Creating an Engaging Instagram Account

So, your business has just started up. You’re ready to take on customers, you’ve got your website good to go – but how can you start attracting consumers to your brand or business? Social media has become increasingly lucrative in recent years for business owners who use it to promote their products and services, and Instagram is quickly becoming a favorite platform. While you might think it’s too late to join in due to its 1 billion user mark recently being reached; you’ll find there’s still plenty of room for your company to grow through Instagram. We’ve compiled a list of tips that’ll help you optimize your account to create engaging posts to draw your customers in.

Make your Profile Detailed and Informative

One great thing about Instagram is the amount of customization it allows for your profile. You should go about the process of creating a detailed, informative profile for your business. Your profile picture should ideally be a logo for your brand or a photograph of your brick-and-mortar location. Make your account name appropriate and business-related, as well as your username. It’s also good practice to include a link to your website, or a link with a list of your brand’s other social media accounts. Your bio is where you’ll capture the essence of your brand. Be sure to include all pertinent information like your location, your business hours, and other important information. You may want to include a slogan as well, which could help with your profile going viral. Whatever you choose to include in your bio, be sure it’s both appropriate and useful for your consumers.

Building a Strong Community

Now that you’ve got your page set up, it’s time to start building a community around your brand or business. Where do you start? Keep in mind, you don’t need millions of followers for your brand to take off. Start small and establish well-intention, authentic relationships with your first customers to build brand loyalty. On Instagram, you also need to be active in order to engage customers and users. You should look into hashtags, which will allow you to both advertise your business as well as giving you access to thousands of users, if not more. Hashtags act as a search function, which allows both businesses and individuals to find profiles that match their interests. For example, if your page is for a bookstore, you might use hashtags like ‘bookstagram’ or ‘Igreads.’ Similarly, it can be beneficial to include location-based hashtags, which will tell users where your business is located.  It’ll be important for your brand to also follow similar accounts, allowing you to network with other businesses; and promoting each other to your individual fan bases.

Have a Goal for your Content

So, you’ve started building your community; but what content are you putting out? And how is your content helping your business reach its goals? Your posts need to speak to the goals you wish to reach. If you’re launching a new product or service, your posts should reflect that; if you’re trying to share brand information or build brand awareness, well; you’ll need content that matches that specific goal as well. Creating a document about what goals you’d like to achieve and then creating an action plan to meet them is the best way for your business to capitalize on platforms such as Instagram.

Use your Instagram to Tell a Story

Creating a narrative or telling a story about your business can be one of the most engaging ways to bring in an audience of customers. Let’s face it, people love a great feel-good story about someone who came from rags to riches. Even if your business hasn’t made that kind of transformation yet, you can still use the narrative technique for marketing to your advantage. Maybe you’ll tell a story about a specific employee or customer whose important to your business and its success, or maybe you could even make a post telling your story and why you chose to start your brand. Whatever the case, your narrative can help shape the success of your business, and lead to a larger brand audience down the line.

Show off your Products

At the end of the day, you’re starting your Instagram to build a business and sell your products. When presenting them, your product photos should be clear and free of blur or clutter. Showcase it in the center of the image, with an alluring, interesting, or neutral backdrop. Captions should describe the product but also sell it to your general consumer. What makes your product special? Why should I buy this from you? If you can answer these questions, you’re able to get into the head of your buyer; and from there you can optimize your posts and the overall marketability of your products.

There are more tips to be found online, such as using influencers to showcase your brand or product or even using memes to entice buyers using humor or viral content. Whatever the case, you’ll find as time goes on that using Instagram for your business becomes easier. Building your community and maintaining loyalty to them will go a long way in making Instagram the best go-to platform for advertising your business.

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