Likes to leads: How to drive results using Instagram for business
Looking to boost sales, increase brand awareness, and track audience engagement? Instagram for business might just be your new best friend.
We all know Instagram is a platform used by many to share personal updates, experiences, and adventures but Instagram is also a powerful paid social tool that can be used for audience connection, engagement, and sales. Having an Instagram for business account tells Instagram that you are using this account for sales and marketing purposes; you will be able to access additional business features.
Some of these features include :
- Boosting posts
- Promoting posts
- Contact links
- Shoppable posts
As mentioned, to access the business features you need to create an Instagram business account. Not sure how to do that? Don’t worry we’ve got you covered.
The three easy steps to setting up an Instagram business account
- Start by switching your account
- Go to your Instagram profile and click on the menu icon (the three lines) in the top right corner.
- From there, go into ‘settings and privacy’ and look for the Account type and tools menu.
- Here you can click ‘Switch to professional account’. This will change the account you are currently using.
- Then click ‘continue’ and choose the ‘business’ category
And just like that, you have an Instagram for Business account! Now it’s time to make your profile look professional.
- Complete your profile
- To make the most of your profile, you will need to add a profile photo (this is likely to be your logo or brand assets that are recognisable.
- You will also need to add a bio. With Instagram for business, you get an extended bio section but it is recommended to keep the bio short and sweet. Create compelling copy that sums up your mission and attracts visitors to your profile.
- Use the ‘Link in bio’ feature. You can add multiple links here. These could link to your website, email, etc.
- At this point, you can also ‘verify’ your profile. This provides users with trust and increases the likelihood of engagement. Go to your menu (three lines) again, head to ‘settings and privacy’, click on ‘account’, and then ‘request verification’.
- Enable Instagram Shopping
- The next step is to enable a key feature of a professional account: Instagram shopping. It allows businesses to tag products and sell directly via Instagram. This ultimately boosts sales.
Discover how to set up Instagram shopping
Now you know how to get an Instagram for Business account, it would be helpful to know how to use it. Let’s find out.
Using Instagram for business
We have identified 5 key questions you should consider when using your Instagram for business.
Who are you selling to?
You need to understand who you are selling to, so you can create relevant content that resonates with them and in turn boosts sales and engagement. You can use ‘Instagram insights’ to find data on your current audience.
However, if you have only just started using Instagram for business, then you may not have a large audience to analyse and that is ok! You can use data from your other social media accounts to give you a sense of your audience.
What content are you going to share?
Once you have a clear understanding of your audience, you need to decide what you are going to share with them. Having a defined and detailed content strategy is useful to make sure you are posting content to achieve your business goals. Randomly posting whatever content you want is never going to work. Planning and scheduling your content in advance will help you consistently produce regular, relevant content.
Your content should be captivating and compelling. Writing a cracking Instagram caption is a brilliant way to grab attention and stand out from your competition. Content should be promotional but also encourage audience engagement and build a sense of community; User-generated content is a great way to do this.
What Instagram features are you going to use?
Instagram allows you to create content in different formats: stories, reels, lives, and images. Explore the differences between them to figure out which format supports your content goals (it might be you want to use all of them!). Instagram highlights are another great way to promote your business.
As well as all the above, professional Instagram accounts offer even more!
Utilise business features such as boosting and promoting posts, adding contact links, shoppable posts, and product tagging to boost sales and enhance audience engagement.
How are you going to communicate with your customers?
Having engaging content is essential but success on this platform requires more than this. Improving the customer experience is key and making sure you are consistently monitoring your direct messages (DM) is essential.
With Instagram for business, your DM’s are divided into ‘primary’ and ‘general’ tabs so you can better organise and keep track of your messages. ‘Saved replies’ is a great feature that allows you to create a standard reply to frequently asked questions.
You must treat Instagram as a customer service channel so your community trusts you, is engaged with your brand, and is more likely to purchase from your account.
How can you tell if your Instagram account is doing well?
You need to track your results consistently. From this, you can learn what is working and refine your strategy to reflect this.
Using ‘Instagram Insights’ and ‘Meta Business Suite’ is a useful way to discover what content resonates best with your audience. Being flexible with your strategy and adapting because of new data insights is an important part of achieving success on Instagram.
Now you know how to set up an Instagram business account and how to use this to drive results, let’s get to work!
Here at Embryo, our team of experts can help take your Instagram game to the next level.
