The statistics speak for themselves, two hundred million active users per month, an average of 60 million published photos per day, and 8.5 thousand photos liked every second (!). So you need to be where your customer is.
Instagram undoubtedly creates trends among internet users and offers many benefits to its users. This is one of the reasons why many brands have moved their activities to this platform and communicate through it with both private and business customers.
Today, I’ll show you how to turn your profile into a business one and unlock new opportunities to promote your business. Remember that a business account can be used for different activities – from online stores to large, developed companies.
Moreover, it has recently become trendy among self-employed people with a personal brand and influential people. This is because it’s straightforward to build relationships with your audience and community here.
So, if you want to start working on Instagram and promote your business, you should read this article. You will learn how to convert a personal account into a business account and what benefits this change will bring to your business.
Wondering what the benefits of having a business profile are?
First of all, you’ll get access to Instagram Insights, a native analytics platform that provides information such as your recipients’ age, gender, and location.
You’ll also have access to the necessary information directly related to your posts: Reach, views, number of people who saved or shared your post (in Stories or a private Instagram message), and activity statistics – number of profile visits, what time of day and what day of the week your users are most active.
So, you can see that it’s worth opening a business account, at least for the information you have access to, which will help you establish effective communication and better understand your followers.
Apart from the valuable statistics, another advantage of a business account is that you can add a phone number, email address, or location so that your customers can contact you instantly with the click of a button.
Using Instagram as a business account
The business profile is intended for people who are very serious about their presence on Instagram and want to make money and those who want to meet their target audience or build a professional image.
You should open a business account if:
- you are a beginner/influencer blogger and want to build a community,
- you are involved with business profiles,
- you are building your brand (e.g., as a personal trainer, networker, or book author) and want to reach your target audience,
- you are running a business (e.g., a restaurant, hair or beauty salon, your shop, etc.),
- you are looking for a business account. (every industry has its place in social media)
- you want to increase the reach of your services.
How to create a business account on Instagram?
There are two ways to create a business account on Instagram. You can switch from a personal account to a business account or create a new account from scratch and convert it to a business profile.
The first way: convert a personal account into a business account.
If your account is private, change it to the public because personal accounts cannot be converted to business accounts. Then all you have to do is go to the Settings option in your profile (three dots on Android phones and gear on iOS devices) and click Switch to Business Account.
It only takes a moment, and the benefits you’ll get are incomparable. If you have a company profile on Facebook, we recommend linking them. Choose the Facebook page you want to link to your company’s Instagram profile, and you’re done. You’ll be able to use all the features available for businesses. Add details like the category and contact information.
Second method: create a new Instagram account.
You can create a new account through the app and the Instagram page. The first step is to register with an email address or phone number. Next, choose a username and a secure password. You can also register with your Facebook account. In this case, you will need to sign up directly with Facebook. If you have a personal account, just change it to a business account as described above.
A business account on Instagram – not only for businesses
Despite its name, this type of account is not just for businesses! Both influencers and hobbyists increasingly use it. You can consider your business profile an upgraded version of your personal account, where you can do much more.
Have you taken a look at your Instagram numbers lately? Maybe you follow your flavor or have an idea on how to increase the number of followers from month to month. But have you looked into analytics and sifted through that data? If the answer is no, it’s time to do so!
Looking at your analytics data on Instagram will help you understand how the platform works as part of your overall marketing strategy and improve & grow your business with this powerful, densely populated social media platform.
What data should be monitored?
Before you start analyzing data, you need to be clear about your overall purpose for the platform. Is your strategy focused on driving traffic to your website? Perhaps your Instagram was set up as a community where customers can share ideas. Or, you may have created an Instagram presence to increase brand awareness among your target audience. You may even have different goals for your account. Some posts may raise awareness, while others are trying to increase sales. You need to know what you are looking for to use free Instagram analytics to your advantage.
Instagram is one of the best channels to showcase your products. But launching a marketing campaign on your Instagram account is not as simple as posting, using the right hashtags and eye-catching captions, and hoping your products sell.
Sure, you can gain a few followers with your Instagram posts and make a few sales from time to time. But in today’s competitive environment, that’s rarely successful in the long run.
If you want to develop a strong Instagram brand that promotes sustainability, you should use many different campaigns and implement a Go to Market strategy. However, one campaign that scales very well is chat marketing. It’s the only way to lay the groundwork for attracting and retaining customers and see the kind of predictable growth you want to achieve through social media advertising.
How to create an Instagram marketing strategy that wins
Here are some tips for developing an Instagram strategy that will help you boost your online presence and sell more products in your store.
Content Overview:
- How effective is Instagram marketing?
- Marketing on Instagram – what’s different
How effective is Instagram marketing?
