INSTAGRAM FOR BUSINESS
Why Use Instagram?
Did you know that 200 million users visit at least one business profile every day? We’re going to show you how to make this yours!
If your not sure of the meaning of anything mentioned please see the glossary.
Instagram appeals to a wide variety of people.
- Instagram sways slightly female – 52% of all users are women.
- 67% of 18-29-year-olds are on the app.
- 47% of those aged 30-49 use Instagram.
- 23% of people aged 50-64 have accounts.
- Only 8% of people aged 65 or older are on Instagram.
INSTAGRAM BASICS
Setting up your Instagram account
Creating an account on Instagram is quite intuitive. You simply need to download the app and create an account.
Creating a business account
Instagram accounts are automatically made as personal accounts, but it’s easy to switch to a business account under settings.
The perks of having an Instagram business account include:
- Instagram analytics
- Contact information in bio
- Running paid advertisements
You will need:-
- username – This is the searchable name of your Instagram account and must be unique. It will be viewed like https://www.instagram.com/username
- email address – this is where you will receive correspondence from people interested in your business or service.
- password – make this secure; you don’t want your account hacked
- Bio text – This is a short (150 character) paragraph about your business and what you offer.
- profile picture – probably your company logo this will be small so make it simple.
- BioLink – in-bio link is your only clickable link on Instagram, so use it wisely. Some businesses include a standard link to their website, while others change it regularly to reflect recent posts. But if you want to make it easier on yourself, take advantage of link-in-bio tools such as https://biolinkcreator.com/
Creating Your Bio
Your Instagram bio should include:
- A clear description of what you do
- Touches of your personality
- A call to action (shop, read more, contact us, etc.)
- A link
Choosing your brands posting style?
People don’t follow your business on social media so they can see sales pitches. They follow your brand because they enjoy your personality and the content you create. What works for one business might not suit your branding—even when you’re in similar industries.
Ask yourself what you want your tone to be. Funny? Informative? Playful? Cynical? Do you want to mix it up while maintaining a theme? Your personality should also reflect what you’re passionate about. Such and Such Farm believes in sustainably grown produce, so many of their Instagram posts talk about their farming practices. What topics do you address with your Instagram content? Everything you share on your business account should show off your brand’s personality and beliefs.
Think of your business account as a person. Design a personality for the account and create branding guidelines so you can stay consistent. Branding guidelines should include notes on tone, style, and values along with your brand’s colours and fonts.
TYPES OF INSTAGRAM CONTENT
Instagram Feed Posts
The first type of content to understand is the feed posts. These are the photos and videos you see when you open the app and start scrolling. The aspect ratio of a post is 1:1 square.
An Instagram post is a photo or video that an Instagram user shares on the platform. A post may include a caption, a geo tag and also tags of other users.
Instagram Stories
As we mentioned earlier, feed posts aren’t the only type of content on Instagram. Stories are another way to reach your audience, and some people believe they’re actually the best way. Stories appear at the top of the app, and they disappear after 24 hours. This creates a feeling of urgency for many users, so they want to check them out before they’re gone.
These are becoming increasingly more popular in part because users are spending more time watching stories. These ads are 15 seconds long and you can have three in a row, meaning you have 45 seconds to get your messages across. Use videos, static images, or a combination to capture your viewers’ attention and stop them from clicking through.
Stories are generally meant to give a behind-the-scenes look into your business, whether that’s day-to-day activities, or bringing your audience along during an event. Stories can also be a useful promotional tool.
The Instagram story dimensions are 1080px by 1920px, which is an aspect ratio of 9:16. What this means is that your IG story video or photo will have to be 1080 pixels wide by 1920 pixels in height.
What should you post on Instagram?
You want these to be relevant to your brand but also compelling and interesting. You don’t just want to post photo after photo of products. You need content your followers will enjoy. If they don’t they will unfollow you!
When you are creating a post think about whether you would enjoy that post if it came through your feed. Would you ‘like’ it? Is it interesting? Funny? Cute? Clever? Something to envy? Why would someone like the post?
Design your posts in line with your brands style and keep the content engaging.
Having a rhythm to your posts can be a good way of ensuring you keep the content interesting to your audience. Decide on 3 or more styles of posts and rotate them as evenly as possible.
Ideas are:
- Quotes to inspire your audience
- Tips to using your products
- Ideas to help your clients
- Funny photos relevant to your industry
- User images with your product
- Testimonials
How does the Instagram algorithm work?
Instagram’s algorithm aims to surface the best content for each individual user. So, while six separate factors may seem like a lot to worry about, the best thing you can do is create high-quality content consistently.
Here’s a quick rundown of those factors:
Interest: How much Instagram thinks a person will like the post based on previous activity
Timeliness: How recent the post is
Relationship: Accounts a person engages with on a regular basis
Frequency: How often a person uses the Instagram app
Following: Posts from the accounts a person follows
Usage: How much time a person spends on Instagram
How often should you post on Instagram?
Post consistently, businesses share four Instagram posts per week, on average. But we recommend posting at least once a day. Brands that get into a regular flow with Instagram posts tend to see the best results. Generally profiles that post daily gain Instagram followers faster than those that post less frequently.
When should you post on Instagram?
Deciding when to post your content on Instagram seems to be the age-old question so you can take advantage of the algorithm. Think about when your audience is likely going to be on the app. People who work 9-5 jobs are probably more likely to be on in the mornings, evenings, and during lunchtime.
Parents of young children probably won’t be scrolling in the early evening while they’re trying to get the kids to bed. Really the best time to post differs for every industry, so use your analytics to determine the demographics of your followers and when the best time to post is.
Don’t forget though, that Instagram is a social platform. Above all else, you want to post when you’ll have time to engage with your followers who comment on your posts. A good rule of thumb is to be engaging for about 15 minutes before your post, and continue engaging for 30 minutes after. This shows the algorithm that you’re a real person who’s ready to engage and build relationships.
Instagram marketing strategy
Instagram is a great tool for marketers and businesses, but it typically requires strategy, unlike personal accounts. So even if you’ve had an Instagram account for years and you’ve got thousands of followers, you might not be entirely sure of how to use it to grow your business as efficiently as possible. That’s where having an Instagram marketing strategy comes into the game.
Defining a target audience
Once you know your goal, you want to determine your target audience. See which accounts your ideal audience is following. Understand what posts are resonating with them. If their profiles are public, see what they’re sharing. The more you can understand about how they’re using Instagram, the better you can create a strategy to reach them.
- Research your competitors and see who their followers are.
- Know your audience demographics and find accounts that appeal to them.
- Search for hashtags they’re following and what they’re using.
Hashtags #
Hashtags are like keywords for your Instagram post. Instagram allows up to 30 hashtags per post, but the most important thing is that they’re relevant to the post. You don’t want to just copy and paste the same block of hashtags on every post.
If you offer multiple products or services make sure you don’t just use the same hashtags every time and you make sure the tags you use are specific to that particular post. This will get your post in front of the right people and help you grow your audience as well as your business.
By taking the time to make your hashtags hyper-relevant to each post, you will reach new people easily and organically.
Think about your audience when thinking of hashtags. Are they actually going to type this in to try to find content?
Use all 30 hashtags because you’re creating 30 different ways someone can find you.
Need help finding hashtags try:- http://best-hashtags.com/
