Social networks have long ceased to be just a means of communication. Today you can use them to promote your own business. But the procedure for creating and setting up such accounts on different platforms is different. This section is devoted to the question of how to make a business profile on Instagram.

What is a business account and why is it needed?

At first glance, a business account cannot be immediately distinguished from a regular one; it looks about the same. But in fact, it is the company's personal brand. For its development, Instagram provides many tools and settings. If a user intends to actively promote goods or services through a social network, he needs such a profile.

It is in the presence of special functions that the answer to the question of why you need a profile for business on Instagram lies. They make it possible to use the provided options to increase sales and attract customers.

If your own business “doesn’t work out” and there is no longer a need to promote posts on the social network, you can delete your business account at any time, namely transfer it to another category and make it ordinary.

Let's consider what gives the user the opportunity to switch to a business profile on Instagram. It has access to the following functions:

1. Setting up an account category. To make it easier for users to understand what industry the company operates in, profiles are divided into personal blogs, brands, online stores and more.
2. Indication of the actual address. If an organization has an office, then it would be useful for clients to know where it is located.
3. Placement of 5 buttons. These tools are used for quick communication. For example, after installing a special button marked “Call”, a visitor, by clicking on it, can immediately contact the supplier of the product or service being offered.
4. Creation and promotion of advertising posts. This function is considered one of the main advantages, and it is for this reason that many are interested in how to connect a business profile. In addition, you can customize the promotion of information for a specific category of users, dividing them by gender, age or location.
5. View statistics. The account owner has the opportunity to receive information about which of the advertising posts gained the most popularity among subscribers, how many people visited the profile, and much more.

In addition, we are currently developing and testing the possibility of creating online stores on Instagram. For now, unfortunately, this function is not available in the CIS countries. When it comes into force, doing business on social networks will become even easier.

To summarize the topic of why you need a business profile on Instagram, we can say that it is worth including it for several reasons. Thanks to the described functions, it allows you to:

• engage more subscribers;
• the number of sales increased;
• analyze which advertising information works best.

Now it’s worth moving on to the question of how to register your business on a popular social network.

How to connect a business profile on Instagram

To create a special account on Instagram, the user must have a corresponding page on Facebook. You need to do it this way:

1. Log in to your social network profile and go to the pages section.
2. Click on the plus icon that says “Create” and toggle the button to start the process.
3. Enter the page name, select a category.
4. If the company has its own website, fill in the required field, indicating its address, and if not, click on the “Skip” button.
5. Install a photo, select a picture as the cover.
6. Save your changes.

Subsequently, if any of the entered data becomes irrelevant, it will not be at all difficult to understand how to change them. All you have to do is go into the settings again and correct the information. Photos and covers are changed in the same way.

Now let's look at how to change the status of a page on Instagram. To do this, you need to go to its settings and move to the account section. Here you need to click on the line to switch to the company profile.

After this, all that remains is to import the contacts linked to another page into the created business account, and you can start advertising, beautiful pictures offered products and so on.

I can’t connect to a business profile on Instagram: what’s the reason?

Sometimes problems arise when activating a commercial profile. This occurs because the user does not comply with certain conditions. Therefore, if difficulties arise, you should make sure that the following requirements have been met:

1. A Facebook page has been created.
2. The profile is open.
3. A public page has already been created for the business, and the user is an administrator.

If all the indicated points have been completed, but access to the business page is still not obtained, you need to contact technical support. It is possible that any conditions stipulated in the social network policy were violated.

How to fill out a business profile

The content posted in the account should give users maximum information about the product and service offered, as well as about their supplier. Therefore, you need to enter all the necessary data, such as company name, actual address, etc.

It is also important to provide ways for feedback. The user should be able to contact the company by phone, on the website or in popular instant messengers.

Another important point is, of course, photographs. If the user offers any products, it is necessary that the corresponding pictures be placed on the page. Moreover, it is better to keep them in the same style, using the proposed image processing tools.

Is it possible to connect several business profiles on Instagram for promotion?
Some users wonder whether it is possible to create several business profiles on Instagram at the same time. The social network provides this opportunity, and the number of accounts is unlimited.

To connect a new profile to an existing one, you must do the following:

1. Log in to a social network.
2. Go to the settings section, which is marked with a 3-dot logo and located at the top of the screen.
3. Find the command to add a new account and click on it.
4. After switching to established form enter the required data.

After this, all that remains is to log in to the new page and design it at your own request, observing the policy of the social network.

When your own business does not bring profit, and there is no longer any desire to engage in it, the user has a question about how to close a business on a social network. There are two options: you can simply delete your account or transfer it to personal status. Let's look at how to do this.

How to closeCreate a business profile on Instagram:

1. Log into Facebook and go to page settings.
2. Find the commercial account tab on Instagram.
3. Click on the disconnect sticker.
4. Confirm changes.

After this, the page will be closed and all posted information will be deleted.

How to delete a business and change your account to personal status:

Knowing how to deactivate a business on Instagram, you can do this at any time. Moreover, the procedure will only take a couple of minutes.

The main advantages of developing your business through social networks include the cost-effectiveness of this method. Registering a page is free; the only thing an entrepreneur can spend on is paying for and promoting advertising. But at the initial stage you don’t have to resort to such expenses.

Another advantage is that Instagram is a fairly popular social network with over 2 billion active users. The posted information can be seen by many people, which will attract a large number of subscribers, and, accordingly, increase the number of clients. Moreover, it is possible to increase the demand for the product or service offered without major investments.

But no matter how convenient this way of promoting your business is, there are also disadvantages. These include the following factors

• The need to pay for advertising. If you need to quickly promote a product or service, you will need to invest a lot of money in it. Of course, such a measure will help to significantly increase sales volumes, but not everyone can afford such expenses.
• Mistrust of visitors. Many people avoid purchasing anything from unverified suppliers. It is much easier for them to buy a product or order a service from a well-known seller. Therefore, very often at first the business does not generate income, and you have to wait quite a long time for any results.
• Ignoring the account by users. Most people still use Instagram for personal purposes, viewing photos and news feed. Therefore, according to statistics, they quite often “pass by” commercial pages. The only exception is when they are original and non-standard, and the posted content is interesting and educational.

