That begs the question: Is it worth my time and effort to have an Instagram account for my business?
The short answer: Probably. The more you put your business out into the social space, the better. Putting your business on social media increases brand awareness and ultimately increases the likelihood (albeit a little bit at a time) that people will find you and do business with you.
Here are a few things to consider:
If you’re going to have Instagram, use it often
When we’re talking about whether your business should have an Instagram, we don’t mean just setting one up. We’re talking about regularly posting meaningful content to your Instagram account and spending time on it, even including hashtags and keyphrases to increase the chances of someone finding it. If you have the money, it might even be worth it for your business to hire a social media or digital marketing manager.
You also may want to consider paying for advertisements on Instagram.
Social media takes a lot of time and effort to be done right, but some businesses are more conducive to posting images than others. If you have a construction business, for example, you might be able to get away with snapping photos on job sites and posting those to Instagram from your phone. That’s a small step that can add legitimacy and credibility to your business, while also giving people a place to see the work you’re doing.
Tip: Turn on the setting that allows you to post to Instagram and Facebook simultaneously so that your images are shared to a broader audience with the same amount of effort.
Is your business one that has meaningful visuals?
A business that does tax accounting might be harder to post images for than a business that does architecture. Still, that doesn’t mean that a tax accountant business can’t be on Instagram. Just know that you might need to find free-to-use stock images like those from Pexels and put more work into writing captions if you want to have an Instagram that’s useful to someone.
If you have a business like construction, art, design, or something else visual, having a consistent presence on Instagram might not take as much work and could be great for customers to look at.
Is your target audience likely to find you on Instagram?
If you run a business that primarily targets senior citizens or young children, Instagram might not be the right option. But if you’re looking for late teens up to age 40, your target audience might be right at home on Instagram.
Tip: You can target Instagram ads to a specific demographic
There are lots of products that apply to that age group, such as real estate, fashion, beauty, entertainment and more. Just make sure that the platform you’re using makes sense for your product. One way to measure this is by accessing the analytics tools on your Business Instagram account.
It Won’t Happen Overnight
Even if you have an amazing Instagram and post every day, people won’t just magically flock to your account and follow you and share your posts. Leveraging Instagram for your business takes lots of time and effort for it to really pay off, and requires creativity and persistence.
Your posts should have hashtags and location tags so that people who don’t follow you can still find your content. You should share your posts on your “stories” so people who do follow you are more likely to see them. Put your Instagram handle on your business cards, Facebook, doneWebs website and other online media when applicable. In some cases, it might be beneficial to run contests and prizes that encourage people to follow your account.
There are lots of strategies for getting more followers on Instagram, but you can’t just “set it and forget it.” It takes both effort and patience.
Don’t Mix Your Business and Personal Accounts
If your business is on Instagram, your customers don’t need to see photos of your weekend at the lake. Make sure that you’ve created a separate Instagram account for your business specifically, and make sure that when you’re posting something, you’re posting it to the account you’ve intended!
Before you get an Instagram set up, the most important thing you can do for your business is to get a website. Having a website not only serves as a hub for information, it’s a place where visitors can turn into customers, and it adds a huge amount of professionalism and legitimacy to your brand.
For a custom website that’s affordable and easy, get started today at donewebs.com.