If you want to use Instagram for growing your business, think about your own experience on the social platform. Assume that you are scrolling through your Instagram feed and enjoying all the posts. It is a mix of your personal friends, cute animals, content creators, and brands.
Well, no one forced you to follow those business accounts, right? You chose to do that according to your own will because you like their content, products, or services. And every time you see their posts or Instagram Stories, you continue to follow them actively. To increase engagement on Instagram, you need your audience’s support by providing them with valuable content constantly.
New marketers do not know how to brace themselves for the journey of Instagram marketing. So, we thought we might help you in knowing 8 important things that you should be aware of before introducing your business on Instagram. These tips will also help you gain Instagram followers and engagement.
1. Decide why you want to use Instagram for business
When using any marketing channel, it is important to have goals you want to achieve. Instagram is no different. If you are going to invest your precious time and money in Instagram marketing, it is important to ask yourself, “What do I want to achieve?”
These are some common Instagram business goals that most marketers have, maybe you relate to some of them:
- Increase brand awareness
- Build a community
- Showcase company culture and values
- Sell products and services
2. Optimize your profile
If you are using Instagram for business, assume your profile as your homepage. You get 150 characters, a few action buttons, and one link to win over potential customers. So make sure your profile makes a good impression.
Firstly, switch to an Instagram business profile. Business accounts offer extra features through which you can expand your profile, sell products on Instagram and track content performance.
Secondly, create an attractive Instagram bio. Add an appealing and recognizable profile picture. Your bio should include a short description of your company, a category, a tone that shows off your brand’s personality, contact information, website URL, or any other link. Also, avoid sharing visually identical posts back-to-back, so that your grid always looks appealing.
3. Find your visual aesthetic
On Instagram, it is all about visuals. But what works for your competitors might not be right for you. Think about what aesthetic you wish to present to the audience on your business page, and then design branding guidelines to stay consistent.
Pay attention to your color palette. Select a specific color palette and create your posts focusing on it. If you are also using textual content, it is important to choose an attractive font style too and keep it consistent on your other platforms too.
4. Post consistently
Sticking to an orderly posting schedule helps you stay within your target audience’s timelines. Instagram strives to show users the content they are most likely to enjoy. That is why it looks for content that is latest and relevant to each person’s interests.
By scheduling posts in batches, you can stay on top of your content so your account never goes dark when you get busy. Plus, scheduling makes it easier if you want to experiment with posting times. There is no single best time to post on Instagram, instead, there may be several ideal times to post in order to reach the majority of your audience. You can use scheduling tools such as Buffer, for this purpose.
5. Leverage hashtags to reach new audiences
Hashtags have become one of the most effective ways to categorize content on many social media platforms. Hashtags allow Instagrammers to discover accounts and content to follow. Research done by TrackMaven concluded that posts with over 11 hashtags get more engagement. Find hashtags relevant to your niche, brand, and content and add them in your stories or captions of your posts.
6. Engage with your community
Using Instagram for business does not mean that you turn your profile into a nonstop sales pitch. Instagram is a social media platform, so you must learn to socialize.
If someone shares their thoughts with you, it is important to respond to them and make them know that you’re listening. Responding to comments is a great way of building a strong community on Instagram.
Engagement prompts can help encourage interaction as well. Play around with the amazing Instagram Stories stickers such as polls, questions, or sliding scale rankings.
7. Experiment with different content types
Instagram is so much more than photos. There are now several content types on the platform, including- Videos, Reels, Stories, IGTV, etc. If you want to increase your Instagram engagement and reach, it is important to share a mix of content types.
8. Analyze your results
Instagram insights are what you should learn before using the platform for your business. After making your Instagram business account, you need to go through your Instagram analytics regularly. If you want to gain active Instagram followers, promote your business, and keep your audience engaged, you have to monitor how your content performs.
Conclusion
Building an Instagram business account is not simple and it requires a lot of effort, in the right direction, (to be more precise). We are sure, if you follow these tips mentioned above, your account will stand out and you will be able to gain more Instagram followers and engagement.
You may also like: How Much Money Do YouTubers Make?
