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The Covid-19 pandemic showcased how powerful and influential social media apps actually are. While a lot of businesses were on the verge of getting bankrupt, Instagram appeared as the forerunner of these apps, and people realized the value of Instagram for business.
Nowadays, everyone wishes to expand their business, whether small or large, on this platform and increase their income. They take various approaches to achieve their goals; some spend plenty of time on it themselves while some others prefer to take a hand from the best Instagram followers apps out there.
Yet the truth is, every single moment you spend on trial and error to see which strategy works best for carrying out your business on Instagram, your rivals are progressing. We understand the struggle. The desperate moment at which you’re striving hard to find a solid answer to what strategy you should use to make sure you’ll succeed!
That’s why we’ve provided this all-inclusive step-by-step guide on how to use Instagram for business as well as 3 golden tips to skyrocket your business! However, if you’ve waited enough, and are not willing to wait for another second, click here for an easy, straightforward solution!
Now let’s get down to business, shall we?! ?
Why Is Instagram Good for Business
Have you ever heard of the famous saying ‘fish where the fish are’? Well, that’s exactly the reason why you should use Instagram to generate sales for your business.
According to Statista, nearly 1.3 billion users are active on Instagram on a monthly basis these days. That’s over 28% of the world’s total internet users population! ‘Well, people are only there for entertainment you might think. But that’s not true!
These people visit Over 200 million business accounts on Instagram every single day! Think about it! Where else can you get access to such a huge audience for your business?!
Additionally, this video and photo-sharing platform offers a variety of features such as reels, stories, direct messages, etc. that could come in really handy when you intend to build a brand on Instagram and even for generating B2B leads with Instagram marketing.
And you don’t need to spend thousands of bucks to conduct your business in the outside world, especially if you’re a beginner and have a limited budget. This platform provides an equal opportunity for everyone regardless of their circumstances. That’s why you can use Instagram for a small business as well.
Fascinating isn’t it?!
Now that you know more about this platform and its high value, you’re all set up to learn how to use Instagram for business. With the current insight of yours, you can read the steps in the next section with a more open vision.
Let’s dive right in!
How to Use Instagram for Business
A lot of people have already started their journey on this social networking service. Now is not the time for trial and error to realize what you should or shouldn’t do to get ahead of your rivals.
Therefore, here are some Instagram ideas for business. Take these steps and stick to them carefully to guarantee your success!
#1 Set Up an Instagram Account for Business
The first step you need to take is to create a business account. There are multiple reasons why you should use an Instagram business profile. The most important one is that Instagram has added, and is continuing to add, extra features to this type of profile.
For instance, using this type of account you can see your posts’ analytics and use features such as a ‘Professional Dashboard’, ‘Saved replies’, ‘Branded content’, etc.
So, let’s see how you can create an account on Instagram for business.
How to Create an Instagram Professional Account
- Download the Instagram app from Google Play or App Store.
- Open the app and sign up by entering your email address and password.
- If you wish to have multiple admins on your page, you can use your Facebook info to facilitate the whole process, or use an admin email address.
- Tap on ‘next’ to finish. Now you’re all set!
Already have a personal account on Instagram?
How to Switch to a Business Account on Instagram
If you are already an Instagrammer and are thinking about having a professional account to use Instagram for business, take the following steps:
- First, go to your profile and tap on the three lines in the upper right corner.
- Then, tap on ‘Settings’, and choose ‘Account’.
- Next, scroll down and tap on ‘Switch to professional account’ and tap on ‘Continue’.
- Finally, select a category for your business and tap ‘Done’.
- Now, you just have to confirm your request and enter your information.
#2 Set Up an Instagram Marketing Strategy
After you’re done creating your account, you need to come up with a well-defined strategy to make the most out of your IG page. Taking advantage of Instagram for business is a complicated yet very profitable thing to do. Therefore, you need to think this through before you take any further steps.
