Instagram For Business

By Sophia Hazzard

Instagram is the new Facebook. Not only is it designed for teens to have a blast on social media, but it is also great for your business.

Relating to this week’s social posts, Instagram has some tools that are effective for businesses to use, and you don’t have to be a pro-photographer to use them. Instagram goes beyond just plain photos. If you’re interested in being on top of Instagram for your business, read below for some tips and tools to help you along the way.

1. Optimize your profile.

Make it known that your profile is for a business, and make it known that it is YOUR business by being unique in the way you create your profile. For example, use a specific hashtag relating to your company or make your logo the profile picture.

“Instagram profiles—like their counterparts on Twitter, Facebook and other social networking platforms—need to include brand information in specific ways,” says Debbie Hemley from Social Media Examiner

2. Make your Instagram account for business.

By making your profile an official business account through Instagram’s verification process, you get more benefits than a personal profile would. Being verified as a business, you are able to get more information to your followers, view post analytics, and even use third-party tools made for the sole purpose of helping business accounts.

“It really boils down to how you want people to see your page and how interested you are in understanding the performance of your posts,” says Julian Baird fromImprove Photography

If you want people to start seeing your page as a business, making an official business account is highly beneficial.

3. Use Hashtags.

Hashtags are very popular on Instagram, and it gives you the ability to use up to 30 hashtags on a single post. That’s a lot. Often you do not need to use that many – but in general, using hashtags makes your posts more discoverable by people all around the world. By using the right ones for your business, you can reach the audience you need. You can also use them on stories.

“Hashtags are powerful. They can help your posts reach a target audience, attract followers in your niche, increase engagement, and develop a more positive and recognizable brand image,” says Caroline Forsey in an article fromHubSpot

4.Use Links.

There are many ways you can incorporate links with Instagram. Be sure to put the main link to your website in the website field of the profile section, and you can also use your blog links in a post, or even try redirecting people that view your stories to the link by saying “link in bio”. (try a Boomerang while you are at it – they are really cool and trendy). The more traffic to your content, the better.

“Instagram marketing is picking up speed like a rocket and marketing managers and social media managers are constantly emphasizing the importance of Instagram traffic for your online store or webpage,” says George Tinari from Guiding Tech

Using these tools and tips, utilizing Instagram has endless possibilities for your business. Many businesses have specific things they prefer to use, what are some tips that you use?