Whether it is worth promoting a business through social networks or not, everyone decides for themselves. It is important to realize that without investing in your business, it is impossible to make a profit. But, unlike other methods of development, this one is the least expensive, and also does not require special knowledge and skills from a beginning entrepreneur.

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Instagram has 22 million Russians. On average, a user logs into the social network 16 times a day. More than 60% percent of Instagrammers check updates daily. The application on mobile devices allows you to be within walking distance of your account. The level of banner blindness is lower than in other networks. Ideal conditions for promotion, if you are aware of how to open a business on Instagram. Do you know about the possibilities of social networks? Where to start a business, how quickly the budget will pay off and what to expect in the future. We suggest you look into our article.

Instagram opportunities for business

Knowledge about the capabilities of Instagram will help you achieve your goals. What problems can be solved:

• increase in conversion;
• increasing brand awareness;
• maintaining reputation and promoting the company atmosphere;
• warming up interest in proposals;
• increasing engagement: likes, reposts, comments.
• a story about the product and its benefits;
• information about company news and much more.

Instagram clearly separates personal accounts from business profiles. IN latest version You can view free statistics and run ads using your Facebook account for flexible settings. For beginners, simple promotion of posts will do for the first time. Of the minuses: there are few goals and functions for selecting audiences.

Instagram for business: where to start

1. Choose a niche based on your interests. Analyze what you are great at and can talk about it. Don't rely on other people's preferences - in most cases you will abandon the business you started.
2. Once your list of interests is in front of you, it's time to check how successful competitors are doing in those areas. What are they doing to attract an audience? What business strategies do they use? Choose the most for yourself real way and start planning.
3. The business should not only be loved, but also bring money. How do you understand that the chosen niche will not just steal your invested budget? Type its name into the search bar and see how many advertisements you get in response. If there is a lot, goods and services are in demand.
4. Analyze who you are going to sell to: gender, age, interests. Choosing the right target audience will save your budget and increase the chances of successful business promotion.
5. Focus on direction. Choose not too broad, otherwise there will be problems with attracting advertisers. It’s also not a good idea to make it too narrow - you may not have enough ideas for ongoing content. In the future, you can expand and add new product lines, but it’s better to start with one thing.
6. Create a schedule according to which you will upload content uninterruptedly. Remember that the lifetime of a post is 4 hours and making more than one entry during this period does not make sense. We wrote about how to choose hours and days for publication in the article “”.

With experience, skills are strengthened and mistakes that arise at first will not be an obstacle.

About the target audience and where to look for it

Determine who your clients are: how old they are, what their income is, what they are interested in. In the future, you will invest in targeted advertising to attract buyers.

Find out what people think are good products and who the authorities are in your field. What do subscribers not like, what do they avoid or make fun of? A preliminary analysis will be needed to post promotional posts with bloggers or in cool communities. The pleasure is quite expensive, but it brings maximum effect: advertising looks like native and enjoys high trust from the audience.

Types of businesses promoted on Instagram

Instagram is based on the perception of visual content, on people’s feelings. Therefore, sales with lengthy preliminary preparation are not progressing well.

What topics are popular:

• cloth;
• gadgets;
• accessories for women;
• sport;
• trips.

The average amount of goods in a receipt is 5,000 rubles. Most best product for implementation - visually catchy, bright and beautiful.

How Instagram works for business

Sales begin after about three months of active profile management: daily posts, competitions, communication with subscribers, advertising.

If your product is original and unique, and the blogger was able to convey to the audience the benefits of the product, then success is guaranteed. Instagram will work like word of mouth - one shared a photo, the other wanted it too.

In other cases, when the product does not have originality, there are two options: abandon Instagram and concentrate on regular advertising, or tell subscribers personal history. Why is this so? The social network is built on visual content. Conveying emotions and feelings with images is the main task, and the text complements it by telling and explaining. Subscribers are interested in how you live, goals, dreams - everything you reveal in your story. Bring your product to life, create stories, participate in them and share them with the world, and they will reach out to you.

Ask readers what story they have on the topic. With comments, the post has a larger audience reach. The feed is not based on chronological order, but on the level of engagement of other users. Instagram algorithms select the most interesting posts for the user and show them first.

Use comments not only to increase engagement, but also to communicate. People understand that you are just a touch away and will definitely respond, even if the remark or emoji does not imply feedback. Followers begin to trust, which is important in business development. It’s not enough to gain subscribers who will remain silent. We need an integrated approach to interact with the audience and content.

How much do you need to invest?

Business development on Instagram requires advertising. Moreover, not only will you earn money from it by providing rent to another ad. At first, you will have to look for platforms to promote your posts.

It is best to buy advertising from pages with thousands of subscribers. This means that you must also have several thousand living followers. There are special tools for identifying and filtering out bots. Recruiting 10,000 subscribers will cost on average 20-40 thousand rubles. However, the numbers are average because various factors are taken into account: the quality of the platforms on which you post and the content of the post itself.

31 Instagram business ideas

Ideas will help you start a business through Instagram. You can take them from your head, from successful blogs, from everything that surrounds you and inspires you. Here are some ideas that have shown results.

