Are you looking to introduce your business on Instagram but you’re not sure how to?
Instagram is a great platform to promote your business for free.
Many businesses use Instagram to announce their product launches, sales, or even giveaways.
In addition, you can easily communicate with your customers on Instagram.
However, many businesses either underutilize Instagram or use it incorrectly which will result in minimal conversions.
Hence, in this guide, you’ll learn 5 steps to introduce your business on Instagram.
By the end of this guide, you should be able to apply the steps to successfully introduce your business on Instagram.
Table of Contents
- Step #1: Optimize your profile
- Step #2: Pick a theme
- Step #3: Communicate via direct messages
- Step #4: Always engage
- Step #5: Use Instagram stories/highlights
- FAQ
Step #1: Optimize your profile
The first step to introduce your business on Instagram is to optimize your profile.
But what does “optimize your profile” mean?
Optimizing your profile means that your profile should be able to convey your business clearly whenever someone visits it.
You can accomplish this through your profile picture, bio, name, and category.
In other words, you should fill out your profile completely and not miss out on any fields.
To begin with, you should switch your account to a business one if you haven’t already.
Firstly, switch your account to a business one if you haven’t already.
You can do so by going to your profile > menu > settings > account > switch to a business account.
After you switched your account to a business one, you get to choose a category for your account.
There are lots of categories to choose from—select the one that fits your business the most.
There are lots of categories on Instagram—choose the one that fits your business the most.
For example, if your business is a website, select “Website”. Next, use your business’s name as your Instagram username.
If the username that you want is unavailable, you can add “hq” or your domain’s extension (e.g. com, org, net) at the end of your username.
Using your business’s name as your username is important so that your customers can easily find it on Instagram.
Thirdly, you should use a logo for your profile picture.
If you don’t have a logo yet, you can use free logo makers online to make one.
This is to establish a solid brand so that people can easily recognize your business from your logo.
Make sure to fill out your bio as well. Add a short description or tagline about your business in your bio.
Step #2: Pick a theme
Now that you’ve optimized your profile, it’s time to hand-pick a theme.
Every successful Instagram business page has a consistent theme. When you’re picking a theme, ask yourself these questions.
What is the message that I want to convey from my pictures?
What color scheme should I use that best expresses my business?
It’s important to plan your theme before you start posting.
This is because once you start posting, it’s very hard to pivot your theme unless you archive/delete every one of your posts.
Always plan your feed’s theme (e.g. colors, filters) before you start posting.
Otherwise, it’s very hard to pivot your theme as you’ll probably have to archive/delete all your posts.
Many Instagram pages make this mistake and their feed is all over the place due to an inconsistent theme.
If they want to restart their feed, they’ll have to either archive or delete all of their previous posts which will also remove the likes and comments.
This is due to a lack of planning. If you have no idea where to start, you can try following the color scheme of your logo.
For example, if your logo is blue, you can post blue and white images on your feed.
This will ensure that you have a consistent color scheme throughout your feed.
But that doesn’t mean that you should strictly follow the colors on your logo for your images.
You can use other colors and filters to create a consistent theme as well.
Filters, for example, are a great way you can keep your feed consistent.
If you use the same filter for every post, your feed will stay pretty consistent even if you post images in various colors.
Step #3: Communicate via direct messages
Communicating with your customers on Instagram via direct messages is one of the most underrated marketing strategies.
If you were to communicate via email, it’s a slow, inconvenient, and formal process.
Moreover, the average email open rate is less than 20%.
Unlike an email, a direct message is faster, more convenient, and less formal.
Believe it or not, the average open rate of Instagram direct messages is over 80%!
That’s about a 60% higher open rate as compared to an email.
This is why using Instagram direct messages as a means of communication is a no-brainer.
In addition, you can use Instagram direct messages as customer service if you don’t have a live chat on your website.
Customers can communicate with you via Instagram direct messages which is a quick way to get their message across.
More than 1 billion people use Instagram every month, so communicating via Instagram direct messages is a seamless process.
There are multiple ways you can use Instagram direct messages for your business.
Another way you can use them for is to promote your product or service.
Whenever someone follows you, you can send them a quick direct message to thank them for the follow. At the same time, you can introduce your product or service.
The general idea is to send a direct message to someone that just followed you and introduce your business.
Whenever someone follows you, thank them for the follow, and use a call to action.
Here’s an example, “Hey, thanks for following! You might be interested in our products—we are having a storewide sale right now, feel free to visit our website at www.yourwebsite.com.
You should never be hesitant about sending a direct message to a potential customer on Instagram.
Moreover, whenever someone follows you, it’s a great opportunity for you to send them a direct message as it is less cold.
Step #4: Always engage
Engaging with your followers is a great way to establish rapport with them.
Following others back is important, especially if they are your customers.
