Instagram Tips for Businesses
It’s basically standard business practice to have social media these days, and if you’re selling to Gen Z, Millennials, or even most of Gen X, Instagram might be your first stop. If you’re not sure where to begin with a business profile account or are looking to take your current page to the next level, we’ve got some tips for how to best use the app and all it has to offer!
Business Features
First of all, make sure to set your account up as a professional business account. If you’ve already made an account, you can change it to a business account later. Instagram offers a lot of business features, all of which are helpful for those trying to increase their bottom line.
Instagram shows insights on your profile as a whole, as well as on individual posts. While things like reach and impressions don’t necessarily translate directly to purchases, they can be helpful metrics to know when planning future content. It also shows the breakdown of your audience and when they are most active on the app, so you can plan your posting schedule around their activity.
Another business feature that is great for a brand that sells tangible products is the shop in-app feature, which allows a user to “tag” an item in the photo and link it to a product offered on their website. These tags show product name and price. It’s an easy way for potential customers to check out your products without even leaving the Instagram app.
Instagram also allows anyone with a professional account to promote posts or stories. These are paid ads that show up seamlessly in users’ feeds or stories. The app gives you many options with promotions, such as the ability to choose whether to use an automatic audience that is similar to your followers or choose your own audience and target specific locations or ages. The cost is entirely customizable based on how long you want the promotion to run and your preferred budget per day.
Uploading Content
Instagram is all about what you upload, so make sure to put effort into creating quality, original content. It’s best practice to not use another user’s image unless they give you explicit permission to share it. It’s also important to make sure you don’t upload photos that are too large because Instagram will be forced to crush the photo and make it blurry. Here are the recommended dimensions for different content that can be used for the app.
Landscape Post: 1080 x 566 pixels
Square Post: 1080 x 1080 pixels
Portrait Post: 1080 x 1350 pixels
IG stories/IGTV: 1080 x 1920 pixels
Is an aesthetically pleasing feed something that is important to your brand? If so, consider using a feed-planning app to test out how potential posts would look on your page. This can be helpful when scheduling your content — and a good schedule will help you stay on track. Aiming for 3-4 posts per week is typically a good goal, and posting too much might lead to some people unfollowing you.
Writing Captions
Sometimes, writing a caption is the hardest part of making a post. To keep your caption from looking too long and intimidating, use line breaks to break it up. This makes it seem easier and quicker to read. If emojis are something that fit with your brand voice, feel free to use them to make a caption for fun, but don’t go overboard with them. Consider adding a question at the end of the caption to encourage followers to comment. This can be something like “which product from our line is your favorite?” or asking followers to tag a friend who would like the post.
Being Interactive
It’s one thing to post quality content, but what really makes a brand account stand out is if they interact with followers. There are many ways to do this, and it doesn’t have to take up a lot of time. Instagram stories have a lot of features that enable followers to interact, such as polls, sliding scales, q & a boxes, and quiz questions. Take advantage of these features and post something that your followers can use to share their opinion.
Responding to comments makes a brand seem relatable and personable. Even a quick “thank you” can make a follower’s day! Don’t ignore negative comments, but try to avoid getting sidetracked by an internet troll who is just commenting randomly.
Does your brand have a hashtag? This is a great way for users to share their own photos of your products or services. If the user gives permission, you can even repost their content to show other followers how your brand is used in real life!
Want to step up your brand’s social media strategy, but aren’t sure where to start? Give us a call today for a Brand New Idea at (334) 446-6149.
Posted: Sep 17, 2021