1. Set frequency and publish posts with questions for subscribers. Be interested in their opinion, answer in the comments, in Direct. This way you not only increase brand awareness and reputation, but also inspire activity. And one of the followers may give you an idea for a new post.
2. Search the Internet to see what questions people are asking most often in your field. This will guide you on what content you plan to write, what to educate people about, and how to get to the point.
3. Take a photo of the product in the hands of a celebrity. Inspiration and respect from subscribers are guaranteed: the star will not give bad advice.
4. Tell us about the team and outstanding employees. Small stories lift the mood and motivation of colleagues, and followers see the activity of the company. Shed light on how certain colleagues came to you, what they have achieved in life and what they are striving for.
5. Create a storefront from your account. Photos are a quick way to find out the product and price. And the text will help fill in the remaining information about delivery, timing, etc.
6. Give a master class. Subscribers love to learn something new, and when they offer to do it themselves, it’s even better. Let it be a useful life hack or a decorative item. The main thing is the theme of the brand.
7. Publish relevant content. Follow world news and research in your field. Be sure to choose ones that are interesting to you, it may become new topic for discussion.
8. Check competitors in your area. What topics do they write about? Tell us about the same thing, but in more detail so that the reader receives as much information as possible. Do not copy their material under any circumstances. Be unique.
9. Don't know where to find competitors and partners for cooperation? Use a clever trick: ask your subscribers what they are reading. If you don’t want to take risks, track using hashtags and reviews.
10. Make your content varied. For example, on weekends use funny pictures for entertainment, and on Tuesday-Wednesday talk about serious numbers. Periodically send posts with quotes from famous people.
11. Follow what subscribers say under the publication. Look for interesting comments and tag them. Find the best one, put its topic in a separate post, be it a serious expert opinion or entertaining material. You will encourage attentive readers and develop a new thread for discussion.
12. What makes people surprised and want to pick it up faster? Free product/service. You can designate certain hours or days when subscribers will receive the right or for some condition: the first five, the author of the best comment, or randomly.
13. Tell us about the brand's activities. What do you do behind closed office doors? What meetings and conferences do you attend? What cool people do you meet? Or maybe you have changes in the process of manufacturing a product? Share with readers, they will support.
14. Study your analytics. Share your ups and downs.
15. Play the game. Not necessarily for prizes, you can offer to write an opinion about a quote or continue an unfinished sentence. Fantasy is in your hands. Small distractions are useful in the evenings or weekends when everyone is home from work and ready to play or joke.
16. Communication also takes place in Direct. With the permission of your interlocutor, take a screenshot of the dialogue and comment on it in a separate post. Perhaps these are frequently asked questions, a wish for the future, feedback on the work done, or just a phrase that reflects the style of the company.
17. Sell ​​not just with text, but with poetry or even haiku. Mark all the characteristics and indicate prices in an unusual format. Use various literary techniques: comparisons, exaggerations. Give your product or service a creative description: readers remember vivid images.
18. Create a section of the best or most popular publications for the week. You give your posts a second life and give your readers exposure to content they may have missed.
19. Post positive photos that evoke pleasant feelings in readers. You can deviate from the theme, but it is important to maintain the style so that the page is designed in a consistent style.
20. Come up with a branded hashtag. Check that it is easy and beautiful to hear and write. Correct typos or errors and publish it under each post. Soon you will be able to track people's feedback not only by comments, but also by their posts containing the content of your hashtag.
21. Thank the audience. Find a reason: for support, for increased activity, for growth, for inspiration. The main thing is to be sincere.
22. Share links to resources on your topic: articles, audio and video. Users love any additions to the text. Help them find useful sources and they will remember you.
23. Use live broadcasts to hold meetings with experts. Ask for their opinion and answer questions from the audience.
24. Show not only the process of how you create a product, but also the stages of manufacturing or providing a service. Photos can be combined into one post using a carousel or you can publish several posts.
25. Don’t forget about Stories: in addition to advertising, you can talk about discounts, new arrivals, competitions and announcements of upcoming posts.
26. Come up with a flash mob for your subscribers and a separate tag for it. Don't forget to participate yourself by showing some great photos.
27. What heights does your brand strive for? Set a goal and talk about your successes or failures towards it.
28. Create sections where subscribers can leave reviews. Encourage them and publish the best ones. From the negative ones, find qualities that need to be worked on, from the positive ones - strategies for successfully moving forward.
29. Add photos of followers with your product. You can find them using hashtags or organize a competition. Ask permission first.
30. Share how your company relaxes: in addition to possible meetings and conferences, send photos from a corporate event or a joint trip.
31. Another way to start a discussion: post a photo and ask for a title for it.

Follow the comments and encourage audience engagement: they can tell you a lot about you and give you new ideas.
Be sure to keep a notebook and write down your business ideas, so you won’t forget later and implement them on Instagram.

Instagram tools for business

Doing business on Instagram means having tools that facilitate processes and improve the quality of content. We have selected the main programs and services that help attract customers and earn their trust.
Tools you already have:

1. Let's start with a free built-in service familiar to every Instagrammer - Instagram Direct. Why is it important? This is analogous to personal messages on any other social network. People communicate with companies with one touch. In addition to working with comments, it is important to respond to messages in Direct: perhaps you are one step away from receiving a new one regular customer. Sharing information increases conversions and trust. Encourage your audience to communicate. Be interested in offers. Business profiles have a handy feature where you can mark messages as important and customize answers to frequently asked questions. Save time, money and attract customers.
2. Use free statistics for business profiles. It is useful when you want to find out which posts are most attractive to your audience: where the most likes and comments are. Based on the information received, you will learn successful criteria for publications and adjust your content plan. Get to know your target audience through statistics and formulate precise targeting settings for advertising.
3. The feed is another tool for attracting the attention of subscribers. Moreover, we can talk about both targeted advertising, which is shown to potential clients, and also about posts created by the company. In any of these cases, focus on the creativity and interests of the clients. Find the “pain” - what interests people - and provide a solution in the form of your product.
4. Instagram Stories are popular among users: more than 300 million use them daily. They will be useful for informing about discounts, promotions, competitions and just company news. Stories are stored for only 24 hours and then deleted. A good way to talk about limited offers.

How to grow your business on Instagram through other tools:

1. Aviary. At the initial stage, you cannot do without a photo editor. Learn to create high-quality photographs, follow trends in processing. Aviary has numerous stickers and decals. It is available on Windows, iOS, Android.
2. PicFlow - an application for easy create slideshows. On Instagram, in addition to static photos, videos that show images at a certain time interval are popular. All you need to do in the program: select pictures, their duration and audio file: music or voiced text. The paid version allows access to transitions between images and can remove watermarks.
3. Crowdfire. The tool will show all analytics on subscribers: who unsubscribed and subscribed. You can create black and white lists, analyze followers based on company interests, and find potential clients. Has 1 free plan and 4 starting at $10.
4. Adobe Spark. A powerful tool that supports various templates for filling Instagram content. It adds brand attributes, creating personality in each design. Available in mobile and web versions. Finished posts are added to the social network and, if necessary, downloaded to a computer.
5. Hootsuite. Works with several social networks and can publish posts simultaneously in different ones. Prepare publications in advance, analyze audience engagement and monitor brand mentions. A demo version is available for the first 30 days, and then there are tariffs to choose from.
6. Canva. The developers took care of creating templates for Instagram Stories. Design, customize, and don't be afraid to push the limits. The designer works with fonts, graphics, photographs, combining them into one masterpiece. Can align images, crop, adjust text. Work with transparency, brightness, saturation and contrast of your photos.
7. Storiesads. You can guess from the name that the service is designed for Stories. A video editor with built-in templates creates individual videos, depending on the task. There is a free trial period.

