This article will provide you with hints on how to make your business account on Instagram flawless. Read this article to find out more.

Set up an Instagram business account

Instagram is a unique platform that is used  for personal photo/video sharing, However, nowadays it also offers a good opportunity to advertise your business. Instagram offers a range of advanced analytics and marketing tools once you switch your regular account to a business account.

How to start a business account: just go to your settings if you already have an account and click on “Switch to business account”, or just choose “business account” to sign up.  

A business account allows you to work with special business tools like promoting posts. It also allows you to add extra information to your profile like your phone number, email address, and physical address.

Think strategically about your bio 

It takes a second for a visitor to read your bio and make a first impression of your business. That is why it is essential to build one correctly. 

A Bio is the first thing people see when they land on your profile, so, if your bio is catchy and reflects exactly what you offer, there is a higher chance the reader will scroll down and purchase what you provide. Your bio should include:

1. Briefly describe your business and what you do
2. Appeal to your target group
3. Do not put too much information in your bio, let the reader figure out more by scrolling down through your profile.
4.  External links to your website to increase traffic to your homepage.

Remember that your bio is important for SEO and digital marketing. Make it short but informative.

Use the right Instagram profile image

Your profile image is going to be associated directly with your business. It should be recognisable and easy to remember. You can use different options as a profile image like Logo, Logomark or Mascot. 

Do not overcomplicate your logo, think about what will catch people’s attention and what will make them recognise your brand.

Work on the Instagram content 

Before starting sharing posts with your audience, think about what you need to post, what to write, what images/videos to add. Along with those, it is a key to stick to your writing style and use a colour palette for your photos to create a distinct style for your profile.

Post consistently

Consistency helps you maximising engagement, thus your Instagram needs a strategy to outline the frequency of your posts. 

A study by Union Metrics indicated that the majority of brands post daily, with an average of 1.5 posts per day. 

Do not post too much per day as this becomes more disturbing than useful and leads to more unsubscribes. It is better to regularly post.

Use Instagram analytics 

Instagram offers business accounts a range of tools to analyse your activity and spot the weakest points of your profile. Frequently check on the analytics to see:

• What posts are getting more likes and comments
• What posts are the most viewed
• How much engagement there is on your page
• What posts can be promoted

Do not buy followers

The likelihood that the purchased followers are bots or inactive accounts is very high, so they won’t increase the activity or allow you to focus on a targeted audience. Moreover, your posts will not appear on Explore pages or newsfeeds and will decrease your account’s visibility to a wider audience.

Respond to comments

Undoubtedly, the responsiveness on social media is a sign of care for your followers and your reputation. If you are selling a product/service, Instagram is the perfect platform to get known or build your reputation through communicating with people. Do not leave too many comments unanswered. Be polite and do not act aggressively if some of comments are negative.

• 90% of consumers would recommend a brand to others after engaging with it.

Categorise content with hashtags

If you offer a range of products/services it is better to categorise your content using hashtags (#). This allows readers to easily navigate through your profile and find any necessary information quickly. 

Engage with the audience

Who does not like high activity on their page? The more attention you drag to your profile, the more likely it will be seen by more people. So, engaging with your audience makes your followers interested in your content and encourages them to comment more on your posts, do reposts, and promote more posts.

Social Media presence 

Social media has shaped the way businesses operate today. Instagram is not the only social media platform for brands to use and businesses’ presence on such platforms allows them to expand marketing opportunities. Learn more about why digital presence is so important for businesses.

References:

Read, A. (2016). Instagram for Business: 30 Super-Actionable Tips. [online] Buffer Library. Available at: https://buffer.com/library/instagram-for-business-tips/.

Wordstream.com. (2015). SEO Basics: Complete Beginner’s Guide to Search Engine Optimization. [online] Available at: https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2015/04/30/seo-basics.

Union Metrics. (n.d.). Social Media Tips Archives. [online] Available at: https://unionmetrics.com/blog/category/tips/ [Accessed 12 Apr. 2021].