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Quick Guide to using Instagram for Business

Helen Stott • May 04, 2020
Out of all the social media channels, Instagram is one of my current favourites - maybe that is because it is so visual and that appeals to me personally.

It is not all about pretty pictures though, it can be used very effectively in business - here are a few tips and a quick guide on what you can do.

  1. Have an objective - what are you looking to achieve through using Instagram for your business? Is it brand awareness, to build an audience / following or directly increase sales? Be realistic though, is your target market likely to be using Instagram or is another social media channel better suited?
  2. Start as you mean to go on - create a profile with a relevant name that is either the same or very similar as your business or product or service name. Use all the elements available in the profile by uploading a photograph. This could be of your logo or of one of your products. Do not forget to include a short description in the bio and importantly your website address. Note that this is the only place you can add a URL link (apart from on Stories), so often you will find that accounts will regularly update this link and use the phrase in one of their posts ‘see link in bio’
  3. Post regularly - dormant accounts with only a handful of posts do not paint a good picture of your business. So, if you find that Instagram is not working for you due to your time availability, little ROI or that it isn’t relevant - then delete your account and remember to remove any links from your website page. There is no shame in deciding that a piece of marketing is not right for your business, just focus on what is.
  4. Hashtags - as with other social media channels, hashtags within or at the end of a post are incredibly useful in flagging up what your post is about and helps people interested in this topic find you. You will notice that some posts have many hashtags and others will have few. Choose the ones that are relevant to your business, product, and location.
  5. Get Creative - the high-quality cameras on our smart phones makes it easier to take great pictures. Experiment with lighting, filters and check out programmes such as Canva that help you create professional looking posts quite easily. Layout options enable you to include multiple images on one post and Boomerang can help you make a mini video.
  6. Instagram Stories - these can be made up of multiple slides and added to during the day, they are a great way of showing a snapshot of a day’s activities, event or by topic. They can be saved to your profile for future and are shown in circles with a title underneath your profile. Stories can be embellished with additional images, animation, text and polls
  7. Reposting - to copy and share a post from another account, you need to use another tool i.e. Regrann. This will automatically add the Instagram handle of the original poster and it is good etiquette to include this in the text as well.
  8. Sponsored - Instagram is free to use and like other social media channels you can advertise and promote with a sponsored post. This will be clearly marked under the account name and will include a banner link to their website with ‘Learn More’ or ‘Shop Now’
  9. Direct Messages - you can send messages to an account by clicking message on their profile, You can view messages sent to you by selecting the arrow / paper aeroplane icon in the top right hand corner on the home page. New messages are indicated by a red dot on that icon.
  10. Measurement - as with every social media channel you should keep a check on results. Business accounts will have analytical information available (go to the three lines top right-hand corner of the profile page) and if you have sponsored posts, then have you achieved a ROI?
If you need guidance, contact Helen Stott at Marketing Doris on 0790 3727750 - also available on Instagram at @marketingdoris - let me know if you are following and I’ll happily follow you back

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