With over 500+ million daily users, 25+ million business accounts, and 200+ million users following at LEAST one business profile, maximizing your Instagram profile is a MUST. It's predicted that in 2020 75.3% of US businesses will be on #Instagram. So what are you waiting for?
It all starts with creating an Instagram profile. So let's be sure that you are setting it up to be aesthetically pleasing, informs your followers of who you are, what you do, and why they should follow you.
1. PUBLIC (NOT PRIVATE) PROFILE
Seems pretty obvious right? If you're new to Instagram, you may not know the difference. If you have a private account then only people you approve can follow you. Your images, captions, and hashtags will not appear in searches in the app or on Google. By default your profile will be made public, just make sure it stays that way! If the goal is to increase brand awareness, you definitely want people to be able to find you and view all of your carefully curated posts, captions, and hashtags!
In case you're not sure: Open "options" and make sure the private account option is turned off.
2. ON-BRAND PROFILE PHOTO
As with any social media profile, the photo is what users typically notice first. You want to make sure that the image is eye-catching and on-brand. What we mean by that is, if you are a clothing designer, make sure that the profile image debuts clothes in your line. Or if you are a #realtor, make sure that the profile image shows you closing a deal! If you have a team logo or company logo, it's probably safe to say that's what you'll use. BUT just because you use your logo doesn't mean it has to be boring. You can always dress it up around the holidays. Throw in some holly or Santa hat adorned logos and mix it up!
Instagram profile images should be 110 x 110 pixels. Instagram profile image is round, don't worry. They crop it for you!
To add/change profile photo: Go to Edit Profile, then tap Edit in the top right corner and select the current profile image. Instagram is pretty cool you can save an image locally or import one from #Facebook or #Twitter.
3. SEARCHABLE HANDLE & COMPLETE COMPANY NAME
Make sure that you select an @username or handle that is easily searchable. You want people to be able to find your profile. If you're a business owner then include your business name, abbreviated if it's too long. If you're the commodity then user your first.lastname or your profession and areaexpert.firstname. There are so many options, just make sure that it is easy to find.
For a business profile, you want to make sure you use the name field to enter your complete company name so that it's searchable.
4. SUCCINCT BIO
Yep, you read that right. Instagram only allows 150 characters for the bio, so you need to have a succinct set of sentences, phrases, emojis, to catch the readers attention, keep them scrolling and interested. It's very Twitter-esk to allow for so few characters but really lets you be creative. Don't forget to utilize #hashtags if you can!
Tell people why they should follow you, what you do, what value will you bring to their days.
5. Link in Bio
Instagram is unique in that the only place for a link to be clickable is in your bio. So make sure you add one. If you're using your business page as your go-to link, then you might want to make it track-able to see how much traffic is being referred to your site from your Instagram profile. It would certainly help determine ROI. If you're paying for Social Media Management then you'll definitely want to keep tabs on it.
Wise Marketing Professionals uses the field for our linktr.ee page. To learn more about Linktr.ee you can read our blog about Top 10 FREE Marketing or Productivity Tools for Small Business.
If Instagram isn't part of your 2020 marketing strategy, now might be a great time to give in to the ever-growing popularity of social media & social influencers. Plus you might have the added benefit of growing your brand awareness and increasing sales! If you need help with strategy, schedule your discovery call today!
For anyone curious about the stats in the first paragraph, 2020 Instagram stats source here.
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