Think about it! Every time you check out your Instagram, you see some interesting posts on your home page that belong to the accounts you’ve followed before. You have followed, and continue following those accounts of your own will!
There are thousands of online shops on Instagram, but you’re only following a few! There’s something unique about those businesses that have compelled you to keep them in your following list. And when you find out why you’re following them, you’ll be ready to take your business to a whole new level!
Here are a few things to consider when setting your Instagram marketing strategy.
1- Specify Your Target Audience
Perhaps, the most important factor to consider when thinking about having a business on social media platforms is identifying one’s target audience. Attracting high-quality followers relevant to your niche is highly important both for generating sales on Instagram and your account’s growth.
After all, your main objective is to turn your IG followers into paying customers, right? Also, you want your audience to engage with your content. Therefore, the more niche-related your followers are, the higher your IG engagement rate will be.
2- Specify Your Goals
Why have a business online, anyway?
This is one of the most crucial questions you need to answer at the very early stages of your journey. When identifying your objectives regarding Instagram for business, make sure to think clearly and set reasonable, achievable, and timely goals.
We suggest you define short-term and long-term goals to better set your strategy.
3- Make a Content Calendar
Now that you’ve made up your mind about your target audience and objectives, it’s time for you to create a well-designed content calendar. The more you put thought into this part, the more successful you will be in using Instagram for business.
Why is that so? Because by having a well-planned content calendar, you can keep an eye on the official holidays and special events and run successful campaigns. Also, you’ll be more organized in your presence on social media platforms.
If you’re running a hectic lifestyle and are worried about whether you can keep up with it, we’ve got the best solution for you. AiGrow is an Instagram growth tool that offers management services such as an advanced content calendar as well.
Using AiGrow’s post-scheduling feature, you can design your content calendar the way you want and schedule your content to be posted automatically on Instagram at your desired day and time. This way, you won’t miss out on special events while you go about your day.
Don’t get me wrong though! When I say ‘automatically’, I don’t mean that AiGrow is a bot. What really sets this IG tool apart from other tools out there is that it combines advanced artificial intelligence technology with human-powered force.
In other words, when you sign up on AiGrow, a dedicated account manager will take over your account and handle everything manually based on the knowledge they get from the data provided but AI tech. Therefore, it’s 100% safe to use.
Sign up here to get started with AiGrow!
#3 Do an Instagram Bio for Business Optimization
Think about it! The first thing an Instagrammer sees when they visit your IG profile is your bio! Basically, your IG bio resembles a shopping store’s display. People are more likely to enter a store the display of which is attractive and beautiful. The same thing goes for a business bio for Instagram.
Therefore, try to make your bio as attractive as you can. Here are a few tips to have a catchy Instagram bio for business:
1- Be As to The Point As You Can
Note that there’s a 150-character limit for the text you can put into your bio. Therefore, try to be as precise and to the point yet descriptive as you can when you’re writing your bio.
2- Organize Your Bio
Use characters or line breaks to organize the information on your bio. The more organized you look, the higher your chances are of hooking your potential followers, and hopefully customers.
3- Use Emojis
You don’t want to look very strict and dull when you’re using Instagram for business. After all, the primary reason why this photo-sharing platform is so popular is that it’s entertaining. So, try to use emojis in your bio to look more sympathetic and elicit positive feelings by giving visual aesthetics to your bio.
4- Use CTAs
You want your profile visitors to visit your website/channel/etc. Therefore, tell them what they need to do! Use a call for action on your bio and ask them to visit your website to purchase your products/services/etc.
5- Add Links to Your Bio
If you’re a business manager on Instagram, make sure you add a link to your bio to attract traffic to your website or channel. However, you need to know that you can only add one link to your IG bio.
This can be very nerve-racking for businesses that own several channels and websites that they wish their audience to visit. But don’t worry. Socialpros has you covered here too! If you wish to add more links to your IG bio, we suggest you use myURLs.bio; an incredible tool you can add hyperlinks on Instagram with.
