If your business is not already on Instagram, it’s time to ask why. Instagram is one of the most popular online content platforms, and if you don’t have a presence there, do you even business, bro?
Instagram is surprisingly flexible and offers anyone with an existing account the option to change it to an Instagram Business account for free. Doing that gives you access to a whole new part of Instagram:
- Analytics tools (concrete metrics that show how your posts are doing)
- The ability to run and track ads
- Even the ability to sell things directly on the platform
And that’s just the start. To show you why you might be missing out, we will take you through ten reasons to sign up for an Instagram Business Account. If you don’t want to read it all, the TL;DR is that if you’re serious about your business’s internet presence, get onto Instagram/the ‘gram/IG and let its powerful tools help you get your name out there.
To be clear, this is not a sponsored post, so we get nothing for saying this. We just want readers to know what we know: a solid presence on one of the internet’s most popular creative platforms is a fantastic way to boost your business’s profile, earn yourself new customers, and show the world who you are and what you can do.
And because Instagram is so popular with so much of the human population these days, it’s definitely Where You Want To Be. Just don’t be lame (i.e., do Typical Brand Things on it), and you’ll be fine.
On to the reasons!
Instagram Business is Free
South Africans love free stuff (too many of us are either cheap or broke), so the fact that switching your existing account to a Business Account is free should be incentive enough for SA businesses to give it a try. You’ll only incur new costs if you take out ads on the platform (more on that later).
If you don’t have an Instagram account yet, it is super easy to make a new one.
To switch your account to a Business account, do the following:
- Go to your account and tap the hamburger menu in the upper right corner
- Tap “Settings”
- Select “Account”, then “Switch to Professional Account”
- Read the next 4 screens that tell you about the benefits of a Professional Account
- Choose the category that best fits your business.
- Confirm that you want to switch to a Professional Instagram Account
- The next screen asks you to choose between “Creator” and “Business.” Choose “Business.” The “Creator” account is for “influencers” and public figures and does not offer the same tools the Business category does.
Get deeper insights
The Instagram Business dashboard will give you access to detailed analytics about your followers’ demographics, how they engage with your content, and how well your posts are doing. This information will help you better understand your audience and allow you to adjust what you’re putting out to give them more of what the analytics say they want.
Increase your visibility
You’ll get access to the Swipe Up feature in the Stories you post, which will let you include links to external websites and other content. It’s a great way to increase traffic to your website and any landing pages for your campaigns. You run online campaigns, right?
Build credibility
Having a solid online presence is how you confirm to the world that your business is legitimate. A professional-looking Instagram page tells users they can trust you and that what you have to say could be worth their time.
Sell Stuff
You can even sell products directly on Instagram these days with the ability to tag products in your posts and Stories. This gives Instagram users a great way to buy the things you’re selling through the platform.
Targeted Promotion
One of Instagram’s most powerful features is the ability to promote and advertise your goods and services to a specific audience. The platform uses targeting options that only show your ads and sponsored posts to the people you think will be most receptive. It’s much less “spray and pray” and far more “fish in a barrel”.
Unleash your marketing team’s creativity
Instagram is an incredibly visual platform that allows your marketing people to tap into their creativity in new and exciting ways. It’s not exactly the Wild West – there are still rules and etiquette you need to follow – but Instagram certainly does let you push the envelope when it comes to using creative and colourful visuals to promote your products and services.
Stay Competitive
You might not love Instagram in your personal capacity, but even if your competitors aren’t already using it, chances are they will be soon. It will certainly behoove you to get ahead of the curve now instead of playing catch-up later.
Tell your customers how to find you
Since you can include contact information like phone numbers, email addresses, and even physical addresses in your profile when you have an Instagram Business account, it’s a wise idea to do that.
That tells potential customers how to get hold of you in an easy and convenient way. You want customers to have the information they need about you close to hand, and this is a great way to do it.
Advertising can be cheap
Ah, yes, this is probably the reason you were hoping to see. Advertising on Instagram can be cheaper and more effective than TV/newspaper ads or outdoor media, as you can tightly control what you want to spend and who you want to see your content.
Ads in those other media are hit-and-miss (shown to a huge audience, an unknown percentage of which might care about what you have to say). In contrast, Instagram ads can be shown to your ideal audience through comprehensive targeting options. Zuckerberg really wants all of your specific tastes and interests in his databases for just this reason, after all.
There you have it
These are just ten reasons to want to be a part of the ‘gram. There are plenty more, but we believe these lay a solid foundation for our argument that you should get your business involved sooner rather than later.
All that remains is to create fun and eye-catching content and ads that will draw people in for a closer look at you, and wait for the new business to pour in. You still have to do your other work, though.