With roughly one billion active users on Instagram, the media-heavy social platform is one of the most popular in the world. 

Instagram is one of the best places to gain awareness about your business, with 81% of people using Instagram daily to find out more about the products and services they’re thinking about buying. 

With so many people looking to purchase goods on Instagram, you’d be crazy not to set up an account on the social media platform and entice new customers in with your products/services. 

If you’ve yet to join the masses on Instagram and aren’t quite sure where to start with it, then we’re here to give you a hand. 

Today we’re going to go through five ways you can get started on Instagram for your business. 

1. Create and optimize your Instagram for business account

Before we start doing anything you’re going to need to create an Instagram Business Account. 

So just download the app, sign up for an account, and start filling in all the necessary details needed. 

Once you’ve got everything set up, it’s time to optimize your Instagram account to help your audience find you. 

Here are five things you should make sure you’ve optimized on your Instagram. 

1. Your Profile Photo

Your picture is fundamental to your profile, as it’s how your audience will recognize you. Sure they might remember what your username is, but they won’t forget a memorable profile picture. 

Make sure your profile picture is:

• Clear and high resolution
• Relevant and on-brand
• Easily recognizable

2. Your Account Name

This is your business’s name, and it appears just above your bio. This should be identical to your brand’s other social media profiles. 

3. Your Username or Handle

This should also be your business name and easily recognizable. There can’t be any spaces in your username, but you can add an underscore or dash instead if needed. 

4. Website Link

You’re only allowed to add one clickable link to your Instagram page, and most businesses will link to their website. You could also link to your latest promotion or set up a Linktree to include all kinds of links. 

5. Your Bio

Lastly, you’ll have to optimize your bio. Unfortunately, on Instagram, you only get 150 characters to work for, which isn’t a lot of space to tell your audience who you are and what you do. 

So with this in mind, make sure you make the most out of the space you have. Try to focus on your customers and what you can do for them instead of the history of your company. 

2. Find Your Audience

There are so many users (and competitors) on Instagram, all fighting for their shot in the limelight. It’s challenging to stand out in such a crowded space, but you can (and will) come out on top!

Instagram isn’t the type of platform where you can just post your products and sit and wait. You have to show up and get people’s attention. 

By looking out for niche communities and interacting with the right people, you’ll be able to find the spaces where your audience is already hanging out. 

You can attract these pockets of people to your Instagram page by posting high-quality content, engaging with them in the comment sections and on their stories, and using niche-specific hashtags on your posts. 

3. Take Advantage Of Influencers

Finding your audience on Instagram can be done organically, but one of the best ways to rise up in the ranks is by working with influencers within your niche. 

An influencer will already have a huge following of people in your audience. By getting recognized by the right influencer, you’ll be able to get instant credibility for your page. 

Influencers are often approached by companies because of the value they can provide with even a single story mention. Some influencers will charge for shoutouts and reviews, but others might just do it for you for free if they’re interested in what you do. 

Some ways you can work with influencers (free of charge) is by:

• Commenting on their photos
• Tagging them in your posts
• Mentioning them in your stories 

If you interact with them enough, they might become interested in your company and reach out to you. 

You can also reach out to them yourself and offer them some free samples of your products or services in return for a shoutout or a review. 

This way, you’re offering value instead of just asking for a favor. If they do try your product or service and like it, they’ll be more likely to post about it and recommend it to their audience. 

An influencer’s audience respects and looks up to them a lot so if they recommend a product or service their audience is more likely to take a look at it. 49% of consumers depend on influencer recommendations and 60% of teens will follow advice from influencers.

4. Show Off Your Products Or Services

Instagram for businesses is, at the end of the day, for your business, so the best way to start using Instagram for your business is to show off your products. 

Be sure to promote what you’re selling and show your audience how exceptional, valuable, and unique your services are. 

There are loads of ways to show off your products and services without being too overwhelming online. Nobody likes to have a sale shoved down their throats, after all. 

When showing off what you got, be tasteful and don’t be too over the top. Creativity wins most on Instagram, so when building up a content strategy, be sure to mix up your posts. 

Promoting your products is definitely number one, but don’t forget to shower your audience with a few light-hearted posts now and then too. 

Here are a few ways you can get your audience to see your products without coming across as too forward and sales-y:

• Host giveaways and contests
• Post user-submitted images
• Show some customer reviews
• Organize product launch promos

Another great way to keep things fresh on your Instagram is by changing what kind of content you post. 

Instead of just posting a regular image, you can post:

• Videos
• Carousels
• Reels
• Stories
• Motion graphics

The more you shake things up, the longer your audience will stay interested in your Instagram page. 

5. Believe in the power of Instagram ads

If you’ve exhausted all your organic options, then consider putting your faith in Instagram ads. 

There are many Instagram ad types out there to choose from, which will give your brand plenty to work with when it comes to experimenting with what works best. 

You can sign up for:

• Story ads
• Photo ads
• Video ads
• Carousel ads

Instagram Ads is also fully integrated with Facebook Ads, which means you’ll be able to get all the benefits and features of Facebook’s ad campaign customization. Not only this, but you’ll also be able to use its targeting capabilities, which will work wonders with your Instagram account. 

So if all else fails, we’d definitely recommend giving Instagram Ads a go to encourage your audience to check out what you’ve got to offer. 

If you’re looking to create a stunning, effective, sales-making Instagram business account and need some help when it comes to crafting the perfect strategy, then we’re here for you. 

At Emtwo, we help businesses just like yours build the perfect online presence and succeed online. 

If you’re ready to create the right branding for your company on Instagram then get in contact with our team today!

About the author