Scale Your Instagram

There is a difference between using Instagram for personal use and for business use, so how do you leverage Instagram for client growth?

To start using Instagram for your business, you need to first have a Facebook business page so that you can connect this page to Instagram. Since Facebook owns Instagram, it is easy to integrate activities on both platforms. Once you have connected this page, you need to create your Instagram profile. Your profile picture should be a professional head shot.

In your bio, you should define who you are and what you do. This information should be short and specific. Then, you need a call-to-action and a link. This is to direct your followers to your business website where they can find out more information about your business, listings, and open houses. Since Instagram only allows you to have one link in your bio, use a link that you would want people to go to over and over again.

Instagram itself is a photo sharing social media platform. To use Instagram, you scroll the homepage. There, you will see other people’s photos and videos and you can “Like” them or leave comments. Photographs need to be visually appealing and videos have to be one minute. When people are scrolling through Instagram, they are typically spending a short spurt of time looking at each image and caption. This is why it is important to make sure that your photo and video captions are brief and interesting.

When you start your Instagram, you should post six to nine photos immediately.

Why? This is because when someone in your target market lands on your page, you want them to see that you are serious about posting on Instagram and maintaining a strong social media presence. Accounts with very few images as well as those with only one post per month are not desirable. Little to no activity shows followers that the user either isn’t dedicated to that social media platform or doesn’t know how to use it. It is important to post two to three times per day on Instagram so that your posts often show up on people’s News feeds.

But, how can you quantify the activity on your page?

This is when having a business profile on Instagram becomes extremely helpful. The business profile allows you to view your analytics. The analytics section is noted by a bar graph icon at the top of your profile. When you click on this, you will be able to see engagement, reach, impressions, and much more. Impressions are users who came to your page but didn’t engage, they just looked and left. Engagement is the activity that occurs on your page. Activity stands for what happens on your page: comments, likes, shares, and saves. Instagram’s “Save” feature is a great way for you to find your ideal client. When you see an image you like while scrolling on your Newsfeed, you are able to save that picture and look at it later.

Saving images posted by your ideal client will allow you to keep track of those clients. Another way to stay involved with your ideal client on Instagram is by turning on notifications for their posts. When you are on their profile, you will see a tab with three horizontal dots next to their name. When you click on this, a list of options will come up and one of those options will be “Turn On Post Notifications.” This will notify you every time your ideal client posts something new so that you can stay engaged with them.

Instagram can be an extremely useful tool when growing your business on social media. These tips will help you use the platform to its fullest capabilities!