This is not the entire list. In the first stages, focus on content quality to shape your publishing style and schedule. Select relevant hashtags, change them periodically and monitor the effectiveness of posts using analytics systems.

Let's sum it up

We have covered several points on how to use Instagram for business. The social network has helped many companies get the word out about themselves, so start doing it yourself. Determine what kind of business you want and can promote. Think about presenting content to your audience and set up targeted advertising. Calculate your forces and budget. The first time will be difficult and almost no one will know about you, and only after a few months the first clients will come. The main thing is to keep moving forward.

More than 500 million people use Instagram every day, and more than five million businesses use Instagram for business to visually tell their stories, connect with their fans, and build their brand.

People new to Instagram may be intimidated by the need to stand out from such a large crowd. But getting started with Instagram is much easier than it seems.

How to use Instagram for business

This article covers the basics of using Instagram for business, from creating an account, setting up a profile, designing your page, and posting photos or stories, to more advanced things like Instagram analytics and using tools to grow your following.

1. Set up your account and profile

The Instagram app can be downloaded from the App Store, Google Play Store, or Microsoft Store. When creating an Instagram account, the app walks the user through a few basic setup steps. There are two things to take into account:

Profile photo

It will be displayed in the shape of a circle. When using your business logo, you need to make sure it stays in the center of the image. Additionally, the avatar will appear relatively small in the app, so avoid using text and instead try to make it stand out.

Profile information

The app won't ask you to fill out your profile information, but it will be helpful to do so. To do this, you need to go to your profile in the application and click on “Edit profile”. You will be able to fill out two fields: website and information about yourself.

You can also change your username here (i.e. @username).


Ready! Instagram account is set up!

2. Post photos or videos

To do this, you just need to click the “+” icon at the bottom of the screen. Instagram will show new photos in the user's photo library. You can also take a new photo or video by clicking on “Photo” or “Video” respectively.

A few tips:

• When you select a photo from your library, you can upload the photo as a portrait or landscape. To do this, select a photo and click on the icon with two arrows in the lower left corner of the preview. Then you can move and zoom the photo to customize it to your liking.
• You can upload up to 10 photos and videos per Instagram post. You need to click on the icon with two overlapping squares in the lower right corner of the preview and select a photo or video.
• When shooting a new video, you need to press and hold the record button to record the video. If you want to shoot several different things, you can release the button, point the camera at something else, and press and hold the button again to continue recording.

Once the material for the post is selected, you can apply a filter or edit its orientation, brightness, contrast, and much more. When everything is ready, you need to click “Next” to fill out the post details.

One of the most successful methods for growing an Instagram account is to post regularly. After studying 55 brands on Instagram, Union Metrics found that some brands lost followers when they stopped posting regularly.

3. Post Instagram Stories

More than 250 million people post stories on Instagram every day. Instagram Stories - new format content. These are photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours. Verified accounts can add a link to their stories to direct people to their site.

Unlike regular posts, stories do not appear in the profile gallery or followers' feed. They're hidden behind your profile photo in a separate ribbon at the top of the app.


To post a story, you need to swipe your Instagram feed to the right. The app will go into camera mode, where you can take a photo or video, or upload one from those taken within the past 24 hours. Once a photo is taken or selected, you can add stickers (including hash and location tag stickers), drag, and add text.

10 Different Ways to Use Instagram Stories:

It would be great to follow your clients. Although they can be quite difficult to find, there are some ways:

When people follow your Instagram profile, you will receive a notification. It's worth checking out their profiles and following them as well.

5. Comment on posts

IN in social networks Not only publications are important, but also engagement. To comment on a post, you need to click on the bubble icon below the photo or video. You can either leave a new comment or reply to another comment.


When followers comment on photos, such as leaving comments or asking questions, you need to respond to them as quickly as possible to show that you care.

After surveying more than 1,000 people, Sprout Social found that 70% of people surveyed are more likely to use a product or service from a brand that interacts with them on social media. If a brand doesn't respond, 30% of them will go to a competitor.

Connecting with your followers helps you build your brand, as well as convert them into customers and customers into loyal customers.

6. Turn your account into a business profile

This is recommended for anyone who uses Instagram for business or their company. Business profile allows you to add Additional information about business, and promote your posts. More importantly, analytics for the account appear.

All you need to turn your profile into a business profile is a Facebook page. Here's how to do it:

7. Use free analytics

Instagram Insights is a free analytics tool for Instagram accounts with a business profile. It provides a wealth of data that you can use to measure and improve your Instagram marketing.

To access Instagram Insights, you need to go to your profile and click on the chart icon.

How you can use data in Instagram Insights:

• See your key metrics, such as subscriber growth, change over the past seven days
• Find out when readers are most active in order to select best times for publications
• Find out which posts and stories are most effective
• Find out the demographics of your subscribers

8. Use additional tools

Finally, if you're willing to experiment, it's time to learn about some Instagram tools that will help you create better content, save time, and post consistently. A few tools to get you started:

• Photo Editor by Aviary – for photo editing (web and mobile app)
• Display Purpose – for finding the best hash tags to use (web app)
• Adobe Spark - for creating amazing Instagram stories (web and mobile app)
• Buffer for Instagram – for sequential publishing of posts (web and mobile app)

Conclusions on how to use Instagram for business:

1. Create and configure a profile
2. Post photos or videos
3. Post Instagram Stories
4. Subscribe to other profiles

The “factory” purpose of Instagram is to give people the opportunity to freely share photos and videos. We agree that this is quite a good act of communication, especially since 1 billion (!) people can confirm this. Yes, that’s exactly how many people dived headlong into this application, a figure reached in June 2018.