First of all, Instagram has over one billion monthly active users and 500 million Instagram Stories per day. And the engagement rate on the platform is high. Of course, Instagram is not yet as big as Facebook, but its online selling power should not be underestimated. It goes without saying it’s a goldmine for video marketing.
Instagram is a powerful marketing tool for online stores. Nearly 11% of American social media users store on Instagram; 130 million people use Instagram posts every month. People also use Instagram earlier in the shopping cycle, and 81% use the social media platform to learn about products and services. The browse feature on Instagram makes it easier for users to find new products.
Creating an Instagram strategy for your online business on your company profile is worth the effort. Just take a look at the following statistics:
- About 90% of Instagram users follow at least one business profile, and 72% of users say they have purchased a product they saw on the platform.
- About 62% of users say they became more interested in a brand or product after seeing it in a story on Instagram.
- The potential volume of Instagram ads is nearly 850 million users
- Brand Stories have an average completion rate of 85%, which is a great engagement rate by any measure.
- According to a study by video technology company VidMob, nearly a third of users buy directly from Instagram ads. The main reasons? It looked like a product they liked, and the price was right. The lesson here is that Instagram is not a panacea. You need to know your audience’s tastes and price sensitivity to be successful.
Marketing on Instagram – what’s different?
Instagram is a fantastic visual platform. People use it to share the moments of their lives. However, they do not use Instagram to check business hours or see if their friends have signed up for your business. Instead, they use the platform to spend hours watching funny videos and scrolling through selected images, making it an ideal platform for brand building and attracting new customers. Therefore, it is imperative to use presentation templates to offer your services on Instagram.
Here are other essential aspects in which Instagram differs from other social media platforms:
If you want to execute an effective marketing strategy for Millennials, Instagram is an excellent place to start. According to statisticians, 35% of American teens name Instagram as their favorite social network, just behind Snapchat. In addition, 75% of 18-24-year-olds use Instagram, and 57% of 25-30-year-olds use the platform.
Better content display. The look of your Instagram feed helps people decide whether to follow you or not. In addition, Instagram Grid allows you to express your brand in a unique, creative way, unlike other social media channels. For example, Instagram uses augmented reality in the form of filters and masks to provide an immersive user experience.
More active users. 63% of Instagram users log in at least once a day and spend an average of 28 minutes a day on the app. Over 200 million Instagram users visit the profile at least once a day. So make sure your Instagram profile is seen.
Most Instagram content is delivered to users algorithmically. The posts they see are based on their interests and behaviors, using Hootsuite alternatives for scheduling your content in advance will make it easier to reach people who are likely to interact with your brand. Instagram also has a browsing feature that allows you to find new types of content, so users can search for new accounts to follow.
Instagram hashtags – 5 ways how you can use them
Instagram hashtags work a bit like typing words into a search engine – they help us find interesting content. However, it’s also worth looking at them from the creator’s perspective … After all, it’s thanks to them that another user will find your account and follow you if they are used correctly. So how can you use hashtags to increase your reach and attract new audiences?
1.Hashtags for Insta – the basics
It’s not mandatory to add hashtags to your Instagram posts, but it’s a good habit to get into. A photo tagged with the appropriate # has a greater chance of reaching a large group of recipients – even people who do not follow your account (yet ;)).
They are also helpful for social media monitoring. If you want to find out what’s going on with your competitors or what products are hot right now, there’s no more straightforward solution. Hashtags help you quickly find the latest trends in a particular industry.
Whether you manage your account yourself, use the services of an agency that offers social media scheduling and management, or work with companies as a creative influencer marketing, you should pay attention to hashtags and use their potential skillfully. Below are tips on how to increase your reach with them.
2.How to choose hashtags on Instagram?
Hashtags on Instagram should not be random. On the contrary – it is best to be closely related to the photo because their task is to indicate what you can expect from the post.
Therefore, it is essential to match them to the content. Furthermore, it is worth ensuring that they are neither too general nor too detailed, for example, by using both types (in one post).
If choosing hashtags is problematic for you, there are several hashtag generator tools you can use. They will surely make it easier for you to find hashtags closest to or related to a specific keyword you are interested in.
3.How many hashtags should you use?
You can use no more than 30 hashtags per post. But should you always enter the maximum number?
There are two schools of thought. One says that the more, the better. On the other hand, the second recommends choosing 7-15 hashtags of high quality and closely related to the published content. However, it’s unclear which of these methods works better. So the best solution is to test and check the statistics.
If we choose the “how much the factory gave” option, that is, the maximum number of hashtags for each post, we should keep in mind that the Instagram algorithm might consider our content as spam.
If we choose the second option, i.e., 7-15 hashtags, you should remember to divide them thematically – for example, by entering several hashtags for the location, a few that describe the content of the photo, and a few that relate to the activity or mood. You can also group the hashtags by how often you use them: some are popular, some are moderately popular, and some are niche.
