2019 has been a turbulent year in Instagram business marketing: IGTV rose in popularity, scheduling posts in advance through Facebook became a possibility, and the rumors about Instagram’s plan to hide the number of likes per post became a reality. A change in the App’s algorithm in June 2019 shuffled reach and follower numbers for many users, proving, once again, that social media marketing strategies should be agile and adaptable to succeed. Taking into account the ever-changing nature of the platform, we’ve made a list of the basic guidelines you should follow if you want to grow your Instagram profile and use it to promote your business.
To effectively market a business or brand on Instagram, you need a business account. That’s the way to go for freelancers working alone or for huge cooperation. Changing your account type can be done with one click, is completely free, and comes with advantages. Not only can business profiles access analytics with data on content performance, but they can also connect to your company’s Facebook Business Manager. With the two connected, your Instagram audience can become part of your paid promotion strategy. Note that, as far as we know, Instagram’s algorithm does not differentiate between business profiles and private accounts, so there is no reason not to make the switch.
Choosing a memorable username that’s also a pun or an inside joke may sound like a fun idea, but it may be counterproductive to your goals. Unless you’re already a well-known brand with a huge following, we would also advise against just using your company name. Make sure that people who know nothing about you can immediately understand what your key product is. Keep in mind that users search for keywords within the App, and you want to be part of their search results.
Instagram is sometimes considered a challenging platform for marketers because there is no way to attach a link to the post you publish. Links pasted into image descriptions are not clickable, and therefore you don’t have that direct connection between your posts and your website or store. To drive sales or traffic through your Instagram business profile, make smart use of one linking option that comes with your account – the link in your profile bio. Other solutions include working towards gaining more than 10K followers so you can post links in stories or considering setting up an Instagram store. Note that IGTV does allow clickable links in post descriptions, and that alone is a reason to consider starting your channel.
Aiming for great content applies to any social media marketing endeavor, but on Instagram, the bar seems to be especially high. Your Instagram profile is the place for flawless images and well-formulated captions. Don’t forget that there are no desktop users here – choose sharp photos and avoid those with tiny details that won’t work on small screens. Make sure to write captions that will make people interact with your posts avoid overstuffing them with marketing messages.
Besides making sure that each of your posts is attractive and engaging, keep your eye on the big picture and create a unified design for your feed. Choose a color scheme that connects to your brand and an arrangement that showcases best your available materials. Plan your Instagram grid and post according to your pre-determined decisions. Save spontaneous additions and content that doesn’t work with your overall look for the stories.
Being part of the Story “game” became especially important in 2019, as we saw Instagram Stories reaching more users than ever before and sometimes more than feed posts. There is no doubt that Stories are now a central part of Instagram activity and not the cute little side feature they may have once seemed. The good news is that Stories are a fantastic way to promote your brand. It’s a place where you can get spontaneous and creative. Take advantage of all the fun tools, filters, and features available here. The only way to use Stories wrong is not to use them at all and miss the opportunity to remind your followers you exist by appearing on the top bar of their Instagram App.
We already mentioned that marketers have a lot to gain from joining IGTV. This is often true of any new feature added to Instagram. The App’s way of promoting its newest additions is providing an incentive for users in terms of reach or linking abilities. To grow your Business Instagram Profile, you need to stay on top of what’s new or trending and make sure you are using Instagram’s innovations for your advantage.
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