Are you looking for a platform that can reach a large audience and increase your brand awareness? Do you want to interact with your target audience and grow your brand’s following? If so, Instagram is the place to be!
If you’re new to Instagram, here are some tips to get started.
1. Create a Business account
A Business account provides access to features that a regular account doesn’t have:
- Metrics on how your stories and promoted posts perform
- Insights into how users interact with your posts and stories
- Connection to a Facebook page
- Promotion of your Instagram posts as sponsored ads
- Access to a brand partnership label
- Information on your business hours
- Your business location, phone number and email
2. Optimize your Bio and Description
Your Instagram profile is your main point of interaction with people. This is why it needs to include all of the information needed to engage visitors and followers.
- Create a username that reflects your brand name.
- Describe your brand in a few sentences.
- Use hashtags in your description to help users find you.
- Include emojis to reflect your brand personality.
- Add your website and a call to action.
3. Add visuals and Highlights
Visual elements grab users’ attention and encourage them to look at your profile. Your logo/profile photo, brand colors and other visuals contribute to your profile and brand aesthetic.
Highlights also capture users’ attention and can convert them into followers. Pin stories that you shared and keep them on your profile.
4. Follow relevant hashtags and profiles
Your profile will appear in similar profiles and recommendations when you follow relevant content on the platform. This increases your presence in the community you want to connect with.
Research the following about your audience:
- The types of profiles and hashtags they follow
- The language they use on post captions and comments
5. Plan your Feed
Create a content calendar to continuously post and stay relevant. This lets you plan, organize and schedule the content you want to share.
Vary your types of content:
- Educational: how-to guides, tips, insight, lists
- Inspirational: ideas, perspectives, thoughts, stories
- Community: events, interviews, behind the scenes
- Trending: growing hashtags, other trends
- Sponsored: increase brand awareness
6. Use Insights to discover opportunities
The data collected can be analyzed to measure the outcome of your posts. Determine what works best so you can focus on more content like it.
Profile analytics:
- How many accounts you reached in a set time period
- Actions people took on your account
- Reach, impressions, profile visits
- Audience location, age, active hours
Individual analytics:
- How many users saw and interacted with a post
- Where users found your posts and interacted with them
- Reach and quality of posts
Instagram is influencing your target audience – and your bottom line.
If you need a stronger Instagram presence, BARQAR’s social media experts would love to chat – and find out how we can help. We’ll learn about your business, discuss your goals, and recommend a cost-effective social strategy to build your social following – and convert those followers to customers.
