With more than 2.4 billion Active users worldwide, Instagram offers great opportunities for businesses or brands to showcase their products and tell their stories to the global audience. On average an audience spends 29.7 minutes approximately on Instagram. Whether you are a small business owner or part of a large corporation, you must draw the attention of potential users on Instagram.
But, before that you must have a basic idea on How To Use Instagram. Learning the entire process of how to use Instagram for business helps you improve marketing efforts. Here, we will help you know the process of opening an Instagram account, setting up a profile, connecting with fellow users, and uploading posts and stories on Instagram. Let’s get started.
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What is Instagram?
Instagram is a popular social media platform used by a billion of users. It mainly focuses on images and videos. From a photo-sharing application that emerged in 2010 to today, when it has evolved into a more complex marketing instrument for businesses, the options for interaction and engagement with audiences range from Stories and Reels to IGTV and Shopping.
How Instagram Works?
Knowing the entire process of how it works is very crucial before you learn How to use instagram.
Instagram is a social networking application intended for sharing photos, videos, and shorter-form content like Stories and Reels.
Users create profiles, follow others, and interact through likes, comments, and direct messages. The Home Feed shows content from followed accounts that are determined by an algorithm on how best to present them based on engagement.
The Explore page helps bring users further into discovering content, and Stories and Reels help share those short, ephemeral, or edited movies. Users can also send private messages, make voice or video calls, and engage with posts through various interactive features.
For businesses and creators, Instagram offers insights of posted contents and audience demographics with monetization opportunities such as partnership and shopping features.
Users can maintain control of their privacy setting and even choose who can interact with their content while deciding between a public and private account. The platform amalgamates visual content sharing with interactive features, making it both personal, professional, and commercially viable.
Why Must You Use Instagram? – The Real Purpose
The main aim of Instagram is posting either personal or business related updates with others and at the same time staying updated about what’s happening around the community you have created. It carries out several vital functions:
Social Connection: On Instagram, one can connect with friends, family, and like-minded people through the sharing of moments from their lives, engagement through likes, comments, and direct messages.
Creative Expression: A user can creatively photograph, video, document, or record his stories and reels as per his favorite filters, effects, and editing abilities.
Community building: Instagram enables the users to build communities of interest based on activities, lifestyles, and causes by following each other under specific hashtags and group names.
Brand promotion: Companies and influencers promote their products, services, and personal brands using Instagram. This is the biggest digital marketing tool through which people can have direct contact with their target audiences through posting, advertisements, and sponsored posts.
Inspiration and discovery: Users are inspired when they encounter something new- ideas, trends, and culture on Instagram via its explore page, suggested content, and users’ posts.
Entertainment: With features such as reels, stories, and live videos, Instagram provides entertainment and keeps users engaged with a continuous stream of fresh content.
How to Create an Instagram Account For Business?
Over a billion people use this platform and feature specific tools in order to increase business development for each enterprise. So, let us take this long step-by-step guide to properly create an Instagram business account
Step 1: Download the Instagram App
Download the Instagram application on your preferred mobile device such as smartphone, laptop, ipads, etc. Find Instagram on both the App Store if you have an iOS device or the Google Play Store if you have an Android device. Install the app. Open the app to start your sign-up process.
Step 2: Sign up for an account
On launching the app, you would be welcomed to log in or sign up. Click on the Sign Up button. You can sign up via:
- Using Email or Phone Number: Tap on Email or Phone and type in your details. Instagram will then send a verification code to that email or phone number. Proceed with the input of the confirmation code.
- Using Facebook: If you already have a Facebook account, you can make the process a little easier by signing up using Facebook. That will automatically connect your Facebook and Instagram accounts.
After entering your basic details, such as your full name and a password, click Next.
Step 3: Set up your profile
Select a username for your instagram account. Your username must be your business name or brand so that your targeted audience easily recognizes your username. After this, configure your profile by uploading a profile picture. The profile picture has to be your business logo or any image which depicts your brand.
You will also have a chance to write a short bio aside from the profile picture. Briefly describe your business-what it is, and what it does. If you like you can also add your location, and also add a link to your website. This is your chance to make a good first impression, so make your bio engaging and informative.
