Instagram is a free photo and video sharing app. Users can communicate with one another by following, being followed, private messaging, and engage by commenting on or liking photos/videos. You can even save the photos for later, on Instagram. Instagram can be used for personal as well as business. It is very important to create an eye-catching Instagram profile to convert visitors into followers. There are many features available on Instagram. We are going to discuss everything one by one. If you want to become an Instagram superstar or build a full-star profile for your brand then this article is for you. At the end of the article, you will be able to create an amazing Instagram profile.
What is Instagram?
As mentioned earlier, Instagram is all about image and video sharing, so everybody’s main purpose is to share and find only the best photos and videos. Every user profile has a “Followers” and “Following” count, which denotes how many people they follow and how many other users are following them. It is like a simplified version of Facebook, with importance on mobile use and visual sharing. You can connect with other users on Instagram just like other social networks, by following them, being followed by them, posting, liking, tagging and private messaging. Instagram has been used mostly by youngsters, celebrities and brands.
Growth of Instagram
Started in 2010, Instagram is a free photo and video sharing platform that was initially granted only on iOS. Though, in a few short years, it became a staple of social media, with Facebook dipping it up for $1 billion in 2012. One of the most prominent recent changes for the platform was ditching app-exclusivity and giving users the option to reach their accounts online. Additionally, the social network constructed smart choices by shifting from a chronological feed to an algorithmic feed, providing some variability in photo and video size. Further crushing it with Instagram Stories. This slew of changes, among many more, all devoted to Instagram passing the 1 billion users per month mark.
What type of audience do we find there?
What defines your growth on Instagram is the number of audiences you have and gain. Instagram is crowded by Millenials, celebrities, brands, influencers, bloggers and Gen-Z. As of November 2019, over 36% of Instagram users were between 25 and 34 years old. The second-largest user group was 18 to 24-year-olds with a 21.6% share. Apart from celebrities, you will also find businessmen like Ratan Tata, celebrities, brands and more.
Who can use Instagram?
The minimum age to sign up for Instagram is 13. You can use Instagram for your personal purposes as well as business purposes. Entrepreneurs can use it to show bit of their personal life, college students use it to share photos and videos, brands can use it to connect with users on personal level, consultants can use it to create a personal brand, bloggers and vloggers can use it to get additional traffic to their blogs and create a loyal fan base, celebrities can use it as a safe way to connect to their followers and influencers use it to keep their audience engaged whilst endorsing other brands.
Why is Instagram important in 2020?
One of the most important reasons marketers use Instagram tools is because it offers a way for brands to engage users easily, drives more sales and increases their total revenue. 83% of people use Instagram to discover new products or services, and 81% of them use Instagram to do research on those products. This paves a way for brands to reach these users resulting in more leads and more customers. Over 36% of B2C brands already consider Instagram to be “very important” or “critical” to their social media marketing. We can expect these conditions to continue to be improving in 2021.
What are the two types of Instagram accounts?
There are two types of Instagram accounts.
- Personal account
The personal account is suitable for just hanging around on Instagram. Users who use Instagram with the sole purpose of entertainment, gaining knowledge of products/services and new trends can use a personal account. You can share images and videos.
2. Business account
Instagram for Business helps you to improve your brand’s presence, it also allows you to connect your Instagram for Business Account with your Facebook Business Page. It offers analytics and the ability to run ads to help you expand. Like a personal account, you can post photos, videos and stories about your company to communicate with new customers and keep the existing ones engaged.
Checklist to complete your Instagram profile in 2020
Here we have compiled a checklist to create an all-star Instagram profile. Please be advised that some of the mentioned features may be available to select profile types only; for instance, adding the CTA button is a part of a business profile.
- Right username
Choosing your Instagram username is a very crucial and challenging task! It will be the first decision you will make when you join Instagram. It’s what will define your account, and it is what people will use to search for you. Instagram usernames can include letters, numbers, periods, and underscores but you might not want to add all of those. Before you decide on your Instagram username, it’s a good idea to check it’s availability on all the other social platforms you want to use to promote your brand.
- An eye-catching profile photo
Creating an eye-catching profile photo is as important as choosing a username. If you are a business on Instagram, you might consider using your logo as your profile picture. This can assist with long-term brand recognition and will make sure that everyone who lands on your Instagram page is quickly introduced to your logo and branding. On the contrary, if your business is personal for instance you could be a photographer, influencer or life coach — you may use a headshot as your Instagram profile picture. You have to make your profile to the perfect size for Instagram. Choose a better background on your profile photo that can add an advantage to your photo.
- Write a delightful and informative bio
Writing a delightful and informative bio is very important. You can add all your skills on your bio and also mention your goal. Unlike other social networks, Instagram is strict on where clickable links can be located. Presently, Instagram only provides users one clickable link on their profile, and it’s the link in your bio. One of the great ways to space out the text in your Instagram bio is by including emojis. Furthermore, adding your branded hashtag in your bio is also a fabulous way to get your followers in the habit of posting with it. Also, make sure you are using relevant keywords that customers use to search.
- Use relevant keywords and add emoji in bio
First impressions on social media are essential, particularly for your business. When an Instagram user views your profile, the first thing they see is your business name, profile photo, and your bio. Your Instagram bio is your opportunity to tell users about your business. But you can’t have a basic, boring bio that won’t get you any love on Instagram. That’s why you need to use emojis on your bio. Emojis not only grasp the attention of users and make your bio more fun, but they can also be used to explain what you do and show users in the right direction.
- Examples of good Instagram bio
This is the perfect example of a good bio
- Examples of bad Instagram bio
This is a perfect example of how your bio should not be
- Include a CTA button
CTA is a button when a user clicks it they can come to your landing page. Add a Call to Action in some of your post captions to let consumers know they can schedule or reserve directly from your Instagram profile. Use Instagram story posts to remind viewers to visit your profile and tap on the action button to make their reservation or order now. Adding a call to action to your Instagram Ads is essential to converting your leads as customers.
Follow steps below to add CTA button
- Go to your business profile on Instagram.
- Choose the edit profile.
- Select Business information > Contact options.
- Tap add the action button.
- Select the action button you want to add to your business profile.
- Tap Submit.
- Identify trending hashtags and use them effectively
Since hashtags are used with an intention to find content, the right hashtags can put you in front of your target audience, even if they haven’t connected with you earlier. Whether it’s your target audience or associate brands, hashtags can clue you in on what people are humming about. You can easily identify trending hashtags by clicking tags. For the sake of targeting more tags without pushing your captions, it’s common for brands to include their hashtags in the first comment of their posts. There are many ways to use hashtags on Instagram like bio, posts, and stories.
Building a perfect Instagram profile is not a difficult thing. At the end of the day, remember to have fun with it and use Instagram to really showcase your business in the best light possible. Let your brand identity shine through and you’ll have a loyal following in no time. But remember, creating a perfect profile is not enough you have to keep posting consistently. You can follow more people and more hashtags for ideas on what to post. You can also consider paid advertisements that can make your brand reach quickly to your potential customers. We hope this article will be helpful.
