Instagram for Business
Despite what many people think, Instagram is much more than just a photo-sharing platform where influencers can bag the latest brand deals.
Instagram has become a staple in any marketing plan – no matter what the industry – and has begun offering more and more tools to help businesses grow – particularly since partnering with Facebook.
When used correctly, Instagram can be a fantastic platform for companies to not only grow their following but engage honestly with their target audience, showcase products and discover more creative ways to market.
Here are 10 ways to use Instagram for business.
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Monetise your Bio
As well as having a clear profile photo, an Instagram bio is one of the most important things to keep in mind when getting set up.
It’s also where you can get pretty creative by using emojis, fun CTA’s and the right hashtags to reflect your industry or business.
In fact, you can even create your own hashtag which you can encourage others to use when using your services or products!
Whilst you’re updating your bio, remember that you can also edit your name too, which many users tend to do. Keep your username as it is (ideally your exact business name and the same across all socials) and instead, edit your name to reflect what you do.
For example, Netflix UK | Netflix UK & Ireland. It’s another way to get relevant keywords and hashtags in without looking too messy.
Geotag Posts
Many people overlook geo tagging posts but this feature is perfect for small businesses or events.
Geotagging basically compiles all posts taken at a certain location where you can find your company’s photos nestled among other users’ images – meaning a wider reach.
It’s often used at industry events or for recommendations for things to do in a city – but can work exceptionally well for businesses, particularly if your audience is local.
Use Keywords in Alt Tags
Slightly related to SEO, alt tags are another important part of posting to Instagram.
Alt tags basically provide a visual description of photos for people with visual impairments, so it’s a really important feature to use to ensure you’re being inclusive of all your customers.
However, when filled in correctly, alt tags are also useful for SEO purposes where you can use relevant keywords. Just ensure that, first and foremost, the tag makes sense and is an accurate visual description of your image – then add in keywords naturally so it still makes sense.
Online or offline?
Ideally, every business should have a website and online presence at the very least – in this day and age it’s one of the most effective ways to drive sales and bring in new customers. But many companies prefer more traditional marketing methods like print advertisements or attending expos – and that’s okay! Deciding whether you’re going to invest your marketing budget in online or offline marketing – or perhaps 50/50 each! – is one of the first things you should establish.
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Create Guides
Instagram guides are a really fun way to get creative with your business as you can create guides based on more or less anything you like.
Guides are a condensed version of a blog, but you can only use posts from your own feed or from other feeds that you’ve saved – so you can’t upload an entirely new photo to the guide unless you make it into a post.
They’re a great idea to share anything from an in-depth view of what your business does to an introduction to all your staff force.
Guides are also quite editorial-based too, so as long as you have a post to share, you can write as much as you like about any topic of your choice.
Use Instagram Lives and Reels
Instagram lives – and reels – are another great way to engage with your customers better and allow them to get to know your company better.
Instagram lives and reels are a lot more laid back because they can be anything from going live on a Monday morning to say hello to your followers to filming lots of behind the scenes content within the office.
The trick is to experiment and not be afraid to try it – even if you don’t have a lot to share, followers react and engage with video content a lot more than most other forms of media.
Additionally, it’s a great way to share more information that can’t be fitted into a short photo caption and will allow you to answer any customer queries and questions in real-time.
Invest in Hashtag Research
Like Twitter, using effective hashtags is really important on Instagram – particularly as you can use up to 30 of them!
There are many different strategies you can use when it comes to hashtag research, but most users suggest using a mixture of popular hashtags, less popular hashtags and hashtags that are more specific to your post – i.e location-based or industry-based.
The best thing to do is to see what type of hashtags similar businesses are using and play around to see which ones garner the most success for you.
It’s also recommended that you switch up what hashtags you use every six months or so.
Luckily, many scheduling tools will allow you to group hashtags together depending on what type of post you’re sharing – and there are plenty of websites you can use to discover what hashtags will optimise your content best.
Hint: Keep an eye out for any changes announced by Instagram. Instagram’s latest update suggested that hashtags should be used directly in the caption (as opposed to the first comment as previously thought) and that businesses should ideally be using a maximum of 3-5 hashtags per post.
Experiment with your Profile Feed
Sure, this point is probably more relatable to content creators who like their Instagram feed to be aesthetically pleasing on the eyes, but as a business, there’s no reason why you can’t be creative too.
Try creating a collage theme when introducing a new product or service (where an image appears across nine squares and interconnects once all uploaded), or, if sharing some advice, a carousel post where users must swipe to see each image also works well.
Additionally, bold graphics showcasing quotes, testimonials or simply statements also stand out. Instagram is, first and foremost, a photo-sharing app – so a visually appealing feed should be your top priority!
Switch to a Business Account
Switching to a business account is an essential step that every company should do when joining Instagram.
Not only does it give you access to more in-depth analytics and business-specific insights than a standard account, but it also offers options like displaying business and contact details, video chat within direct messages, Instagram shopping, advertising and more. It’s a no-brainer for any business.
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Link your Instagram Account with your Business Page on Facebook
Finally, as a business, you should look into creating sponsored ads.
Although you will need Facebook Business Suite to do this – making it a little more tricky when setting up permissions and linking pages.
It is worth it in the long run thanks to Facebook’s fantastic and helpful ad centre.
Facebook ads are relatively easy to set up on Facebook (once you have pages up and running), with lots of guided suggestions based on your budget and target – as well as great analytics.
Any ad you run on Facebook can also be shared on Instagram simply with a click of a button – so there’s no need to set additional ads up separately.
Bonus: Partner with Influencers
Partnering with content creators may not be suitable for every business, but if you sell products or services and find an influencer with a strong target audience within your industry, you should definitely experiment with influencer outreach.
The right content creator will essentially promote your business for you – and in some cases, your product with a discount code – in return for a product to review themselves or a long term partnership.
The best part is, influencers know their audience inside out – as well as the type of content they like to see, the hashtags they use and what time of day they scroll through Instagram.
It’ll no doubt save you time, money and effort researching it all yourself!
On the outset, Instagram might not look like the best platform for your industry, particularly if you’re B2B based or don’t have a backlog of inspiring pictures to share.
However, once you incorporate Instagram marketing into your campaign and learn more about all of the platforms different features, it can be extremely beneficial.
As we all know, consumers are paying more attention to businesses and brands with a relatable voice following the pandemic, so by using this photo-sharing platform to go stream live regularly and become more creative with your content, you’ll have no issue with growing an engaging following and raising brand awareness or turning customers into leads.