Using this all-in-one bio link tool, you can add as many links to your Instagram bio as you want. Also, you can add links to your Instagram posts as well and create a shoppable feed.
Sign up here to get instant access to myURLs.bio!
6- Use Action Buttons
Instagram enables users with business profiles to use action buttons for their bookings and appointments. Make sure you take advantage of these opportunities.
7- Add Contact Info
If you’re using Instagram for business, you need to know that adding your full contact information helps you win over the trust of your followers.
8- Optimize Your Profile Picture
Your profile pic represents your brand. Therefore, put enough thought into it and choose the best option possible. A good profile picture helps your brand awareness as well. That’s why a lot of brands prefer to use the same picture that they’re using for their Instagram logo for business cards.
Be mindful of the fact that your IG profile pic gets a round frame and displays 110 x110 pixels.
#4 Produce Killer Content
People who are spending their time on Instagram are looking for entertaining, quality content. Producing high-quality content can help you stand out among your rivals and establish your visual identity. The more your content is visually aesthetic, the higher the engagement rate of your IG page will be.
If you’re looking for Instagram posts ideas for business, you can analyze your competitors’ IG pages and get inspired by them. Instagram features are expanding day by day providing the ground for more creativity. So, make the most out of them.
No matter if you’re a travel blogger trying to make money on Instagram or have an online shop or any other sort of business. If you’re pondering upon Instagram post ideas for business, here’s a key ingredient: add as much fun as you can to your content. For instance, you can post bloopers or behind the scenes on your stories. People will love it!
Here are a few tips to consider:
1- Utilize Instagram’s Features for Content-making
Instagram started the whole thing out very simply but is now offering many features. Aside from features such as Instagram carousels, reels, IGTV, live streams, etc., now you have the ability to remix videos on Instagram!
An Instagram remix is an editing feature that has recently been added to Instagram. Using this incredible feature, you can remix both feed videos and Reels and produce killer content on this platform.
How can you use Instagram remix reels if you’re using Instagram for business? Well, these types of videos are very trendy and popular on Instagram. Therefore, by adding photos or videos of your products and services to these videos, you’ll get the attention of your followers.
2- Business Captions for Instagram
Remember that a good post requires an engaging caption as well. Try to build a unique voice for your brand and stick to it.
Captions give you the opportunity to give meaning to your posts and draw engagement. By using CTAs in your captions, asking questions, etc. you can engage your audience and increase the impression of your posts.
3- Use Hashtags to Expand Your Reach
Hashtags are a great reinforcement for your IG posts. You can add up to 30 hashtags in a single post, yet you should be careful not to use repetitive ones as it could lead to Instagram shadow-banning you.
#5 Set Up a Strategy to Grow Your Instagram Followers
After doing all the steps mentioned above, your Instagram business account is ready to be on its growth escalator. What’s the point of having a well-designed IG page with no followers?! Therefore, it’s essential for you to think about ways to grow your Instagram followers organically especially if you’re using Instagram for business.
Here are a few things you can do to grow your followers on this platform:
1- Respond to Your Comments in the First Hours of Your Posts’ Publish
When your audience engages with your content, it’s important for you to respond back to keep them motivated. Moreover, responding to your comments in the early hours of its publish will increase the chances of your post appearing on the Instagram explore page.
2- Collaborate with Influencers
Influencer marketing is very trendy these days. If you’re using Instagram for business, make sure you identify micro-influencers on Instagram and collaborate with them and promote your brand.
If you’re using Instagram for small a business, say a local shop, try contacting local influencers to grow your followers count.
3- Run Giveaways
Whether you decide to host Instagram loop giveaways or regular ones, IG giveaways are extremely effective for growing your followers. Using reliable Instagram giveaway tools, you can run contests among your followers and ask them to like, comment, or share your contest post and increase the engagement of your content.
