Instagram, the visual app that started as a photo-sharing platform for teenagers has come a long way from that. Now, this app which boasts over a billion monthly users is a famous platform for marketers to connect with their audience and promote their brand.
If Instagram is not a part of your social media strategy, you must do so. More than 80% of the businesses agree in 2020 that a customer has bought their product after seeing their profile on Instagram. This and the fact that every day, IG records a whopping number of 500 million users daily should be enough for all brands to have an account on Instagram.
But Instagram is a tricky platform, and since the algorithms keep changing, you need to work extra hard to ensure that people engage with your account and post. The first step towards engaging customers/users with your business on Instagram is by creating a profile that is worth watching.
The rest comes later; the posts, the likes, and so on are important, but so is your profile. If you have a mind-blowing profile than appealing to users will be easy for you.
Why does a profile matter in 2020? Well, because it tells people what your brand is all about. It is simple, but it is important as it helps people recognize your brand and decide whether they want to follow your profile or not.
Not sure how to create an impressive profile? Try these tips, they will help you.
Have a public profile
As a default option, your profile on Instagram is public. Now if you are opening a personal account on Instagram, the choice is yours. You can keep it personal or public as per your wish. But for a business, it is important to have a public profile. Also, make sure that you have a business profile as it gives you access to tools like insight and analytics which can help you measure the engagement you get on your profile.
It is important to have a public profile as it lets anyone of your followers like your photos, follow your account, write a comment and so on. You don’t get this privilege with a personal setting, and to flourish your business, you need to keep your options open.
Selecting a profile picture
Instagram is a creative app for 2020, but it certainly requires you to be professional when it comes to a profile picture. You need to use a picture that is appropriate, relevant to the brand, and is something that makes people recognize your brand.
The best profile picture can be your brand’s logo. For a business, a logo is their identity and people recognize you through it. If you are a sole entrepreneur or run a small business through Instagram, you can use your picture or a logo or so on.
Make sure you have a profile picture is within the appropriate size limit which is 110*111 pixels. Also, experiment with the profile picture during important days, like a festival or to honour someone, and so on.
Have a username which is searchable and in tone with your brand
Your Instagram username or handle is an important part of your bio. It is the one thing that users of your business will use to search for your brand. That is why it’s important to secure a business handle on IG, which is searchable and recognizable like the name of your business.
But sometimes you are not able to secure a handle with your business name, what to do then? Don’t fret, you can find a username or handle which has the name of the business in the handle one way or another. You can get creative with it, but make sure you have your brand’s name in it.
Click on edit in your settings and write the chosen username in the respective field.
Make sure your bio is full of relevant information
In 2020, bio is important for your business as it informs people about your brand and what you do. You only get 150 characters to write your bio, so be smart about using it. Make sure you are descriptive with your bio and include all details that you think are important for your consumers.
So, add what you do, how to contact you, website or app link, and business hours, and contact details and so on. Also, the bio is the only place where you can add a clickable link on Instagram. So, make sure that you keep changing it as per the need. If you have a new blog or product, use the URL for it, instead of the main page and so on.
Have a business name too
You can add the name of your business too in the section under the username. It is best to add this too for better functionality of the app.
Enable notification
You must enable notifications for your Instagram account. It will let you see when people have commented or shared one of your posts. It is a great way to be on top of your account and to make sure that you engage with your customers as soon as they comment on your posts. It is easy to enable your notification: Tap on settings and select push notification settings.
Now your profile is complete, it is time to start working on your account and feed. To get more engagement, comments, and share, it is best to follow these tips:
Experiment with content types
Don’t just post pictures, add videos and boomerang too. You can even post quotes on your account for better engagement.
Stories
The best thing that can increase engagement and get you more followers is Instagram stories. Make sure to add at least one story a day. Add filters and stickers on your stories to make them more appealing.
Have a theme
Having a consistent and uniform theme for your feed is important. It can be the way you post a picture- like black and white or using a square grid or so on. It gives a more pleasing aesthetic to your profile.
Post quality pictures
Instagram is a visual platform, and thus you need to post quality photos. Use the best photos and create your feed. As every user will look through the first ten images to get a feel of your business.
That is why it is important to only work with the best images that you have. You can even edit your images using Canva or add filters to your images.
Other than these tips, the other important things to keep in mind is using relevant hashtags, writing captions, using keywords and call-to-action button and so on.
