Small businesses around the world are turning to Instagram to capture and share the moments, products, and services that matter most to their business. With over 500 million users, Instagram has become an essential platform for businesses to showcase their passion and connect with their audience. In this guide, we will take a closer look at how to use Instagram for your business.
Why Instagram Matters for Small Businesses
Instagram provides businesses with a platform to introduce people to their brand, connect with their community, and acquire new customers. With nearly 50% of people following businesses on Instagram and 60% of people learning about a product or service on the platform, it’s never been easier to get started. Instagram has recently announced a new set of business tools that will help you develop more meaningful relationships with your followers, better understand how content performs, and find new customers on mobile.
Tips for Using Instagram for Your Business
1. Showcase Your Passion: Instagram is your virtual shop window where you can demonstrate what makes your business unique. A picture is worth a thousand words, and it’s the perfect place to showcase your passion and inspire existing and future customers.
2. Engage Your Community: Play an active role with your community. Engage with comments and questions on your own posts and use hashtags, location tags, and view content your business is tagged in to discover and join the conversation on other community members’ posts. A lot of great small business accounts feature content posted by followers, which helps strengthen the relationship between a business and its most enthusiastic customers.
3. Establish Your Voice: Instagram is where people connect around their passions, so be authentic and create a visual voice that reflects that of your business or brand.
4. Take Your Customers Behind-the-Scenes: People come to Instagram to get a behind-the-scenes look. Use Instagram to tell the world how your business operates, the team that makes it all happen, and the effort that it takes to bring your product or service to the market.
5. Get Creative with Video: The total time people spent watching video on Instagram has increased 150% over the last six months. That said, lots of people aren’t able to consume sound when on mobile, so ensure your video will be engaging with or without sound. And don’t forget to try out our new video tools like Hyperlapse and Boomerang to create simple and engaging videos.
6. Choose Quality Over Quantity: Instagram is where people go to connect around their passions and interests. Developing content that is authentic and well-crafted will help businesses stand out by fitting in.
7. Experiment with Advertising: To find new customers, consider experimenting with advertising on the platform. Instagram introduced ads to businesses of all sizes in September and offers all of the same targeting capabilities as Facebook while utilizing the same simple ad buying interfaces. We also offer many ad formats – landscape, up to sixty-second video, and multi-image or videos for example. When our new business tools roll out soon, you’ll also be able to promote a post directly from the Instagram app.
8. Search for Inspiration: Businesses have been a part of the Instagram community from the beginning. Follow your business partners, advocates, and influencers in the community whose content may relate to your business or inspire you. What do they do well that you can learn from?
9. Seek Advice and Feedback: Your community of fellow entrepreneurs on Instagram, domestic and abroad, is one of the best resources you can go to for advice.
10. Keep Your Eyes Peeled for Instagram Business Tools: These tools will give small businesses like yours the support they need to grow. Profiles with a contact button, insights on your posts and audience, and the ability to promote a post from your account on Instagram will make it easier than ever for your business to find new customers.
Conclusion
With these 10 tips in mind, you’ll be able to continue to build your business on Instagram, which is a place to turn your passion into livelihood. Remember to showcase your passion, engage your community, establish your voice, take your customers behind-the-scenes, get creative with video, choose quality over quantity, experiment with advertising, search for inspiration, seek advice and feedback, and keep your eyes peeled for Instagram business tools. Instagram provides businesses with a unique opportunity to connect with their audience and grow their brand. Start using Instagram today and see how it can help your business succeed.
