Instagram is a photo-sharing social media platform that was created in 2010 and bought by Facebook in 2012 for $1 billion. With more than 500 million people using it daily, Instagram is a growing social media platform that businesses shouldn’t be afraid to use.
Between posts, ads and stories, there is no shortage of potential marketing tools on Instagram. Here is everything you should know about using this social media platform to market your business.
Instagram for Business
Creating a business Instagram account
Although it can be viewed on a desktop, Instagram is primarily a mobile app. When you sign up, you’ll want to convert your brand’s Instagram profile to a business account to access analytics.
To do this, you’ll need to connect the account with your business’s Facebook page from the Switch to Business Profile option under Settings.
Once your Instagram account is created, you can go to the Profile tab and edit or add your name, username, profile picture, website and a short biography.
Adding photos
The primary purpose of Instagram is sharing photos, which are added to your profile and your followers’ timelines. To add a new photo, tap the add (camera) button on the bottom of your screen. You can either take a new photo, record a short video or select one from your camera roll.
Next, you’ll be taken to a screen with multiple options, including Instagram’s filters and an edit button. Once you’ve edited the photo to your liking, click Next. Then you can write a caption, add a location, tag people and share it on other social media platforms. You also have the option to turn off comments (at the bottom of the Advanced Settings page).
Now that you know how to create a profile and post photos, here’s how to promote your business on Instagram.
1. Use Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories are photos and videos that disappear 24 hours after they’re posted. Instagram provides a lot of tools that make it easy to create engaging and creative stories.
“Small businesses should leverage Instagram Stories to market their products and services, getting their messages to followers that otherwise might not see regular Instagram posts in their feed because of the latest updates to the algorithm,” said Laura Kenat, content coordinator at Jo Chicago.
You can add normal photos, live videos, boomerangs (mini videos that loop back and forth), basic text, music and focused photos to your story. Once you record your video or take a picture, you can add stickers such as your location, tags for other users and hashtags to your content.
There are also stickers like polls, questions and sliding bars that allow you to directly interact with your users. Another way you can draw attention to your brand or a specific product is with Stories Highlights, which is like a highlight reel. Stories Highlights are on your profile above your post and stay on your profile until you remove them.
2. Use live videos
In addition to Instagram Stories, users can take and stream live video that disappears – sort of like a combination between Facebook Live and Snapchat. You can give customers a live look behind the scenes of interesting aspects of your business, show products or answer live questions through the comments.
Once the video ends, it lives in your Instagram Stories for 24 hours. If you want the video that remains on your Instagram feed, you can upload the video you’ve taken or shot video directly through the app to post. If you choose to shoot or upload video, you can still add filters and change the cover. You also have the option of including sound.
3. Interacting with other Instagram users
There are many ways to interact with other users on Instagram. For instance, you can tag other users in your photos or privately message people.
- Liking: Liking is a simple way to connect with other users. To like a photo, either double-tap the image or tap the heart button under the post.
- Commenting: Next to the like button is a comment button – just tap it, and the app will take you to the comments page for that photo, with a text box where you can enter what you want to say. Hit Post when it’s complete.
- Mentioning: As on Twitter, you can use the @ symbol to tag other users in your Instagram comments or post captions.
- Tagging: Instagram allows you to add tags before you post an image or video. To do so, tap Tag People before sharing your photo, and then tap wherein the photo you’d like to add a tag. The app then prompts you to type in the person’s name to search for their account. Once you’ve tagged other users in your photo and shared the image, other users can tap on the photo to see the people who are tagged.
- Direct messaging: To access Instagram Direct, go to the homepage and tap the button in the top right corner. Here, you can send private instant messages, photos and videos to other users. To send a new direct message (DM), tap the + button in the top right corner and select Send Photo or Video, or Send Message. Once you’ve sent the message, you and the recipients can message back and forth. Users who are not already following you will be asked whether they want to allow you to send them photos and videos before they can view your DM.
4. Use hashtags
Hashtags are a great way to help other users find your content on Instagram. Hashtags can include letters and numbers, but they can’t contain any non-numerical characters. For example, #DaveAndBusters works as a hashtag, but #Dave&Busters does not.
Because users can both search for hashtags and click on hashtags they see in posts in the app, relevant hashtags can be a highly effective tool for getting noticed. However, make sure you’re using the right hashtags for your brand and don’t go overboard.
Hashtags such as #nofilter (a photo that hasn’t been heavily edited with filters), #selfie (a picture of yourself), and #tbt or #throwbackthursday (old photos) are popular on Instagram, but they may not work for you or your brand. It’s a good idea to look at other established brands or even personal users and bloggers in your industry for examples of what hashtags to use.
Instagram allows a maximum of 30 hashtags in a post or comment, but that many would be excessive. The fewer hashtags you can use to get quality responses, the better. Using a lot of popular hashtags might earn you a lot of likes from other users, but it probably won’t increase your following all that much, and the interactions you get will likely not be from people who are interested in your brand but rather those who just saw and liked your image.
Once you understand hashtags, you can branch out and experiment to find which ones work best for your brand. It’s also smart to create a custom hashtag for your business or even an event you’re hosting. This way customers can follow along with an event, even if they aren’t there in person.
5. Advertise on Instagram
Like on other social channels, businesses have the option to advertise on Instagram. There are three formats for advertising:
- Photo ads: These look like regular photo posts, but they have a Sponsored label above the photo. They also have a Learn More button in the bottom right corner under the photo.
- Video ads: Like the photo ads, these look like regular video posts, but with a Sponsored label on top.
- Carousel ads: These ads look identical to photo ads but feature multiple photos that users can swipe through.
All three ad formats appear in users’ home feeds. These ads support four objectives: video views, click-thrus to your website, mobile app installations and mass awareness.