With over 700 million users, it’s a great time for your business to start using Instagram! This guide outlines exactly how you can ensure to get the most out of Instagram’s ever-growing features and boost the popularity of your company.
First Impressions
First impressions count and when clicking onto your profile, the user will first come face to face with your bio, username and profile photo. Therefore, it is important that these elements endorse professionalism and brand continuity.
Profile Photo
This should ideally be your company’s logo and should cohere with the profile photos used on your other social media profiles. It should look good when cropped into a circle as Instagram will do this automatically.
Username
As with your photo, your Instagram username should be the same as your other accounts, ideally your company’s name for recognisability.
Bio
Your bio should explain briefly what your business is about and it is a good idea to include a few branded hashtags within this. Additionally, there is a space beneath your bio for your company’s website URL.
Content Clearly, the most important part of your Instagram account is the content that you post, which by following these tips can be optimised to boost your profile’s following.
Visual
As with the remainder of your profile, visual consistency is key to getting the most out of your Instagram account.
WebDam’s 2023 report found that 60% of the top brands on Instagram use a consistent filter. Therefore, establishing a recognisable aesthetic within your posts is important, with many external editing apps available to apply filers, VSCOcam being a great one to use! Starbucks’ Instagram does this really well as thematic and filter consistency can be seen clearly throughout.
Caption
The caption to your post can be just as important as the photos you share! Depending on your content and company itself, humour can often be a great way to engage followers on your Instagram posts. It is a good idea to have some guidelines within your captions, i.e. whether you use emojis, branded hashtags etc. to keep a professional look.
Extras There are many extra features on Instagram to boost your profile’s popularity. Firstly, the ability to post albums is great for sharing more with your followers. You can also post videos to your profile, with current trends including the app Boomerang to create a short, repetitive video. Lastly, Instagram Stories are a great way to interact with followers, including a range of filters and stickers to customise your snaps!
Marketing
Finally, you should attempt to develop guidelines for when and how you post to advertise your business best.
It is a good idea to develop a consistent time for posting, and it is important not to overload your followers with too many. Take notice of which posts perform best to work out the optimum posting time and plan content in advance.
Engagement
Your company should try to develop some guidelines about how and when you interact and engage with other accounts on Instagram. Finding and commenting on posts similar to your own is useful to boost followers. You should also ensure that you reply to sufficient comments on your own posts when appropriate.
Instagram Advertisements
Instagram advertisements are a recent addition to the application, with four types available: photo, video, carousel, and stories. Ads have proven to be a successful way of promoting your business and, therefore, a great marketing strategy for your company.
Clearly, with its growing users, Instagram is not a social media platform that your business can afford to ignore. Hopefully, with these steps, you can get the most out of Instagram for your company.