Step 4: Switch to a Business Account
- Go to your profile by clicking the profile icon at the bottom right of the screen
- Select the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the top right corner
- Select Settings from the menu
- Under the Account section, click on the Switch to Professional Account
- You will have the option to select between a Business account and a Creator account.
- Select Business
Step 5: Complete Your Business Profile
- Select a category that best describes your business
- Add your business email, phone number, and physical address if applicable
- You can also add buttons like Call, Email, or Shop Now to make it easier for your visitors.
How to Optimize Your Instagram Business Profile?
As mentioned above, begin by choosing a clear and recognizable profile picture. It must ideally be your business logo or a professional brand-related image.
It is wise to choose an username that is easy to remember and consistent with your other social media handles. Create a bio that clearly describes your business. Use your link in the bio for landing users to a homepage, some special promotion, or an aggregator.
Furthermore, use Instagram’s utility of Highlights to make important stories easily accessible- this can include products, customer testimonials, or going behind the scenes. Your content plan should define your brand voice and aesthetics, thus making your feed cohesive and appealing.
How to Use Instagram?
A good content strategy that resonates with your brand and audience can include high-quality images, interesting videos, and posts about products or services. To make the posts more engaging and dynamic, you must use Instagram Stories and Reels, which typically have a better engagement rate than standard posts. Regular posting is the key to visibility, but appropriate hashtags are an added value that makes it more likely to find the posted content.
Engage with your followers because it is key to any brand’s success on social networking sites. Respond to comments and direct messages in a timely manner. Engage the user through interactive features in Stories such as polls and questions. Engage influencers and brand ambassadors to reach wider audiences.
Make use of the advertising option available on Instagram to target certain demographics and send traffic to your website or online store. A consistently engaging, providing value, and establishing a community through your brand could lead you to your success goals on Instagram.
How to Upload, Edit, and Post an Image to Instagram
- Open the Instagram App
- Start a New Post
- Click on the + icon at the bottom center of the screen
- Choose Post from the options if prompted
- Choose an Image from your gallery or folder
- You can select multiple images if you want to upload a carousel
- Click Next in the top right corner
- Edit the Image
- Swipe through the filters at the bottom and tap on one to apply it
- Click on Edit to manually adjust settings like brightness, contrast, saturation, etc
- Add a Caption and Other Details
- Add Hashtags
- Add Location by choosing ADD LOCATION tag
- Click on Share to upload the image
How to Upload an Image or Video to Your Stories
- Open the Instagram Application
- Click on the Your Story icon at the top of your feed or swipe right to open the camera
- Select or Capture Media
- For a new photo or video, click the shutter button
- For uploading an existing photo or video, swipe up or click on the gallery icon to select from your phone’s gallery
- Edit Your Story
- Add text, stickers, filters, or draw on your image or video using the editing tools
- Share Your Story
How to Follow People on Instagram
- Launch the instagram application
- Search for the Person in search bar you want to follow
- Select the Profile from the search result
- Click on the the Follow Button
- You will need to wait for the account owner to approve your request
- After following someone’s account, Instagram will suggest other accounts you might be interested in
- You can click Follow next to any of these suggestions
Why Must You Choose Sociomacy To Manage Your Instagram Marketing?
Focusing on your core business and at the same time creating and managing instagram for business can be overwhelming. While outsourcing instagram marketing services can help you save time and concentrate on other activities that are primary for your business. We at Sociomacy can help you get better results with our proven strategies. We guarantee higher ROI as compared to managing social media marketing campaigns in-house.
Sociomacy provides Instagram marketing service that boosts your business revenue and helps engage your targeted audience. Our experts unlock your digital growth with customized Meta business advertising strategies. Our team that can bring your brand to the forefront of social media.
We create innovative campaigns to attract more potential users to your business. We are also extremely skilful in designing visually appealing and impactful photos, videos and graphics that can help your brand outrank your competition on various social media platforms.
Fill up the form or get-in-touch with us to explore how our services can help your business shine throughout various online platforms!
