Instagram has more than 1 billion active users every month. More than 5 million businesses are using Instagram to connect with their customers, build brand value, and uniquely present their offerings. If you are new to Instagram and the world of hashtags, you would be wondering how to stand out from the crowd. Using Instagram for your business is pretty simple.
In this article, we share some of the basics of using Instagram for businesses like setting up your account and posting your stories, finally concluding with some of the advanced stuff like Instagram analytics. If you want your business to race into the future like Formula One racing, then here is the perfect platform for you.
Setting up your profile
You can easily download the app from the App Store. The first thing you need to set up is your profile picture. Instagram profile pictures are displayed as a circle. We recommend using your business logo as your profile photo. Since the space is limited use only the logo, instead of text or tagline along with the logo. Next, you need to fill in some information about your business. Select ‘Edit Profile’ and fill in your bio and website. That’s all! You are ready to get started.
Posting videos and photos
For posting photos or videos hit the ‘+’ sign at the bottom. Instagram will present your latest photos and videos from the gallery. Alternatively, you can take a new photo or video as well.
Selecting the media
- Select your photo and then click the double arrow sign on the lower left bottom. Now you can zoom in or zoom out to adjust the photo in the frame
- You can now upload up to 10 photos or videos to a single Insta post
Editing the media
- Once the media is selected you can add filters to it, change the orientation, edit the brightness and contrast
Adding details
- Now you can write a caption to the post, tag people, add the location, and share the post on other social media profiles connected to Instagram.
If you have successfully followed these steps, your first Insta post has already gone live!
Finding people on Instagram
Just like you have followers, you need to follow others to find out what’s happening with them or their business. There are three ways to do so
- Connect Instagram with your Facebook account
- Connect Instagram with your contacts
- Follow the profiles that Instagram suggests for you
You can also click the magnifying glass icon at the bottom and type in keywords relevant to your business. You will see a host of profiles and pages. Follow the ones that you find useful and valuable.
Converting to a Business Profile
Once you convert your profile to a business profile, you can promote your posts and use the powerful Instagram Analytics feature. Converting to a Business Profile is a simple 4-step process –
- Select the gear icon on your profile
- Select ‘Switch to Business Profile’
- Link the Facebook page of your business
- Fill in your phone number, email address, and postal address and hit ‘Done’.
Conclusion
Instagram is the latest way businesses are connecting with their audience. You can use the free Insta analytics and some of the other tools like Aviary Photo Editor, Adobe Spark, or Instagram Buffer. These will surely help you come up with more engaging content.