Since it’s first post in 2010, Instagram has grown to over 500 million active daily users and a global audience of over 1 billion users. This provides businesses with a powerful tool for reaching their consumers. It’s not hard to see why then over 25 million businesses have already registered profiles.
Able to reach anyone, anywhere, businesses can now engage with more potential consumers than ever before. We have created this guide to help you create and run the best-possible Instagram account for your businesses. With a rundown of the basics, a few quick tips, tricks, and strategies, you too can be on your way to promoting your business and boosting sales!
Signing Up
The first step is, of course, creating an account. You’ll need to provide an email, some basic information, and set up your profile.
Setting up your profile includes choosing a username (handle) and filling out your bio.
Your Handle:
Your handle is unique to your business and cannot be replicated, so get creative! Since handles are used to identify and search for accounts, you want to make sure yours is as close to your business name as possible. For example, Union Kitchen’s handle is @unionkitchendc.
Tips for your Instagram Handle:
An instagram handle provides your page with a name or title that you would want your company to be recognized by.
Example of a good handle: Union Kitchen/ Food business
Example of a bad handle: YummyYummyFoodKitchen73
Your handle can be changed, so it is advised to update it as your company progresses.
Your Bio:
Now that you have your handle, let people know what your company is about by writing your bio. Think of your bio as your social media elevator pitch: it should be short (within a 150 character limit), match the voice of your business, and convey the passion for what you’re doing.
Some things to include are:
Description of your product
The Value Proposition
Why you’re passionate about your product
Here are two examples of good bios:
“Veggie Confetti: Pickled Vegetables - A topping for salad, toast, tacos, and everything in between!”
“Swizzler: a sustainable spin on classic American eats roaming the streets of Washington DC”
Classify as a Business Account
Now that we’ve got the basics covered, let's take your account to the next level. Set your profile as a business account. Getting your account recognized as a business makes it possible to view additional information on your account and posts. For example, you’ll be able to see: how many people viewed your page, gave it a like, wrote a comment, how many times a post was sent, and how many times it was bookmarked.
By now, you should have a brand new Instagram account for your business all set up. The only thing left is to log on! Have fun with it, and, before you know it, you’ll be engaging with more consumers than ever before!