Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Flipboard 0 If you’re planning on using Instagram to help your business, you need to be making the most of Instagram for Business by creating a Business profile. Simply having a profile isn’t enough, however, there are over 25 million business profiles on Instagram already. You need to make sure that your profile leaves a positive impression and shows users exactly what you’re about with just a glance at is. The volume of business profiles already out there shouldn’t be off-putting – it shows that Instagram is a rapidly expanding marketing platform with proven results for many marketers. This blog will tell you where to start to make sure that you’re optimising your Business profile to attract the people necessary to get the best results for your brand. DON’T FORGET THE BASICS Initial setup of your profile may seem incredibly simple but there are some things to consider right from the beginning. Here’s what: Have a quality profile picture that reflects your brand This is one of the first things a person is going to see. You need to make sure that your profile picture is related to your branding, whether this is a lifestyle picture or some form of creative – your brand logo is always a safe option. Make sure that whatever you use the image is high quality across all devices. Instagram’s mobile profile image dimensions are 110×100 pixels but are larger on a desktop. We recommend you upload a larger image which Instagram will automatically size down for you on mobile. It should go without saying that a pixelated image is a big no. Get your name right Make sure your username reflects what your business is. It should also include your actual business name so that people can find you. Not only this, but consistency adds legitimacy. Whilst it’s important to make it clear what the name of your business (or you) is, you should use relevant keywords or locations in your name to make it easier for people to search for you. Remember, your name and username are the only fields that Instagram considers in search queries! GET YOUR BIO RIGHT Once you’ve created your Business profile you need to create a bio. You need to make sure that your bio is snappy and relevant as this is how you attract people to follow you. People spend less than a second looking at your bio and first impressions count. Keep it snappy It needs to quickly and clearly explain what you’re all about so that you gain as many relevant followers as possible. Depending on your business-type and branding you may want to make it quirky or add some humour. Use emojis Pixaline / Pixabay Whether this is to break up your text or draw attention to a feature of your business, you should always use emojis in your bio. Be careful to not overdo it though and detract from what you’re trying to convey. You can use them to draw attention to a certain phrase or a bit like bullet points at the start of each new line (more on line spaces later). Keywords Include keywords so that anyone scanning your bio can easily tell if your brand is relevant to them and whether or not they want to start following. Look at the bios of people similar to you to get ideas on what to include, but make sure you draw on your key features and what sets you apart from everyone else to achieve maximum impact. Include keywords that are core to your brand and ones that are important to your target audience. Links You can only have one clickable link on your Instagram profile (which has to be placed in the bio) so it’s important you make your link is worth it. For e-commerce stores, we recommend that you use it to take people to a promotion or product page. Your link should be at the bottom of your bio. Above it should be a call-to-action surrounded by emojis to draw attention and encourage clicks. Most people opt for some sort of arrow down emoji. However you decide to add a link to your bio, what’s most important is that you do have one to somewhere on your website. Branded hashtags irfanahmad / Pixabay Including branded hashtags (such as campaign tags) to your bio is a great way to increase engagement and to encourage your followers to get posting with it. Bio hashtags are clickable on the web, but not on the mobile app. Email It’s becoming more popular for people to include email addresses in their bio. This is optional, but for businesses that receive a lot of messages through DM, this could move some of the volume of messages back to email, making it easier to manage. Line breaks Make your bio aesthetically pleasing by adding line breaks. This makes the info you place on your bio easier to digest. Line breaks don’t appear on desktop, but points can be separated by emojis instead. Add some personality Add some personality to your bio by using custom fonts (paste them in), a quote or something that inspires you. The Textizer app is great for accessing a wide range of fonts that can be used on Instagram. Include your location and opening hours If you’re a physical store then it can be a good idea to include your shop address and open hours, particularly if you’re running a promotion that could increase footfall. Use action buttons Once you create a Business profile you have the option to add action buttons to your page. This enables you to connect your profile with other online services such as Eventbrite so that customers can place orders without leaving your Instagram profile. IN SUMMARY By implementing each of these steps you should be well on your way to setting up a great Instagram Business profile. To gain your desired followers be sure to post regularly and use hashtags relevant to you as much as possible. Twitter Tweet Facebook Share Email This article was written for Business 2 Community by Jay Leonard.Learn how to publish your content on B2C Join our Telegram channel to stay up to date on breaking news coverage Author: Jay Leonard Jay is a UK-based cryptocurrency expert, specialising in fundamental analysis and medium to long term investments. Jay has a great deal of hands-on experience in analysing financial markets and performing technical analysis. Jay is currently focusing on the institutional adoption of cryptocurrency and what it means for the future of … View full profile ›More by this author:Top Trending Meme Coins: ELON, HOGE, SAMO, TAMA, MARVIN, BABYDOGE, MONAHotbit Exchange Forced to Suspend Service As it’s Under Criminal InvestigationCameo CEO Steven Galanis Wallet Hacked – $231k Worth of NFTs Stolen