You can also ask them to mention 3-5 of their friends under your post to enter the competition and thus, increase your followers.
4- Use AiGrow to Increase Your Followers
Are you overwhelmed by the amount of work that you need to do to use Instagram for business successfully?! Are you too preoccupied to manage all of these tasks? Well, you’ve got nothing to worry about!
AiGrow, one of the best Instagram growth services, is an all-in-one Instagram growth and management tool that facilitates your success on Instagram. It offers various incredible features such as a growth tool, giveaway picker tool, post-scheduling tool, hashtag generator, etc. Therefore, you don’t need to worry about anything!
Here are some features that AiGrow offers:
To take full advantage of these incredible features to skyrocket your business on Instagram, sign up on AiGrow right now!
If you wish to know more about this incredible tool for using Instagram for business, read this comprehensive AiGrow review we’ve provided you before.
#6 Use DM Marketing to Make More Money
An amazing yet limited feature of Instagram is its direct messages. Using this feature you can reach out to your friends and family all around the world. However, there’s more to Instagram DMs than that.
Using Instagram DM marketing, you can welcome your new followers, keep them engaged, and increase your revenues. However, as mentioned earlier, Instagram direct messages are very limited. For instance, you can’t send automated DMs on Instagram or mass DM using the original app.
In order to cross these limitations, we suggest you use DMpro; the best Instagram DM app on the market.
#7 Analyze Your Performance
Using Instagram for business is a very tricky task. Therefore, it’s crucial that you keep up with the progress you’re making and track your performance.
In order to do so, you can use Instagram’s built-in analytics tool to get an idea of your achievements. You can also use AiGrow’s analytics reports to get access to more comprehensive and detailed measurements.
3 Golden Instagram Tips for Business
Here are a few extra tips to consider while setting up your account for business on Instagram. Remember that no matter which step you’re in, these tips can help you sparkle in your online presence.
#1 Consistency
After you’ve come up with a set of Instagram posting ideas for business, it’s important to be consistent in sharing your posts. Seriously, consistency is the key to achieving organic growth on Instagram. So, make sure you post high-quality content regularly.
#2 Add Value
Selling on Instagram is not just about presenting your products. Instagram marketing is way more complicated than that. Make sure you’re adding value to your audience as well.
For instance, if you own an online clothes shop on Instagram, you can add value to your followers by creating a tutorial video or photo about how to wash and iron certain clothes. There! That’s just another Instagram post idea for business you can get inspired by as well!
#3 Invoke Emotions
The difference between successful businesses and regular ones is that they have access to the heart of their customers! This is super duper important when it comes to running a business on Instagram.
Don’t act like a robot! Think of ways to elicit emotions in your followers and watch your business grow like mad!
FAQs on Instagram for Business
In this article, we attempted to provide you with a thorough guide on how to use Instagram for business as well as introducing useful tools to help you on your journey. Now, let us delve deeper into some of your most frequently asked questions.
1- When Is the Best Time to Post on Instagram?
If you’re using Instagram for business, it’s important for you to know when the best time for posting is on this platform. Well, we’d have to say that this depends on so many factors, and there is no single answer to it.
However, we have provided an all-inclusive guide on the best time to post on Instagram which you access here.
2- How to Know When My Followers Are Online?
You can easily see when your followers are online by using the official Instagram app. Simply, go to your professional dashboard on your Instagram business account and tap on ‘Account insights’. Then, select ‘Total followers’ and scroll down to see the time and the day your followers are mostly online on Instagram.
Final Words on Instagram for Business
Instagram is an awesome platform for anyone who wishes to earn an income online. It has so many great features that you can use to grow your business for free. However, you should have enough information about the dos and donts of using it for business to guarantee success!
In this article, we walked you through a step-by-step guide on how to use Instagram for business as well as providing you with some golden tips and useful tools.
Now, it’s your turn to put your knowledge into practice!