If we dig deeper, we will see that Instagram is much more than a “like and follow”. With its help, you can improve your aesthetic and intellectual abilities, master (at least on a whim) the skills of a photographer and videographer, and simply look at others and show yourself. Also, in general, useful. Moreover, all this is free, stylish, with a user-friendly interface. It's no wonder Instagram is so popular.

The most advanced users quickly realized that Instagram can become an excellent platform not only for self-presentation, but also for business promotion. The application itself immediately met halfway: it provided users with the opportunity to register both personal and business accounts.

We talked about the basics of using Instagram as a platform for business promotion in our last article. Let's read if you haven't read it yet, and remember the basics if you've forgotten. In the meantime, we’ll go on a trip through the new products of this social network.

Source of eternal life: creating a “Relevant” section on Instagram

Stories only “live” for 24 hours? Now there is no. Stories can live forever if you move them to the “Relevant” section.

Why does your business need this? In the BIO field, even with a very strong desire, you will not be able to correctly fit all the information about your company. In an attempt to “shove in what cannot be shoved in,” you will only clog it. It is much more convenient to put some items in the “Current” section. What can you put there:

It’s easy to create a “Relevant” section on Instagram.

Your mother is shown here and there! Learning Instagram TV

A new promotion tool that many still view with distrust: how can it help business development? First, let’s figure out what Instagram TV is.

Instagram TV is a channel that you can create based on your profile and post videos there. But not in 15-second excerpts, as in stories, but in a full-fledged feed up to an hour long. However, there is a small note here: only advanced accounts can afford hour-long videos. But more modest profiles still have room to roam - they can freely upload 10-minute videos to Instagram TV.

How is this useful for promoting your account? First of all, because there are not many competitors there yet. In the future, you may be rewarded with an increase in the number of customers if you begin to be one of the first to use the new product and experiment with content on Instagram TV.

Search function keywords is not yet available, but the developers promise that this is temporary. So for now you can only watch channels in the following sections:

• For you. This includes things that may be of interest to a specific user. The data is generated based on his interest in certain posts and profiles.
• Subscriptions. Everything is obvious here: you look at what the people you follow have uploaded to the channel.
• Popular. This category is compiled based on what has generated the most interest across Instagram.
• Look beyond. In this section, you can continue watching the video you watched earlier.

Even if you are walking to the moon before reaching the top on Instagram TV, you should not ignore this new product. Increasing customer loyalty has not been canceled. There you can stay in touch with your subscribers, talk about your business, give tours of your store, present a new collection, tell and show your “behind the scenes” life. In general, it all depends only on your imagination. The main thing is to remember: littering the airwaves of your audience with information that does not carry a semantic load is, at a minimum, unsightly, and at a maximum, it threatens to reduce the number of subscribers.

How can you hear me, reception: we are broadcasting live on Instagram

No takes or editing. You will actually be live if you select and launch the appropriate mode in the story recording section.

Let's consider the practical benefits live broadcast:

• With it, you will remind subscribers about yourself, because they will immediately receive a notification that “account N” has started a live broadcast.
• You will be able to increase the loyalty of your audience, because you will enter into a direct dialogue with them. During the broadcast, your subscribers will be able to ask you questions.
• You will show that you are a living person)). As a rule, we devote most of our posts to our products, completely forgetting that there is a person behind them. In general, don’t forget to show up at least sometimes; live broadcasting is a great opportunity for this. Prove to your audience that you are “not a bot.”
• Just like on Instagram TV, you can show subscribers the new products of your store, give them a tour, and talk about the intricacies of production. Backstage always goes off with a bang if they are presented correctly. When deciding on this format, adequately assess your strengths. Subscribers are unlikely to like it if you really can’t tell or show anything. A bit of artistry and competent speech definitely won’t hurt. Write a script and rehearse well to reduce the risk of a bad performance.
• You should not bypass the format of training videos if your product or service allows you to demonstrate your working kitchen to the audience. For example, you are into handmade crafts, so why not show your subscribers how they can make themselves a nice piece of jewelry using scrap materials?
• If your company periodically holds seminars, training, buffets, holidays and other events, then the announcement of the event can be made through a live broadcast in a lively, friendly manner. For example, a long-awaited new collection of clothes has arrived to you and you decide to organize a show for your clients. Click “Live” and invite us, tell you what, when, why and what goodies the guests will receive. Of course, don’t forget to duplicate information about the event in your profile and stories.
• You can broadcast live together with your partner. This way you will simultaneously reach two audiences: yours and the audience of your “co-host” of the live broadcast. Consider collaborating with a “like-minded” brand. There are a lot of options: clothes + accessories, cars + spare parts, exercise equipment + sportswear, pizza + sauces.
• Of course, not all subscribers will be able to watch the live broadcast. What to do: those who didn’t have time are late... Just kidding)) The live broadcast can be saved in stories - you’ll definitely collect a couple of dozen (or maybe more) views.

But all these new products will be largely meaningless if your profile is a mess. Content. Unique, interesting, in-demand content is the pillar on which your account rests.

Great Lent. What to add to your Instagram feed

Content has the power to attract and retain your potential customers. Imagine that you see in your profile the store’s products, which are demonstrated stylishly and tastefully, with an original and competent story about them. From such a publication we receive aesthetic pleasure and... become interested in the store.

But it’s not so simple: you can’t fill your Instagram feed with crap. The smart feed algorithm won't like this. In short, the smart feed is an algorithm for weeding out those publications that do not arouse public interest. The more likes, saves, and comments your posts have, the lower the risk that the smart feed will hide your posts (or the lion’s share of them) from the audience. It's simple: friendship with subscribers = friendship with a smart feed.

Okay, everything is clear. How to be friends with subscribers?

Instagram provides 3 main post formats for the feed:

1. Image or video + text.
2. Image gallery (attached publications) + text.
3. Collage + text.

None of these formats are superior to the others, and they are equally important to your business account. The main thing is to remember some nuances:

• Instagram cares about its users, so videos in the main feed are played with the sound turned off by default. Obviously, we don't always turn it on (wrong place, time, moon phase). Therefore, if you post a video where the main meaning lies in the sound, make subtitles.
• If you choose the format of nested publications, choose the most catchy picture for the title page. This is what should encourage subscribers to scroll through the entire carousel.
• You should restrain your creative impulses when creating a collage. It should not become “visual noise”, be clumsy and busy. What can be successfully shown in a collage? The formula “before” and “after” or, for example, “front view” and “rear view”.

