This post was originally published on November 1, 2021, and updated on May 5, 2023.
Information in this blog post was obtained from Sprout Social, Hubspot, and Hootsuite.
You may familiar with how to use Instagram for your personal account but what about a business account? There are a variety of things that you may not be aware of to help improve your reach on a business account.
Setting Up Your Account
The first thing you'll want to do is create a business account on Instagram. This article by Hubspot gives the best step-by-step on how to do that. The first step is to create an account. When doing this it is important to create an account with a business email and not anything that would connect the account to your personal Facebook account. It is important to pick a username that is recognizable as your business. When choosing a profile picture, choose something consistent with your brand.
The next thing you will want to do is ensure your bio has a direct and concise description of your business, and you can even encourage users via a call to action. You can switch your account to a professional account by clicking on settings, then account, and then scrolling down to 'Switch to Professional Account.' The next important thing to do is connect your Facebook business page with your Instagram profile.
Next, think about how to create a consistent brand aesthetic and how to promote your brand and product in a friendly, authentic way without hard selling to your customers. For example, you can be personal in your posts and bio in ways that your audience wants so they can relate to you. Ask yourself questions like, what are our goals and brand values? How would customers or employees describe our brand?
Once you have created and optimized your account, it is a good idea to go ahead and post 10-15 high-quality posts that align with your brand. If you're already trying to engage with a user, they may come to your profile and find no content, which can be a deterrent. Once you do this, you can start following other accounts that not only interest you but relate to your business as well, and then start interacting with their content. There are many ways to promote your business on Instagram like posting deals or discounts, contests, or even a charity deal.
Instagram Reels
Instagram Reels are relatively new to Instagram and can be a great way to show up in a user's feed. They can be important to promote your business, as videos are a highly consumable content form that appeals to consumers. Hootsuite provides tips on how to use Instagram Reels as they can be intimidating to use and may even be hard to understand. Adding music or a sound clip can make your Reel more discoverable as they can usually trend within the app.
When creating your Reel, select the music note icon on the left-hand side, select what sound you want to use, and edit the portion you want to be heard as needed. Adding captions can be extremely important as they can add more context or they can be helpful for those watching without sound or those who are hearing impaired. Another way to elevate your Reels is by creating step-by-step or multi-scene videos, whether this be how-to videos or something that pertains to your business goals. You can do this by shooting videos in the app or uploading pre-recorded videos. There are features like a timer, filters, the align tool (which can add or remove an object or person), time-lapse, add voice-over, green screen, or remix (allows you to share another reel and record next to it, expanding on the original content).
Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories are extremely important. They are often the most consumed content on Instagram. They disappear after 24 hours and can be used to add a personable, informal touch to your business. Instagram Stories can provide an everyday look and what goes on in daily operations at your business. This article from Sprout Social explains different tools and techniques you can add to your Instagram Stories, as well as best practices for using Instagram Stories.
Stories can be the location of specific events or contests hosted, as well as polls, questions, and quizzes, making them exclusive to users who watch your story. Stories are also the very first thing that a user sees at the top of their feed, so this is a great opportunity to reach users firsthand. Stories are a common way to share user-generated content and add your take. Since Stories are sometimes the most viewed content on Instagram, you can also share your newest post to your story so it can reach more of your audience. Although Stories do disappear, you can add them to Story Highlights that users can refer back to on your profile. This could be information like frequently asked questions, hours of operations, how-to's, tutorials, etc.
Don't be afraid to use all aspects of Instagram to grow your business awareness, create a community, interact with your customers, and show an informal side to your company.
Resources
Barnhart, B. (2021, September 28). Instagram Stories: Best Practices and Inspiration to Engage Your Followers. Sprout Social. from https://sproutsocial.com/insights/instagram-stories/
Instagram Marketing. Hubspot. from https://www.hubspot.com/instagram-marketing
McLachlan, S. (2021, September 15). Instagram Reels Tutorial: 10 Editing Tips You Should Know. Hootsuite. from https://blog.hootsuite.com/instagram-reels-tutorial/
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