With over 300 million users, Instagram has become a vital resource for businesses to grow brand awareness and connect with clients. Instagram can be an especially valuable tool for visual businesses, such as retail stores, photographers, and chefs. Despite the many advantages Instagram offers, there are still many business owners who don’t utilize this social channel to its full potential. To make sure you get the most out of your Instagram account, avoid making these mistakes.
Don’t make your Instagram account private.
While privacy is important, especially for personal social media accounts, a private business social media account defeats the purpose. To get exposure and reach potential new clients, your account needs to be public. Public accounts are not only more visible in searches, but they can also be suggested to other users by Instagram. Only followers can see the content on private Instagram accounts. Hidden content can deter users from following your business. To encourage new followers, make your Instagram account public, open, and friendly.
Don’t leave your profile incomplete.
Just as a private Instagram account can deter new followers, so can an incomplete profile. If who you are and what you do aren’t clear, people may not bother to follow you. A profile that lacks a profile picture and short bio is less likely to obtain new followers than an account that has a complete profile. Social media is all about making personal connections with other people and businesses. An incomplete profile is anything but personable. Upload a headshot or company logo and provide a short bio that gives a company description and welcomes new followers.
Don’t bore your followers.
Content is a key factor when it comes to acquiring and keeping new Instagram fans. In terms of frequency, post often enough to stay top of mind but not so often that you begin to annoy your followers. Avoid posting back to back, which will flood your followers’ feeds and most likely result in you loosing followers. If you would like to post multiple times per day, make sure to space the posts out throughout the day. Keep your posts fresh, interesting, and relative to your business. Mix it up to provide your followers with a variety of photos, including products and behind-the-scenes shots. Don’t forget to utilize Instagram’s video feature. You can say a lot about your brand in only 15 seconds.
Don’t ignore your followers.
Instagram is a social network, so your business account needs to be social. Aside from posting on your own account, you should be interacting with other users. Engage by writing comments and liking posts. To encourage interaction with clients who actively use Instagram, always respond when your business is mentioned in an Instagram post. Repost any photos from clients that include your products or services and give that client a shout out. Make sure to follow other users. While you may not want to follow every one of your followers, you do need to follow some relative accounts and clients. Should you choose not to follow many (or any) other users, people will be hesitant to follow you.
To grow a successful Instagram account for your business, focus on being personable and social. Brand awareness will come naturally if you share quality content and frequently interact with your clients and other Instagram users.
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