Are You Using Instagram for Business?

If you’re not using Instagram for business it’s time to start now.

Do you still think of Instagram as the app where people share pictures of their food and selfies with silly duck-lips? Well, you’re not entirely wrong. Although since the company began in 2010 Instagram has become a major player in the social media world. As a matter of fact the only two social media platforms larger than Instagram are Facebook and YouTube. Instagram currently ranks 4th in downloads in both the Apple and Android app stores.  And the app has an estimated 500 million monthly active users. While these statistics are great they are only part of what makes Instagram for business so vital. For businesses, the most enticing part about Instagram is the opportunity to get your brand in front of potential colleagues and clients.

If you use Facebook for business you know posts don’t get many views unless you pay for sponsorship. And with twitter, posts can often get lost in the constantly streaming timeline of information. However Instagram is a social media platform that allows posts get impressions and interactions – if posts are correctly formatted. Here are a few tips to get you started using Instagram to generate more awareness of your business.

Tips for using Instagram for business:

• Set up a Instagram business account. The first thing you’ll want to do after downloading the app is to go in and switch you account over to a business account. This will allow you to add a website and a brief bio to your profile to explain more about your business. This information is important for obvious reasons.
• Integrate your account with other social media platforms. It’s also a best practice to sync your Instagram account with all of the other social media accounts associated with your business. This way all posts to Instagram will automatically push to all other social media platforms.
• Use hashtags. Hashtags are the key to getting interactions on Instagram. It’s definitely worth the time and effort to research and use hashtags that are relevant to your industry. Research shows that posts with at least one hashtag receive 12.6% more interaction than a post without a hashtag. However you can use as many hashtags as you’s like. The more relevant hashtags, the more likely your post will get seen.
• Use Instagram ads. Advertising on Instagram is easy and affordable; especially if you already have a Facebook Ad account. Since Facebook owns Instagram you can use the same ad account and target audiences using Facebook’s ultra-focused metric system.