted fans and clients.
Use our Instagram for Brands guide to establishing a unique and engaging plan if you're still seeking for methods to enhance your Instagram game.
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