INSTAGRAM STRATEGY
Instagram Business Profiles are a powerful tool that businesses of all sizes can leverage to expand their online reach and to connect with their customers in a meaningful way. Setting up your Instagram business profile allows access to insights and analytics which can provide meaningful data on your followers as well as the performance of you posts. By creating and growing a strong presence on the platform businesses can attract new followers, increase their visibility, and build a loyal community of followers invested in their brand.
HOW TO SETUP YOUR INSTAGRAM BUSINESS PROFILE
1. Create an Instagram Business account or convert your existing account. If you already have a personal Instagram account that you would like to use as your brand page moving forward, you can convert it to a business profile. Otherwise, create a new account specifically for your business. Ensuring that your account is switched to professional version is key for improved analytics and functionality.
2. Add your relevant Business Information. Input your businesses brand name, your website URL, email address and phone number. It is important to make sure this information is up-to-date and accurate so your followers can find this relevant information.
3. Connecting your Facebook Page is an optional but recommended step moving forward. If you already have or will be creating a Facebook page for your business, you can connect both profiles. Doing so gives the benefit of being able to manage both profiles in the one place.
4. (Optional) Depending on your business and products/services offered you may decide to add shopping tags to your Instagram posts. Businesses can add shopping tags to their posts, you are able to tag up to 20 products in a photo feed post, you can also tag previous posts. Tagging products allows businesses to tag products allowing followers to access product pages, prices, and information quickly and easily.
SUGGESTED CONTENT IDEAS FOR BUSINESSES ON INSTAGRAM
1. Product & Service Showcasing: With Instagram being a visual platform it is perfect for showcasing you brands products or services. Using high quality images or videos to demonstrate your offerings in action or to highlight their features can be a great way to increase awareness of your brand. For example, a tour company could showcase different locations travelled to or a fashion brand could showcase their new collections.
2. Behind the scenes content: Brands can personalise their brand by showing behind the scenes content to their followers. These could include posts showing day to day operations of the business as well as posts can showcase different parts of the company culture and values.
3. User-Generated Content (UGC): A brand can often leverage their follower’s content about their brand by reposting user-generated content. UGC can often be found in the ‘tagged’ page on your Instagram app. This can help to show appreciation for your fans, humanise the brand and increase social proof. An example of this may be for a brand that is a food brand they could repost fan content featuring their products in a delicious-looking meal.
4. Storytelling: Incorporating storytelling in your brands Instagram posts and stories can be a great way to engage with your fans and grow an emotional connection. Businesses can use posts and stories to share snippets of their brands values, history and to even introduce their team members.
5. Contests and Giveaways: Businesses can create high levels of engagement and attention surround their brand by running special contests or giveaways. Running these types of contests can encourage your audience to engage and grow your audience. For example, a distillery could run a contest asking their followers to share their favourite drink or cocktail they could put together with their brands products.
As you brand continue to grow and build presence on Instagram, you may consider using Instagram/meta-ads to reach a wider audience and reach different business goals you may have. Ads run through Instagram allow a business owner to target certain demographics, behaviours’, interests as well as remarket to visitors of your website and more.
Useful Links:
Creating a New Instagram Account
Metas Guide to Getting Started with an Instagram Business Account