So, we took the photo according to all the rules, posted it and that’s it? Not really. We need text under the photo. You won’t leave the image “to the mercy of fate”, will you?

Text and visuals should work in tandem, and not be disparate elements. Play with the photo with text, make a cohesive publication, and only then will it work. In the case of Instagram, the image catches attention, but it is the text that holds the user.

Here are a few topics for posts on the main Instagram feed:

And, as we know, if there is “how to do it,” there is also “how not to do it.” Some things are just a bad idea, while others have already gone out of fashion. In general, we will try to avoid the following:

• Collages with a lot of photos that don't fit together. More than four photos is too much. Images will be unclear and unclear. You'll likely just force your subscriber to strain their eyes (and brain) to look at something. And no one likes to stress.
• Wise quotes. No, if your products are closely related to Nietzsche’s philosophy, then no questions arise. In other cases, if, for example, you are engaged in sewing bow ties, then thoughtful, and even more so, hackneyed, worn-out quotes are unlikely to help increase subscriber engagement.
• Filtermania. Remember that a filter can either “save” a photo or completely ruin it. You shouldn’t overuse filters, make the image look too old, or add too much sharpening to it. Try to use a filter to present the true, but slightly improved appearance your product.
• The text is continuous. And the picture seems delicious, and the first lines of the text beckon to unfold it... But we look at the publication in full and are frankly frightened by the long canvas of text that has opened up to us. Break your text into paragraphs, use emojis and bulleted lists. So, your subscribers won’t even be afraid of a long read.

But, as we know, there are exceptions to the rules. All these " bad advice" can be used, but only if there is a competent concept or subtle humor behind it.

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Do a business account need stories, and what to add to them?

To promote your business on Instagram, you can do everything that is not prohibited)). Once a function exists, it needs to be used. Therefore, you should not ignore stories, because they are especially good because they do not fall under the sanctions of the smart feed, and your subscribers are much more likely to see them than a publication in the feed.

What we add to stories:

So if you are serious about promoting your business on Instagram, you shouldn’t ignore the main feed and stories. Also, do not ignore such important nuances like hashtags and geolocation.

One, two, three, four, five - I'm going to look for you! We put hashtags and geolocation

What is this mysterious word with a hash mark and why is it needed? A hashtag is a specific #tag that allows Instagram users to find publications on a specific topic. For business accounts, a hashtag can work to its advantage and bring in subscribers for free.

There are 4 types of hashtags:

1. Branded - #service1ps
2. Thematic - #flower_delivery
3. Local - #new buildings in Moscow
4. Personal - #wedding of the Seleznevykhs

If, as a rule, no questions arise with the first three types of tags, then with the fourth one will definitely appear: how can this type of hashtag help with promotion?

Firstly, by coming up with your own personal hashtag, you will make life much easier for your followers. So, they will be able to navigate by your products: #companyN_new items, #companyN_discounts.

Secondly, you can turn your company into an Insta-brand. For example, run a giveaway where prerequisite There will be a publication with a special hashtag. For example, #companyN_generous_soul, #friends_with_companyN, etc. This way, there is a chance that your hashtag will become viral over time. This can bring you a new, interested audience.

When using hashtags, keep in mind that they do not work on the principle of “the more, the better.” The optimal number of tags is 10. Why?

• More hashtags will simply push users away. It looks unaesthetic and in some cases even stupid. For example, when you put hashtags “neither to the village nor to the city,” that is, completely unrelated to your topic.
• Instagram itself is not happy when posts are littered with a large number of off-topic tags. Such users, who are very eager to show their post to as many people as possible, are “punished” by Instagram for their greed by reducing their reach.

Relatively recently, the application gave users the opportunity to follow a hashtag of interest to them. This feature is useful because, for example, your customers can subscribe to your personal hashtag and always be aware of current events. In addition, if you use thematic hashtags, they can work in your favor when the user views tags on the topic. For example, subscribers of the hashtag #manicure_moscow will see you. They saw it, became interested, subscribed, and used your service. This development of events is quite realistic.

How to choose the right hashtags for your account? Please note the following rules:

• The number of uses of a particular tag can be found out automatically when adding a hashtag. For example, we write #manicure. Instagram itself shows us that this tag has been used millions of times! So, you can experiment with signatures, along the way, find out how many times they have been used. It is not recommended to use hashtags that are too rare (with the exception of your personal ones). It is also not recommended to put overly popular ones, such as #manicure. Neither one nor the other tag will bring you to the top. It is better to focus on the average number of uses - 3-40-100 thousand, depending on your topic.
• You can also choose the optimal set of hashtags through special services. For example, InstaTag or WEBSTAGRAM. Here you will find a database of hashtags by category, and simply lists of relevant and popular hashtags. But here, as they say, trust, but verify. The hashtags that the services will offer you should be evaluated for their semantic meaning. There is no need to add everything to the publication.
• If instead of hashtag ideas you have complete emptiness, you can see what your competitors are setting up. We go through the tags, see how many times they are used, under what posts they are placed. We take something into our arsenal and test it.

Although we mark our region of work on hashtags, it’s also a good idea to indicate it in the geolocation section. This is a geographic marker that is placed above a post for which a photo was taken in a particular place. You can add geolocation both in the main feed and in stories.

A geographic tag will be relevant and necessary for almost everyone: restaurants, shops, fitness clubs, beauty salons... It wouldn’t hurt to ask your subscribers to put your geolocation in their posts if they take photos from you. So, your company will form its own database of photographs by geo, and your potential clients will be able to “get to know you better.”

But what if you don’t have the tag you need yet? For example, you want to enter your address Lenin, 58, but the search does not return anything. Let's take matters into our own hands and help Instagram find us. To do this, go to the business page on Facebook from your phone and look for the “Mark visit” button in the post section. Enter your address and select “Add new location.” Click, create and use geolocation on Instagram.

