Instagram continues to be a popular social media platform so it’s not hard to believe that it remains powerful marketing tool for businesses both small and large. The app’s creators are consistently tuned in to what their users like and desire, which helps them to put out regular updates with new exciting features for personal IG users and businesses alike. If your company doesn’t have a Business Profile on Insta yet, what are you waiting for?!
How To Set Up an Instagram Profile for Your Business
Although Instagram is viewable via a desktop computer or laptop, it relies on smart phones and tablets for posting, managing accounts, creating advertisements, and its many other functionalities. When you create your account, you’ll begin with a personal profile by default, and in order to obtain the ‘business’ profile label and perks, you must connect with a Facebook business page. It only takes a few minutes to set up your business IG profile:
- Download the Instagram app through Google Play (Android) or the App Store (Apple).
- Launch the app and click Log in with Facebook. Enter the credentials for the Facebook account that manages your FB business page. See note below if you do not have a Facebook business page yet.
- Go to Settings in the IG app once logged in and scroll down to Switch to business profile. Follow the prompt to choose your business page you’ll be connecting to. Be sure to set the page to Public.
- Fill out at least one of the contact fields for your business (e-mail, phone number, and/or address) if it has not auto-filled from your FB page.
- Once finished, take a tour around your profile and settings, and add any further information you find necessary, including your business website URL and a short bio describing what your company has to offer consumers. Add an account picture (most commonly, your business’s logo) via the Edit your profile button. Invite your contacts to follow your business page and start posting!
Note: If you have not yet created a Facebook Business Page, you can do so at the same time as the Instagram account. Simply create a new account via the IG app with your business e-mail address or mobile phone number, and when prompted to choose a page, select Create one at the bottom of your screen. Then, choose a title for the page, as well as a category and subcategory for your business.
4 IG Features for Successful Business Marketing
#1: IGTV for Longer Video Content
Instagram developers heard the cries for more extensive video capabilities and they delivered. IGTV (short for InstaGram TeleVision) is an application within IG that lets users share videos that are up to an entire hour long. Video marketing is gaining more and more traction with users and consumers worldwide, so your business has no reason to opt out of this one.
#2: IG Story Stickers for Connecting with Your Customers
Instagram stories have tons of available features, including unique stickers that can be added to your story posts. Many of these stickers are interactive, which allows followers to easily engage with your business. Some of our favorite stickers for IG stories include:
- Music & Lyrics – Perfect for adding personality to your post! Tip: Choose a currently-trending song with a popular lyric line to capture more widespread attention to the primary content of your story.
- Q&A – Ask your followers questions, both for fun and for gathering specific information about your customers, from shopping habits to pizza topping preferences; as long as it relates to and benefits your business while not infringing on anyone’s privacy, ask away! It works the other way around, too – you can invite your customers to ask you, the business (owner), questions to allow them to become more familiar with your brand.
- Emoji Slider Polls – This sticker allows you to ask a question and gives followers the chance to answer using a sliding scale. Add a photo of a potential product you’re considering offering to your business’s Instagram story and use the level of interest shown in your final results to help determine whether or not the product would prove beneficial for you to supply.
#3: Live Video Streaming for Events & Announcements
Another feature that online marketers can’t get enough of is IG’s live video streaming feature. Talk and share with your followers in real time by live-streaming fun business events, big announcements or important news about your company, and new products or services you are offering. Users are free to comment to the business while you are streaming, which provides you with instant input and feedback, if that’s what you’re after.
#4: Push Notifications for Higher Visibility
This Instagram feature is extremely helpful to businesses because it gives them the opportunity to alert their followers of every new update the business posts on IG. Find creative and enticing ways to encourage customers to turn on push notifications for your business page and watch them flock to your Instagram whenever you publish new content!
Your Maryland Social Media Marketing Professionals
Want to market your business via social media, but can’t find the time to put the work in? Advantage Internet Marketing provides a wide variety of online marketing services for businesses and have helped many professionals see exponential growth within their company. Build your brand via Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and more with the help of our talented team of internet marketing professionals. Contact us here to discuss how our services can satisfy all of your brand’s marketing needs today!