The reputation of Instagram has grown very quickly – it’s that social media network you post pictures from your vacation, or of your plate while dining at an awesome restaurant, right? It is this stigma of these images and hotspot check-in photos that are associated with the platform that at one point even gave birth to an entirely new job – the Instagram influencer.

However, Instagram is more than what we described above. Over 2 million businesses are currently active on the social media platform, not to mention it has well over 1 billion active users – offering a large pool of potential customers. So, do you want to leverage the marketing power of Instagram? Great! Here’s how to do it.

1. Setting up an Account

First, you’ll need an Instagram business account, not a personal one. A business account has more options for marketing and it gathers a lot of metrics on how many people see your posts and ads.

You can create an Instagram business account one of two ways:

  • Go to your Facebook business page and create an Instagram business account there (the two pages will then be linked and you can create ads that will run on both accounts at the same time)
  • Set up a new account via Instagram.com and follow the easy-to-follow instructions. If you currently have a personal account, simply go to the Settings page to click on the “Switch to business profile” option

2. Finessing the Account

Next, you have to add a profile picture. The Instagram icon is round, so consider that when creating your image file. The easiest fix here is to make your logo your profile picture to increase brand awareness. Add some information about your business in the description – one sentence about you and your website. Remember, people usually use Instagram on their phones, so the less text the better.

3. Creating a Strategy for Promotion

Great, so you have the account, but how do you get people to notice you? Well, if you’re already active on Facebook you can share the news with your followers. Try to entice them a bit – tell them why they should follow you on Instagram, such as offering exclusive behind the scenes footage or new content that’s interesting to them.

Your marketing strategy on Instagram should be focused on visually appealing photos and videos, while also trying to convey something extra to your followers. If you don’t have them already, it’s time to invest in a professional photoshoot that puts your business in the best possible light, whether it’s products or services. When you have the materials, you can run ads directly on Instagram and grow your following this way.

4. Over to You

That’s the gist of it, but there are of course a lot of different layers to Instagram marketing. If you’re curious to find out more and get started, we can certainly help.

Get in touch with the Instagram experts at Sprout Media Lab right now and we’ll help you create a great Insta Marketing strategy for your business.  Or, call us at (800) 617-6975 to speak with an Instagram Marketing Pro now!