In this article, we want to discuss how to use Instagram for a business that you own and want more traffic and sales. There are so many social networks and ways to use social media today that it can get overwhelming to the point that you do nothing.
Don’t do that!
Especially when it comes to social networks that can really help grow your business. One of those that has grown in popularity and relevancy is Instagram.
Numbers that bear that out…..
– Over 25 million companies use Instagram.
– Over 200 million people visit a business’s Instagram account every day.
That is a lot! Certainly worth getting a piece of the action wouldn’t you say?
So how can you use Instagram in your business every day?
Here Are The Steps For Using Instagram For Your Business
Get An Instagram Account
We all start at the beginning just like every other social network. You need to set up an account with Instagram.
If you have a personal account that is business-relevant go ahead and start using it for business. If you have a personal account that is not related to business, or you have no account at all then you will want to get started with a brand new one.
1. Download the Instagram app.
2. Open it and tap sign up.
3. Enter your email address and tap next. If you prefer to connect your Instagram business account to your Facebook Business Page tap Log in with Facebook.
4. Choose a username and password.
5. Tap, done.
Who Is Your Market
Targeting a relevant market for your business is key to getting in front of the right people.
This is why you need a business account and not just a personal account.
The United States has the largest number of Instagram users with an equal split of men and women mostly under the age of 35. Who is your market though?
– Who buys from you now?
– Who is following you on other social networks?
– Look at your competitors to see if they are using Instagram and how they are using it.
– Create a brand mission statement for your Instagram business account.
Create A Great Profile
One thing that has held true over the years with regard to people learning about you is setting up a great profile. This is where people go on Instagram. It is like having a great about us page on your website.
You start with your bio. It can only be 150 characters so you want to use them wisely. Things to include are your brand voice i.e. professional, light, etc., hashtags, emojis, and a line break to make it easy to read.
Use the same profile picture or logo as with every other type of online marketing you are doing. This is part of creating a brand that people recognize.
You get to have one clickable link on Instagram. Set it for your website home page, or maybe even create an Instagram landing page with a sign-up form for your mailing list.
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There is no other way to build your business with Instagram than to be active. Create great content and share it on Instagram.
Then bookmark your post all over the Internet using social sharing icons of social network programs such as Buffer or Only Wire.
What is great content?
Be visual. Share photos or graphics along with text to live up to your post. This gives them a busy feeling people want to be a part of.
I would suggest taking your own photos when possible and inserting them into your posts. Use them to tell stories. People on Instagram like a good story!
Build Relevant Followers
There are probably already many communities relevant to your market on Instagram right now. How do you get some of them to follow you?
1. Hashtags. Follow others and comment on their hashtags.
See what hashtags are generating the most comments and start using those on your own Instagram account.
2. Respond to comments. This takes time but is worth the effort. When people are commenting on your content engage them. This creates more content and encourages others to interact with you.
3. Find influencers. These are businesses on Instagram with a large group of followers. Comment on their posts and start becoming a known quantity yourself. Some of those people might be interested in your brand.
4. Promote your Instagram account on other social channels. It makes sense to get out links back to your Instagram account on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn if you can. Don’t forget to link back in the description box on your YouTube Channel if you have one.
final thoughts
When considering how to use this social media platform, you have to determine what is your primary goal in doing this. As with most social networking, your first goal should be to build your brand.
There are people using Instagram every day that may not be on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or LinkedIn. Instagram gives you an opportunity to gain more exposure that you wouldn’t otherwise have.
The other thing I would say is whenever possible use Instagram to build your email list. This may mean linking from your Instagram account back to your email sign-up form, or a specific blog post that encourages people to join your email list.
If you put this as your focus in any type of marketing you’re doing you’re going to have more people you can reach at any time with an email. You may not have these opportunities if they’re just occasionally checking out your blog, Instagram account, or other social network accounts.
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Hello, I really appreciate your time and effort on writing this guide on using Instagram for a business which is what I’ve been thinking about doing. I used to use Google+ mainly but ever since they closed down a month ago I’ve been looking for another platform.