4.The sizes of hashtags on Instagram
Instagram hashtags are usually divided by size and how often they are used. “Large” is the most popular – they are used, for example, several million times; “Medium” and “Small” – occur a few thousand times or less.
The “big” hashtags on Instagram are usually quite universal, so they can be used to tag various photos. They include, for example:
- #love
- #friends
- #girl
Even though it’s tempting, you should refrain from using the most significant hashtags in the first place – even the ones that fit the topic. And why? Well, if one of them is currently used, say, 14 million times, then before your post with such a hashtag is shown to anyone, it will disappear in the tangle of others. Then it will be difficult to “break through” with the content – right at the beginning.
So, if you are just starting with Instagram and your account is not yet very large, it is better to choose small hashtags – no more than 300-500 thousand uses. But, at the same time, do not focus on hashtags that are too small (10,000 uses and less) – unless you have 20-30 hashtags written out, of which the least popular are among the many larger ones.
5.Hashtags on Insta – what mistakes to avoid?
Incorrectly used hashtags can not only not help us but even harm us. What should you avoid when choosing hashtags on Instagram? Do not use the so-called forbidden hashtags.
There is a group of hashtags that Instagram temporarily or permanently blocks. These are primarily words related to pornography, racism, violence, or controversial topics (e.g., #xanax or #alone) – but not only. Among the banned hashtags, you can often find the names of some brands (#skype, #snapchat) or the most popular but very general terms or places (#elevator, #valentinesday, #streetphoto).
It is also possible to test a particular hashtag – in a straightforward and accessible way. You just need to enter it directly into the Instagram search engine to do this. Then, if it is banned, we will immediately be shown corresponding information.
6.The image quality
The reach and effectiveness of Instagram photos depend on the image quality.
Photos on Instagram have a more significant impact on users’ mental health when they are high-quality images.
In addition, a study by the University of Pennsylvania found that higher-quality photos were more likely to make people happy and satisfied with their lives.
To capture and keep their followers’ attention, brands invest in high-quality images.
Brands have always been concerned about their image. However, the need to capture and keep the attention of their followers has never been more critical than it is today. With social media, brands can reach their customers worldwide in seconds, but to do so, they need to sustain interest in themselves.
They can convey the text or provide context for the reader. To produce high-quality images, it may be helpful to use a text-to-picture generator to ensure that you have an eye for detail and pay close attention to small details such as lighting and composition.
James Ewen, a reputable SEO consultant, has successfully used high-quality images to drive engagement. “We started posting high-resolution designs for the cards in our games on social media, and immediately we noticed more shares and comments. The quality images stood and created more brand recognition for us.”
Steps to take control of the content you receive from influencers & guests bloggers
Influencers and bloggers on Instagram
The essence of influencer marketing is to leverage the influence of popular network users (influencers) on other people’s decisions. According to the well known business coach Robin Waite, “The recommendation and information you receive from an influencer is one of the most critical sources of buying impulse. And this holds true for pretty much all niches, even those where people’s lives are affected by influencer’s recommendations, for example, healthcare.”
Influencers run blogs and vlogs, Instagram accounts, or other such platforms – channels characterized by a high audience. They are usually experts in a particular field and share their knowledge about specific products. Although they have many similarities with the so-called brand ambassadors, they belong to opinion leaders.
What distinguishes influencers from other network users – apart from the radius of action, of course – is the relatively high trust of the recipients. This is due to a simple fact: Internet users treat them as equals. But, at the same time, they are seen as entirely objective individuals whose goal is to present the essential qualities of a particular product and not maximize their profits.
How do you choose influencers whose message is credible?
There are two ways: choose prominent influencers in small numbers or small influencers in large numbers. Several studies have been published that clearly show that in a pure sales and outreach context, it is better to work with a hundred micro and small influencers with a smaller but loyal following than an influencer with hundreds of thousands of them. It turns out that smaller communities resonate and participate much more in a figure post.
In general, it’s also easier to control them and moderate the message depending on the circumstances. In the end, they are also just cheaper, although working with hundreds of accounts is time-consuming.
Where do you look for influencers?
The search for the optimal influencers should probably start with your most important channels. Usually, these are blogs, YouTube videos, and Instagram accounts. However, it also happens that our brand is not represented in a new channel – currently on Tick-Tock, for example – and we want to appear there with our message, for instance, as part of tests.
Summary
It’s time to wrap up this detailed post. I hope I have cleared up a few questions related to Instagram, and that armed with this knowledge, you can now start to work on your Instagram profile.
About The Author:
Hardik Oza is an SEO consultant with more than 12 years of experience. He helps companies to grow their businesses. He shares his thoughts on additional publications like SEMrush, Search Engine People, and Social Media Today. Follow him on Twitter @Ozaemotion.
