Instagram is growing like crazy and showing no signs of stopping! And with 81% of its users researching products and brands on Instagram, you can’t afford not to know how to use Instagram for business!
Here are some other stats about Instagram you should know:
- About 1 billion people use Instagram each month.
- 63% of users log in to Instagram at least once per day.
- Users spend an average of 28 minutes on Instagram every day.
You probably already know this, but Instagram is a highly visual platform. As a result, it lets you showcase your brand, your services and your products. And it helps you connect with your audience on a more personal level.
But chances are, your business isn’t as active on Instagram as it should be. For many entrepreneurs, it’s because learning how to use Instagram and get comfortable with it takes time and research—and who has the bandwidth for that?
Well, allow me to introduce you to the basics of Instagram to help you get started. It’s not nearly as scary as it sounds, I promise!
Just by learning these basics, you can get started with regularly posting to Instagram and growing your following.
So in this article, I’m walking you through…
- Why you need a business profile and how to set that up
- How to publish posts on Instagram
- Ways to grow your following
- How to use hashtags the right way
How to Use Instagram for Business: Set Up Your Business Profile
Setting up your business profile is the first step to using Instagram for your business.
One common question people ask is: Do I really need a business profile? Can’t I just use my personal one?
Well, sure, you can. But there are several compelling reasons why you should get a business profile instead.
Why You Need a Business Profile
1. Analytics and Insights
When you have a business profile on Instagram, you have access to analytics data. This lets you see how many people have followed you or unfollowed you in the last week, how big your reach is on your posts and stories, how many actions people have taken (profile clicks or website clicks), and more.
2. Add a Contact Button
You can’t add a contact button if your profile is personal. Contact buttons offer an easy way for potential clients and customers to reach out to you (say, via email). This makes it a great way to build relationships off the IG platform.
3. Add Links on Instagram Stories
If you have over 10,000 followers, you can use the “Swipe Up” feature to take people to a landing page.
Many of us small-business owners aren’t quite there yet! But no matter your following size, you can still use the Swipe Up feature to lead to an IGTV video.
4. Can Advertise on Instagram
You should also know that you can’t advertise on Instagram without having a business profile. So if you ever want to run ads in the future, make sure you set the stage for them now.
How to Create a Business Profile
If you already have a business profile, feel free to skip this section!
You can either create a new account from scratch if you want to keep your personal profile separate from your professional one. To do that, go to your profile and click the “hamburger” (three lines) in the top-right corner. Then click “Settings” on the bottom.
Then scroll down a bit and select “Add Account.” It’s highlighted in blue so you can’t miss it!
The other way to set up a business profile is by converting your personal account into a business one.
Go to “Settings” again and select “Account.” Then scroll down to the bottom and click “Switch to Professional Account.”
Optimize Your Instagram Bio
If you want to attract the right following, you’ll want to optimize your bio. This is actually something a lot of businesses and freelancers forget to do!
Here’s how to make sure your bio immediately captures the attention of your ideal audience:
1. Use concise language that fits your brand.
You only get 150 characters in your bio. This is not the place to tell a long story. Get to the point and make it quick.
That said, though, you can still use words that convey your personality and your brand.
2. Use emojis to catch the eye.
A pop of color always catches attention. Using emojis will draw viewers’ eyes to your bio so they know what you’re all about!
3. Tell viewers right away what’s in it for them.
The first thing people want to know is what’s in it for them. I know it sounds selfish, but that’s just how it is. Because of that, you need to hook their attention immediately by telling them what they’re going to get out of following you.
You can do this by simply finishing this sentence: “I help [target audience] by [how you help them]…”
4. End with a call to action.
Tell your readers exactly what you want them to do. Do you want them to get your freebie? Email you for a quote? Browse your products on your website? Tell them!
5. Include a link.
I use Linktree, which lets you include multiple links. So when someone clicks that link, it takes them to a page (like the one below) that has multiple links on it. You can include links to your website, your product page, your lead magnet… whatever is relevant!
One thing you should know about Instagram is that it doesn’t allow you to include clickable links in your posts. (It’s not like Facebook…)
Because of that, you’ll want to promote your blog on Instagram with a graphic and then in the caption tell them that the link to the blog is in your bio.
By using Linktree, you can simply add your latest blog to the admin panel! Easy as pie.
Here’s my bio, in which I follow all five points listed above:
How to Use Instagram for Business: Creating Posts
Posting to Instagram is pretty simple from your phone. In fact, if you’re posting manually, the only way you can do it is through your phone. You can’t post to Instagram on your desktop unless you’re using a scheduler.
To get started, select the “+” button in the center at the bottom of your home page. Then choose the photo you want.
If you want to post multiple photos at once, click the layered icon and then select which photos you want.
Instagram will then give you the option to choose a filter. I’m not a huge fan of Instagram’s free filters, so I usually pass on this.
Then you can add your caption and your hashtags, tag people in the photo (if applicable), and tag your location. Now… hit Share!
How to Grow Your Following on Instagram
Growing a following of loyal and enthusiastic fans (and ideal clients!) requires two main ingredients:
- Posting regularly
- Using great hashtags
Posting Regularly to Grow Your Following
To get the most out of Instagram, I recommend posting at least 5-7 times per week. This is ideal for growing your following more quickly.
If growing your following as quickly isn’t as important to you, I suggest posting 3 times a week to simply maintain a brand presence on Instagram.
Make sure you are posting content that your audience cares about and that reveals the values behind your brand.
Grow With Hashtags
Using hashtags isn’t what it used to be. It used to be easier to grow substantially just by slapping hashtags on your post.
But it’s not like that anymore.
People don’t like seeing a flood of hashtags right next to your caption. And some hashtags are so popular that you don’t really have a chance of being discovered by using them.
But that doesn’t mean they’re not effective anymore!
To strategically use hashtags, I recommend mostly using ones that have 1 million posts or fewer. The reason is that super popular hashtags get so many posts that yours will quickly get buried in the flood.
That said, you can use 1-2 hashtags with 1 million or more, but I wouldn’t go beyond that.
How to Research Hashtags
So how do you know how popular a hashtag is? You can see how many posts a hashtag has by using the search bar.
As you can see below, #bestfriends isn’t the greatest hashtag to use because it has over 61,000,000 posts. But #greatfriendships is better to use since it has only 28,000 or so.
Finally, use hashtags relevant to your niche. Start by looking at the hashtags your competitors and ideal clients are using.
You can use up to 30 hashtags in each post. To add some space between the hashtags and the caption, I recommend either putting several lines of space (with periods, for instance) after the caption before putting in your hashtags or posting the hashtags as a comment.
Now You Know the Basics of How to Instagram for Business!
Hopefully, if you’re a total newbie to Instagram, this article gave you the basic info you need to get started. But I have to tell you … the best way to really learn Instagram is to simply use it regularly!
Make sure you read next week’s blog, where I’ll dive deeper into the 4 different kinds of posts you should use regularly on your business Instagram!
Happy posting!
Jenny Rose is a freelance copywriter and content marketer specializing in B2B marketing, real estate, and accounting. She's written for clients like AAA, Edward Jones, Flyhomes, Guild Education, and more. Her writing has also appeared in publications like Business Insider and GOBankingRates.
