In today’s modern society, social media has become a prominent part of everyday life. In 2018 the average user was said to have spent 45 minutes a day checking their social media feeds!  Because of this, it’s essential that business owners are utilising social media sites, and all their available functions to promote their products or services. Instagram was once called the top platform for engagement by Forbes, and the site now has over one billion monthly active users, so now is definitely the time to log back into your account and get to grip with the site’s full potential!

In this guide we will focus on four key areas, providing you with top tips to ensure you are making the most out your business account.

Posts

It may seem like an obvious one but regular, consistent posts are key to keeping your followers interested and engaged. Everyone creates their own routine, whether that’s posting content every day, every other day or even once a week its completely down to you. However, it’s important to stick to this routine once you’ve found it, this enables your followers to know what to expect and when to expect it.

Another way of relaying a reliable, consistent impression could be to maintain a theme within the content you post. Not only does this make your feed look aesthetically pleasing, but it also creates a sense of professionalism as it shows thought is behind each post. One way of sustaining a particular theme could be to ensure your posts feature certain colours or shades, or even simply sticking to the same edit style.

Hashtags

In this guide, we believe hashtags deserve their own heading, as they play a crucial role in driving traffic to your posts. By ensuring that relevant hashtags are included in all uploaded posts, those searching the hashtags will be able to access your feed. This can prove beneficial as those searching your chosen hashtags usually have similar feeds and interests and therefore are more likely to be suited to your business and eager to engage.

Instagram Stories

Launched in August 2016, Instagram Stories are a useful way of keeping your followers up to date on any news or work you may be doing. They provide users with the ability to share content that they may not want to permanently appear on their feed.  An Instagram story can be up to fifteen seconds long, an image, a video or even a boomerang. Instagram Stories allow for a brief snapshot into life behind the scenes, this could give followers the impression that they are partly involved in the business, allowing a loyal fan base to form. This involvement can be enhanced with functions such as the ‘Poll’ tool or the ‘Ask Me a Question’ feature, where users are given the chance to have a say and to share their own opinions. The site also provides you with the option to save your stories onto your feed through the Highlight Reel, allowing users to reflect back on certain posts. These posts can then be organised into themed groups, for example, all Q&A related stories can be placed together, allowing your content to appear accessible for all.

Insights

Last but not least, when owning a business Instagram account, you are able to access the ‘Insights’, the analytical tools that allow you to monitor, and reflect upon your own statistics. For instance, you are able to check how many people a post is reaching, how many visits your profile is receiving, what days your followers are most active, as well as information about the demographic of your followers. These insights prove useful as you are able to adapt your content and schedule to reflect and suit the needs of your followers according to the data.  For example, you may be inclined to change the days you are posting content, or adapt the language used to be more age appropriate. Consequently, this function allows you to become more aware of the reach and the potential reach of your content, enabling a more pro-active approach to hitting new levels of engagement.

In summary, here are some of the benefits that may occur when your Instagram account is used to its full potential…

  • You are able to raise the awareness of your business, as information on the products or services you provide will be made available to a higher number of consumers.
  • You become viewed as a reputable brand, as you are easy to contact and frequently posting content.
  • The way you use your account will directly suit the needs of your target market, encouraging them to join your loyal fan base.