Following others back and interacting with their posts is a great way to establish rapport with them.
After all, it doesn’t hurt to follow some people back. Don’t aim for a perfect “followers to following” ratio as it is very self-centered.
Having a perfect “followers to following” ratio might also hurt your engagement rate.
Let’s say that you’re following someone who is not following you back.
If you’ve been consistently liking their posts but they didn’t like any of yours back, you will be less inclined to interact with their posts.
Similarly, if you didn’t like any of your follower’s posts, they might end up unfollowing or muting your posts.
Consequently, if someone mutes your posts, it will negatively affect your engagement rate.
Try your best to reciprocate every like you receive and reply to every comment on your posts.
In order to mitigate this, be sure to reciprocate any likes you receive.
In addition, try your best to like and reply to every comment on your posts.
This shows that you care about your followers as you appreciate their engagement.
Step #5: Use Instagram stories/highlights
The final step to introduce your business on Instagram is to use stories and highlights.
You can use Instagram stories for promotional means and spark engagement.
You can use Instagram stories to promote your product/service or to spark engagement.
If you’re launching a product soon, you can use the countdown feature on your story to allow people to set a reminder.
For example, if you are launching a product soon, you can use use the countdown feature on your Instagram story.
That way, people can turn on a reminder for your product launch.
In addition, they can share the countdown with their story as well.
The general idea is to build up as much hype as possible on Instagram before the product launch.
On the other hand, if you want to spark engagement, you can add your post to your story immediately after posting it.
Adding a post to your story is a great way to increase your engagement rate.
You can do so by adding the post to your story immediately after posting it and adding a caption/sticker that prompts users to like your post.
For example, you can add a “heart” sticker right above the post on your story. This will prompt users to go to your post and like it.
You can also add a “new post” sticker to tell your followers that you’ve recently posted something.
Some people view Instagram stories more than posts so they might have missed your post on their feed.
Adding your post to your story will ensure that whoever is viewing your story will be aware that you’ve recently posted something.
Hence, they will be inclined to tap on the post on your story and like it.
FAQ
Why should you introduce your business on Instagram?
Introducing your business on Instagram is a great way to drive traffic to your website.
If you utilize Instagram correctly, it can generate conversions for your business.
After all, it’s free promotion for your product or service.
In addition, Instagram allows you to have a closer connection with your customers.
Businesses utilize Instagram for multiple things—storytelling, behind-the-scenes, giveaways, and more.
There’s no better way to announce something than on social media platforms like Instagram.
For example, if you’re launching a product, you can post teasers to create hype on Instagram.
If your website is down, you can announce it on Instagram so your customers are well informed.
All in all, having an Instagram account for your business is not only for promotional means, but to keep your customers updated.
What should my first Instagram post be for business?
Your first Instagram post can be an introductory post about your business or a picture of your team.
For example, if you’ve just launched your product or service, you can post an image with the text, “We just launched!” as your first post.
You can even post a picture of yourself or your team if you don’t have any announcements to make.
Posting a picture of your team lets your customers know the face(s) behind the business.
That way, it’s more informal, and it makes your marketing more real.
However, you need to make sure that you have a theme in mind before you start posting.
For example, if your first post is an illustration, some of your future posts need to be illustrations as well.
On the other hand, if your first post is a picture of your team, you need to post pictures of people in some of your future posts too.
Think about the angle that you want to take for your Instagram feed.
At the end of the day, your first post is crucial as it sets the foundation for the rest of your posts.
What should my business post on Instagram?
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach for what to post on Instagram for your business.
This is because every business offers different kinds of products and services.
For example, if your business is selling food, you should post pictures of the food that you’re selling.
On the other hand, if you own an internet business, you can post all sorts of things depending on your niche.
Posting on Instagram as a business shouldn’t be restrictive, but you should stick with a consistent theme.
One big mistake businesses do is that they post random pictures on Instagram.
You should never post random pictures on Instagram as a business as it might confuse your customers.
Confusing your customers is the last thing that you’ll want to do as a business.
To mitigate this, make sure to have a prior theme in mind.
Conclusion
In this article, you’ve learned how to introduce your business on Instagram.
Creating an account for your business on Instagram comes with many advantages.
You can promote your product/service, post announcements, and more.
But properly introducing your business on Instagram can be challenging.
To recap, here are the main takeaways from this article:
- Optimize your profile
- Pick a theme for your feed
- Market your business via direct messages
- Always engage with your followers
- Use Instagram stories for announcements
Now it’s your turn to start maximizing Instagram’s potential for your business.
Further Reading
> ? How to Grow your Business using Instagram Direct Messages
> How to Send a Direct Message to a Private Account on Instagram
> Does Snapchat Notify When You Look at Someone’s Location?
Author: Lim How Wei is the founder of Followchain. Feel free to follow him on Instagram.
