Instagram is now focusing on showing itself as a potential hub for a small business like it did for the success of the big brands. The vast visual network has a plethora of features that are more than capable of growing a budding small business and taking it to the next level. With more than 50% of millennials in the United States are active Instagram users, it could be a huge miss not using the super-power platform. If you are uncertain about promoting your small business using Instagram and converting more leads, join and read further. This article also spots light on some of the new features that Instagram has launched exclusively as a part of its mission towards growing small businesses. 

How To Use Instagram For Small Business

Refine Your Bio

Instagram allows you to add a 150 character bio, which counts a lot to make people click “Follow.”Your business bio must be clear enough to describe what your business is about and must serve as a solid reason to make people follow your profile, like and share your content as well as convert into your potential customers. So, make a wise plan to use the 150 characters and captivate the hearts of many people. You may try using attractive words to describe who you are to score some attention. Further, you can ask people to click and view your website, so ensure that you add your homepage link in the bio.

Master Using Hashtags

Hashtags are a great way to spread the word about your business among more trustworthy followers. Thirty relevant hashtags for each in-feed post and ten hashtags per story is the optimal limit that works best to get your content to appear in the feeds of several people who could buy your product. Don’t worry if you have more right hashtags since you could include them in your comments section while keeping your captions clean and short. Your company name, product name, the location of your company are some of the vital information that you should use in your hashtags because people might use these as search terms to find and engage with content they prefer. Suppose you have created a new account on Instagram. In that case, you are less likely to receive enough engagement when you could get automatic Instagram likes for social proof and ensure sustainable engagement in the long run. Let us head-on with some more tips on using Instagram for small businesses.

Links are the key

Never miss out on adding appropriate links both while creating a bio or uploading a post, as links drive plenty of website traffic. When people go through your Instagram account and find content that interests them. People who find your content interesting are more likely to click a link that you added. But be neat and strategic while placing links for an increased click-through. Though you can add only one link in your bio, Instagram enables you to add messenger links, clickable phone numbers, etc. 

Create Customer Specific Content

Compelling content is the key to convert customers. As your business is unique, so should be your content. Each post in your Instagram post must compel your customers, trigger proper action and develop your brand. Stick on to posting authentic images with real-life subjects instead of generic photos because people give a lot of love when you are real. You need to click creative photographs (with your phone or camera) that also provide a solution to their problem by performing some action that they got to know from your post. As simple as that, post optimized content that your customers will find extremely useful in their daily life. With posting content at regular time intervals, you need to be consistent with your brand voice. Include the same style of captions is one tip that you could follow to remain consistent and develop your brand voice simultaneously. You are undoubtedly on the road to success in selling your products and services on Instagram when you create content that lines up with these three objectives. To be more creative with promoting your small business products, you need to sit back, relax, and think about what real-life objects and natural things best associate with your product. Now, give life to your creative thoughts, and you will meet your new image for your Instagram feed. All set, people will click the link, perform the right action and start buying your product. 

Shoot Dynamic Videos

We all are aware that videos receive a lot of engagement compared to static images. The dynamic nature of videos makes the audience forget themselves until they complete watching the entire video. Reels, IGTV, and stories are new features that Instagram added recently. Small businesses could leverage these new features to gain more potential customers. 

Give A Visual Treat

If you want to appear unique in the sizeable visual platform, you must post high-quality, consistent, and unconventional images. Instagram contains over 50 billion photos till now, which is a huge competition. So one thing is sure, Posting stock images are of no use if you want to establish your presence on Instagram. Take your smartphone or camera and start by snapping awesome pictures with perfect lighting. Make sure that you have some space in your photos to prevent them from appearing as cluttered ones. Keep in mind that subtle images will get more likes than the ones that are filled. Follow a consistent color scheme to maintain the aesthetics so that your audience can easily remember your small business brand in their mind. However, it might not be possible to stick to a single color scheme at all times. You may limit using any three color shades for the posts you upload. When you miss out on consistency in color scheme, people might get confused with other brands, which might lead them to unfollow you. 

Use Small Business Support Sticker

The Covid-19 Pandemic became a severe threat to small businesses from the year 2020, and that is when Instagram gave a helping hand by introducing the Small business sticker feature. This helped both small businesses and established brands because they were able to spend less on social ads. Small business stickers allowed the users to support their favorite small businesses. They can use the small business sticker in their shared Instagram stories to mention and display a preview of the small business Instagram account, increasing small businesses’ visibility. When a user creates a shared Instagram story, it will appear in their stories section and the stories section of their followers. The result is more people discover small businesses and become their potential consumers. 

Wrap

By following the strategies mentioned above and tips, you are sure to transform your small business into a big brand. But keep in mind that you need to keep track of how your posts perform while implementing these strategies and make requisite changes whenever you know there is a lag. Just plunge in and see your small business boom up quickly.