The same search is carried out using a geographic tag as using hashtags. And the benefits, in general, from geolocation are the same - attracting new subscribers. By the way, with the help of a tag you can find out what customers think about your company. Often, users post photos from an establishment, such as a restaurant, mark its location and write their impressions. In general, you have the opportunity to learn about your strengths and weaknesses. Naturally, we multiply strong qualities, and eliminate weak ones.

Now let's look:

High-quality content in the main feed - yes ✔

We make stories wisely and don’t overwhelm the audience - done ✔

We've sorted out hashtags and geos ✔

Section Current - filled out ✔

Live broadcast - conducted ✔

Channel on IGTV - created ✔

Now the subscribers will start pouring in like manna from heaven! But... wait. Why is the audience growth not at the desired frantic pace, but at a teaspoon per hour? Not so simple. No matter how interesting and high-quality your profile is, the main impetus for development will come from promoting your business account, that is, advertising it.

Ale-op! Look how I can: attracting an audience to a business account on Instagram

We advocate exclusively for legal methods of advertising on Instagram (and on other platforms too), since the risk, although a noble cause, is unjustified. They will be banned and you will have to start all over from scratch. Therefore, it is better to do everything according to GOST from the very beginning.

Illegal methods of promotion

• Mass following and mass liking. The essence is simple - we look for users who are interesting to us using geo and hashtags, start liking them and subscribing to them in the hope that they will respond in kind. This can be done manually or using special services. But if Instagram recognizes that you very often and suspiciously actively subscribe to accounts, then - hello, blocking! At first, of course, it will be temporary, for educational purposes. But if you don’t learn the lesson and continue to use mass following and mass liking, then eternal profile blocking is not far off. There is a risk of losing both your content and, more importantly, your subscribers.
• Cheating bots. The most useless and unwanted way to promote your business account. Of course, when you’re just creating a profile, you don’t want to see tumbleweeds instead of subscribers, but believe me: bots are much worse)). They can only influence your progress in a negative way, worsening your reputation and not providing any activity.

Semi-legal promotion methods

Legal methods of promotion

If you are determined to attract subscribers as efficiently and effectively as possible and are willing to pay for it, set up targeted advertising without hesitation or doubt.

Targeted advertising on Instagram

Targeted advertising. An officially recognized promotion method by the application. You can configure it in two ways: directly through the application itself or through Ads Manager ( advertising office Facebook). We recommend choosing the second option, as this gives you access to more targeting tools.

Ads Manager has a division by goals:

After you have chosen a goal, go directly to the exit target audience. It is worth considering that parsers do not work on Facebook (and therefore on Instagram). If you have already worked with the advertising account on VKontakte, then you know that there you can snatch an audience from the community, filter it out according to certain parameters and target them promotional offer. On Facebook, the targeting is different:

• Geography collection. This parameter can work not only for cities, but also for specific addresses.
• Collection according to socio-demographic characteristics. These include: gender, age, marital status, religion, etc.
• Gathering based on interests. The algorithm “reads” the interests of users based on those posts that attract their attention.
• Collection by behavioral characteristics. These include: what gadgets do we use to access the Internet, do we travel, do online shopping, etc.
• Retargeting and look-alike. You can put a pixel on your website that will “collect” those users who visited the site. Later, you upload the received data to your advertising account and target an already “warm” audience that has shown interest in you. Another option is if you have collected a database of email addresses and phone numbers of your clients, you can upload it to your advertising account. The system will process the data and find the owners of these email or phone numbers on Instagram in order to show them advertising. By the way, you can set up a look-alike on this base - an algorithm for searching for an audience that is similar to your original one.

Yes, for the purpose advertising campaign We’ve decided, we’ve set the audience parameters - we launch the advertising post itself in the form of a ring gallery, one photo/video or a slide show. You can post it both in the main Instagram feed and in stories. In both cases, it will be served with the mark “advertising” and with a link to your website or Instagram profile.

If you decide to promote your business account on Instagram through targeted advertising - bravo, this is a good decision. But be prepared for the fact that it is not cheap. Adequately assess your financial capabilities and remember - in the case of targeted advertising, the game is worth the candle.

Promoting a business on Instagram: what's the bottom line?

Managing Instagram is work. Everything we've covered in this article may seem easy in theory, but in practice it can be more difficult. Lack of ideas for posts, difficulty setting up advertising on your own, and the banal thing - there’s simply no time!

But if you are uncompromisingly determined to become a guru in the field of Instagram promotion, then sign up for our online course for beginners. Once again we will discuss all the points, tell you and show you on your fingers, give real examples and answer all the questions.

And if, nevertheless, the eternal time pressure does not allow you to delve deeper into this creatively fascinating, but in some places difficult process account management, we will always come to the rescue)). We will find your target audience, wherever they are hiding, figure out how to attract their attention, and provide you with a detailed report (even with numbers). You can find out more about our service for promotion on Instagram.

Instagram: the basics of business promotion

Instagram has recently conquered the market mobile applications in the CIS. Not many people have yet been able to truly appreciate the capabilities of this social network, but those who use and regularly publish photos on Instagram can say how interesting and easy to use it is.
In previous articles we have already talked about promoting your business on VKontakte and Facebook, and today it’s the turn of Instagram. But those of you who have already used these applications may wonder: “How can you promote your business if only photos are published?” Believe me, Instagram is a very powerful and promising service that can not only shape your image of a successful and attractive person, but also significantly help in promoting goods and services.

According to statistics collected in November 2013, more than 75% of the world's largest and most famous brands actively present their products on Instagram. They also communicate with clients, attract new subscribers, and develop their social image. Instagram is a fairly new, interesting, promising, tempting application that is attracting more and more users every day. The trend is great, and you simply must think about how to develop and promote your business on Instagram.

10 rules for promoting a business on Instagram

Rule No. 1. Basic. Use the company name as the name
Perhaps the most obvious and understandable rule. If you are going to make collections of photos on behalf of the company, then your Instagram account must be appropriate. Everything seems logical, but not everyone understands it. Very often, people start posting “work” photos from their personal account, and this is not taken very seriously.
If your company is called a very well-known and common word that is already used on Instagram, then choose some interesting and related name that will most accurately reflect the essence of your company. For example, you are selling vegetarian food, but the nickname “VeganFood” is already taken. What to do? It’s clear that you need to look more broadly and look for an associative series. For example, name your account “FreshFood” or “VeganLife”. It all depends on your desire, and on the understanding that whatever you call the ship, that’s how it will sail.