The way you laid it out is perfect. From your guide, it’s obvious that engagement and consistency are very important. I also didn’t know you can use hashtags on Instagram, I thought it was only for Twitter, now I know. Great tips overall, thanks for the article.
You are welcome, I sort of miss google plus but remember Youtube Channel is available by posting in your discussion area. Google owns Youtube, so it is good to make them your priority.
Instagram is growing, and the engagement is there. I think people are more visual now than before that is the reason Youtube is gaining in rankings on the search engines. Happy that I was able to enlighten you on some tips using Instagram. Take care and thanks for the feedback.
As always, your posts are very enlightening and informative. Seriously, I don’t own an Instagram account because I see social media as a distraction for me.
But it seems it could be a great way to help grow my website with its ever-growing users. This might be the right time to get things started with Instagram and maybe Twitter and others too. Thanks so much for this post.
You are welcome and believe or not, I was the same way not too long ago, and since I started sharing on social media, my income started to grow and had no idea why until later.
People will only buy from you when they learn to like and trust you, so if you start a business and focus on giving value, the money will follow. So start using Instagram and others and let me know what happens.
Talk to you soon!
I am quite excited about your article. I have been struggling and avoiding the use of Instagram for months since I first learned of its importance to my online business.
I am not a fan of social media, and having to learn how to use my business on Facebook and Pinterest, were challenges in itself let alone have to learn another new way of optimizing traffic/revenue, through Instagram.
My children laugh at me when I try to ask them to explain how to use Instagram. For them, it is like second nature, and for this middle-aged non-techie, it is like swimming in the ocean.
Your article has helped me in more ways than you can imagine, and it has laid everything out clearly and I am glad I read it, to know that using Instagram, is not as scary as I had initially thought.
You also, give me good tips/reasons why I should be utilizing this platform. I am grateful for your post, you have given me something to further develop in my online business and hopefully improve the traffic to my sites.
One thing that you mentioned, which I am very interested in and would like to know more about. I want to know how to add a link to a sign-up form/page? is that just adding a link to that particular page? or is it a pop-up form?
Thank you for your article, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
Ilaisaane, thank you for your comment and glad I was able to clarify some questions you had with Instagram. I learned a few tricks from my son as well, but the person that helped me in the past was the woman in the youtube video, Carlene Johnson.
If you learned how to interact with your followers and follow my tips and Charlene Johnson strategies, your traffic and audience will increase.
You wanted to know how to post a link in your Instagram, below is an article you can view to see it is that you were looking for. Hope that helps!
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/add-link-instagram-story
Hi, I have read this article very carefully. Instagram is a large social media; I agree with you that more than 25 million companies use Instagram and more than 200 million people visit Instagram Business accounts every day.
So, to expand the business and to increase sales, Instagram is an important social network. I have learned many essential technics about use of Instagram from this article. Thank you very much for writing an item like this.
Instagram is big and is growing rapidly. Any business you are building it is important to find out where your audience does hang out, and leverage that platform as well.
Keep in mind that you do not use these platform to sell your business, but rather use it to educate and help people. If you follow that trend, you will have more people getting to like and trust you. Only then would they buy from you.
I have just created my website after joining WA in February 2019. While going through the training videos, they have emphasized on creating Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest accounts. I did the same to promote my website.
After going through your site, I understand Instagram is equally essential & can do a great work of getting views to my website. You have explained it well in a simple language, what one must do for enhancing their business. Importance of hashtags is equally essential on Instagram is quite a new thing I learned. Four most important things are covered well in the related video also.
This is the fantastic guide to start an Instagram account & I am bookmarking this site & sharing it with my friends & family members for their use.
Thanks & Keep up the excellent work!
Chandrashekhar.
Happy that you have started a business and building your website from scratch. Wealthy Affiliate is what going to take you there and setting your social media accounts is an excellent way to drive traffic to your website, including Instagram which is the new kid on the block.
What I have mentioned in this article is the best way to set up your Instagram account, just keep in mind to always give value to your audience and followers and you should be fine. Talk to you soon.