Image from Shutterstock 

Instagram has evolved well beyond a platform for sharing photos and videos just to update everyone on your fabulous lifestyle. It’s a massive marketing tool for businesses worldwide. 

Over a billion people worldwide use Instagram, and 90% of them follow a business account on the platform. 

Nowadays, businesses and social media marketing are inseparable because of the vast benefits easily obtained from tapping into major communication platforms. 

Since you can join one billion-plus people on Instagram and market your business, many would assume that business success on the app should come relatively easy. However, that is often quite the opposite. 

If you’re not quite sure how to use Instagram for your business, this article is meant for you. We’ll explore Instagram business accounts and why you need them and also give you five tips on using Instagram for your business successfully.

Creating an Instagram Business Account 

Instagram is an efficient marketing tool for your business but, to make the most of it, setting up a business account is necessary. You would need to open a business account on the platform and use various content to market your business. 

Instagram’s personalized business features are only available when you create a business or convert your existing normal account into one. 

Below, we’ll explore how to create an Instagram account for business and show you how to take advantage of all the unique features that come with it.

How to Create an Instagram Business Account

If you’ve ever considered bringing your business to Instagram, you should already know what an Instagram account can do for you. You can either change your existing account to a business one or create one from scratch.

To create a new Instagram account, here’s what to do:

• Download the Instagram mobile app for iOS, Android, or Windows on your smart device
• Tap the Sign up option 
• Fill in your email address. It’s best to use your business email or an email delegated towards your business’s social media accounts. 
• Create a username and password.

That’s all you need to do to create an Instagram account. 

However, to change it to a business profile, use the following steps:

• Open Instagram on your device and tap your profile picture on the bottom right. 
• After a new window opens tap Menu on the top right.
• Select Settings. 
• Select Accounts 
• Tap Switch to Professional Account, then Continue. 
• Choose the business category that best represents your goals.
• Afterward, tap Done. 
• Next, review your business contact info to make any required changes then tap Next.

You also have the choice of logging into Facebook to connect your Facebook Business Page to your Instagram business account. This will help maximize the usage of Instagram’s business tools, while also improving your setup and posting reception on Instagram.

After your business account conversion, follow the steps for setting up your professional account. This usually involves completing your profile, selecting businesses to follow on Instagram, and exploring professional tools such as Ad creation and Insights.

With all these done, you are good to go with your Instagram business account. 

5 Tips for Creating Instagram Business Posts

Now that we’ve gotten how to create a business account out of the way, you need to focus on content. Content for your business isn’t the same as content for regular Instagram accounts. There are standards you must meet and strategies you must imbibe to increase the fortunes of your business on the platform. 

Below, we’ve hashed all that out, with five tips that’ll come in handy when making Instagram posts for your business. 

Use Professional Photos and Videos

Typically, Instagram is a highly visual platform, so the best way to introduce your business is to share visually engaging content. Such content must be high quality and professional. Take photos worthy of your business personality, and edit them to create a cohesive grid on your Instagram. 

To create a professional photo post:

• Tap plus sign at the top of your screen.
• Choose Post
• Select a photo from your camera roll or use the camera icon to take a new photo. 
• Select Next, then choose filters and edit your image.
• Select Next again and then add a caption, location, or tag other accounts

You can also select the option to share your post on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms. Advanced settings give you control of view count visibility and commenting, hence learn to adjust them to suit your posts.

Always Customize Your Content for a Targeted Audience

Image from Shutterstock 

Another tip to live by when creating business posts on Instagram is to always consider your intended audience. After ensuring your posts reflect your brand goals and personality, you must also ensure they have the right quality and that they meet the specific demands of your audience.

You should learn to:

• Optimize your posts to attract the kind of audience valuable to your brand
• Keep them by maintaining posts of the same functionality. 
• When you end up confused, have a look at what popular brands similar to yours are doing to receive constant engagement. 

Always stay true to your niche, and avoid changing your values just to get Instagram likes. For instance, if you run a clothing brand for men, always customize your content by posting fashion posts for men, or tips that can help them get good clothing.

Your customers come first, and your posts should focus on ways to meet their needs effectively. 

Consider Hashtags

Image from Shutterstock 

Hashtags provide an effective route to help users find content on Instagram. They usually contain letters and numbers but are devoid of any non-numeric characters. Hence, symbols like &,$, % are not usable in hashtags. 

You would have to consider hashtags when creating posts for your business account on Instagram because your posts must match popular hashtags that can bring business exposure.

Since users search for hashtags and also use the ones they see on posts, your content must easily match those hashtags to get the kind of engagement you’re looking for.

Follow these practices for using hashtags on your post.

• Use relevant hashtags. Make sure they are relevant to your niche and industry 
• Don’t use them excessively. Too many hashtags can provide the opposite effect 
• Learn to experiment with hashtags before settling on specific ones to use

Create Posts That Help You Engage with Customers 

Image from Instagram 

It’s vital to engage with your audience on Instagram because they are potential customers. Create posts that answer questions and create room for interaction in the comment section. 

You can achieve this by:

• Developing content with captions
• Using photos or videos with polls
• Using the question sticker on Instagram stories

This easily helps you connect with followers by knowing their preferences and responding to their comments. You can promote your business on Instagram by using posts that encourage engagements.

An Instagram Business Account usually comes with dual inbox tabs. They include the Primary and General tabs. They are perfect for organizing conversations and interacting with your audience.

Use Audience Insights to Refine Your Posts

Image from Shutterstock 

Your Instagram business account has a unique insights feature where you can learn more about your audience and their engagement levels.

To view Insights:

• Create an Instagram business account 
• Go to your Instagram profile 
• Open the menu and select Insights to see metrics on your followers and their engagement with your content. 
• You can also select any individual post, and tap View Insights to see metrics for that post.

With this, you'll be able to see how many comments, shares, likes, and saves your posts get. This information will help you optimize your posting, and patterns and also help you create content that better works for your target audience.

Bottom Line

Instagram has a lot to offer businesses worldwide, with several features being rolled out each year to support marketing and engagement. However, how you create Instagram posts for your business, determines how effectively you can optimize Instagram features as a business tool.