Rule #2. Strategic. Use hashtags in your posts
Hashtags are nothing new to social media. True, until recently they were actively used only on Twitter, but they were successfully implemented on both Facebook and Vkontakte. Instagram is also not deprived of a similar function, and you should actively use it.
For those who don’t know what a hashtag is, I’ll explain. This concept usually means a certain function with which the user can filter all posts with such a hashtag. If you see a clickable link in the #hashtag format, then that's what we're talking about.
Why do you need this? As mentioned above, you can group certain pictures by topic by adding the necessary hashtags. For example, #winter_shoes #men's_jackets #discounts #promotion and so on. The user, instead of scrolling through all your messages and looking for the ones he needs, can click on the hashtag and filter out the product groups that interest him in seconds.
This is a very convenient feature that may become your feature over time. As a rule, if you seriously engage in promotion on Instagram, you will have thousands of photos that the user will not look through from start to finish, looking for something they need. But hashtags will help to significantly simplify navigation through your offers and increase the chance that an order will be placed.

Rule #3. Effective. You must use at least 2 hashtags.
If we have already talked about hashtags, and you understand what they are, now you need to understand how many of them to use and which ones will be best. If you look at the reaction of users, there is an opinion among them that using more than one hashtag is bad form. But when your task is to promote your goods and services, then you don’t need to pay attention to such trifles. No, I don’t want to say that the opinions of your subscribers are trifles. Simply using more than one hashtag is not critical, and it is unlikely that anyone will reproach you much for such a move.
SMM experts unanimously declare that the more hashtags you use, the greater your audience reach. Therefore, it is in your interest to select the right tags and use them to the maximum. But it’s also worth noting that you don’t need to enter dozens of tags if they don’t relate to the post at all. For example, if you are advertising new vegetarian products, then the tags #vegetarianism #nutrition #health #veganism #diet are ideal.

Rule #4. Tactical. Post discounts, promotions, and promo codes to your account with some regularity.
If you decide to promote your business on Instagram, you should understand that discounts and promotions are the basis of your marketing strategy. Even if you already have communities on Facebook or Vkontakte, make sure that the subscribers of each community feel unique and individual. How to do it? Yes, simple. Regularly publish information about discounts and promotions only on one social network, and do not duplicate it on others. This way, subscribers will understand that you provide them with a unique opportunity and chances that are not available to other people. This will motivate them to view the photo, read the descriptions in it, and regularly check your account.

Rule #6. Maximum. Make the most of Instagram
Everyone knows that Instagram is mostly for photos. This is the main content of this social network, but also don’t forget about the video, which you can also post on your page. You can post photos around the clock, and time has virtually no effect on viewing activity. With video everything is different, because the optimal time is considered to be between 20-00 and until the morning. This is due to the fact that at work your subscribers can watch photos without any problems, but videos, and even with sound, are difficult.

Rule #7. Feedback. Chat with your subscribers
This rule is perhaps the same for all social networks. Earlier, when we talked about promoting our business on Facebook and Vkontakte, we also emphasized this Special attention. It is clear that over time, various comments, questions, and clarifications will appear under your photos. You should not ignore them, but, on the contrary, maintain a conversation, start discussions, and answer all questions posed. This way, clients will see that they are not ignored, that their opinion is important, and you will always maintain contact and give the necessary advice.
Such Feedback– the basis for business promotion on social networks. Believe me, your clients can add dozens of comments interesting ideas, suggest further ways of development, point out mistakes in promotion. Keep in touch with them, and never ignore their questions and gratitude.

Rule #8. Human. Always address people by name.
Instagram, like Twitter, uses a rather inconvenient system for contacting users compared to VKontakte. In order for your answer to reach exactly the user you want to address, you need to put @ in front of his nickname. Without this symbol, there will be no automatic notification of your response, and the user may not see it in a timely manner.
Why is it so important to address yourself personally and by name? Scientists have long proven that calling a person by name instills a certain amount of trust and wins over the interlocutor. Yes, and we all love attention, but how can we show it if we don’t personally address the client.

Rule #9. Image. Publish photos from the life of the company.
Instagram should be used not only to post photos of your products, but also to create a positive image of the company and inspire the trust of your subscribers. How to do it? You need to publish photos from the life of the company. You can post a few photos of your working day, showing how you try for your clients, how hard you work to ensure that all products are of the highest quality. Post it good photos from parties and corporate events, thereby showing that you are the same ordinary people that you also have emotions of joy and a desire for rest. Buyers must consider you “one of their own”; they must understand that you do not consider yourself better than them, do not rank them higher or lower.
Work on your Instagram look the same way you would work on it in real life. Now many large companies begin to come to the conclusion that the social image plays an increasingly important and big role, influences the choice and trust of potential buyers.

Rule #10. Important. Keep your distance
A very big mistake of all those who are going to promote their business on Instagram is the desire to give as much information as possible in a short period of time. Remember, more does not mean better. If you post 10 photos per hour, this does not mean that users will like such activity. Most likely, everything will be completely different.
Have patience and calm. Even if you know that you have several dozen very high-quality and “bold” photographs, then spread out their publication over a couple of days. At the same time, when publishing a new photo, make an announcement of future events like: “Did you like the photo? That's not all. Tomorrow we will continue to introduce you to the everyday life of our advertising and marketing department.”

Interesting facts about Instagram

This free application appeared relatively recently, in 2010, and has already gained recognition from millions of users.

At the moment, more than 100 million people are registered on Instagram, and this despite the fact that development prospects of this service huge. Instagram is just starting its journey in the CIS countries

Users add approximately 5 million photos every day

In August 2013, as part of the development of the application in the CIS market, integration of Instagram with Vkontakte appeared. Now every user, if he is registered on VKontakte, can automatically post photos both on Instagram and on the VKontakte wall.
As you can see, the Instagram social service is just beginning to actively develop in the CIS countries, therefore, you have a good chance to express yourself and your company using all the capabilities of this mobile application.