Can Instagram help market a business?

Is Instagram the most popular social media platform? While it may seem like the answer is yes, the actual answer is no. Facebook is the most popular social media platform, with YouTube as the second. Instagram is in the top 5 and is working its way up there. It has a large user base but certainly isn’t the most popular. 

Instagram was created in 2010 by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger and has since become one of the most popular social media platforms worldwide. While Instagram is great for sharing personal and aesthetic content, it can also be used to share information about a business you are attached to. Chapter 5 in The Essentials of Social Media Marketing by Michelle Charello states statistics that indicate how popular it has become for businesses to promote products and services through the platform. For example, the text states, “Instagram reports over 200 million active businesses, with 90 percent of Instagram users following a business, and 70 percent of shoppers looking to Instagram for their next purchase.” Instagram has a massive outreach, and having professional yet exciting posts about your business is super important. 

Here are five good recommendations on how to optimize your Instagram business profile: 

Username: For a business, create a username that represents your business or the product you are trying to sell. If your business sells one product with multiple variations, creating a username that explicitly says what the product is is possible. You could also make a username that states the business's name, but no matter what, the username has to be the same across all platforms. This makes it easier for people to find your business without having to go to the original platform. 

Profile picture: The profile picture should represent the business (i.e., a logo) and, similar to the username, needs to be the same for all platforms you post content on. The picture can be a product (if you only sell one thing, your profile could be a picture of that), and/or it could be your bestseller (if it is a product, it should be the bestseller because that is the thing people like the most and is what drew them into your business in the first place. It is also the thing that will be talked about the most). Having different profile pictures on other platforms makes it difficult for people to know how to find your account and whether it is real. 

Website: Since you can’t put hyperlinks on posts through Instagram, it is best to use the website section on the app to set a clickable link to the website. Depending on the advertisements used for the product and business, the link should take the customer to the homepage or the product directly. It is recommended that the website also be easy to use and navigate so that the customers can click between products and won’t get frustrated trying to use your website.  

Bio: Unfortunately, a bio on Instagram is limited to 150 characters, meaning that a business needs to clearly and concisely describe what it does, the goods and/or services it is selling, and how it is interesting and unique. This isn't easy to do, but hashtags and other profile links can be linked in bios. If you find it too hard to explain everything due to the lack of acceptable characters, adding a link that gives the customer more information may be helpful. 

Business profile feature: With Instagram, you can add a business feature that allows you to add business hours, a business phone number, and even an address to a profile. This will enable people to quickly contact your business instead of going directly to your website. 

Instagram is a great platform for advertising your business, and it is good to remember these 5 recommendations to make your business profile stand out! I hope this was helpful, and I am rooting for you!