How to get started on Instagram

Anton Ioffe - September 21st 2020 - 6 minutes read

Do you wish to read the latest gossip from Heidi and Lady Gaga and see where they hang out on holiday?

It's okay if you say yes, it's just us.

What does this question have to do with Instagram?

Instagram is the place for regular people to meet and connect with their favorite celebrities

The fascination with Instagram can best be described this way:

Famous people, and people who are not famous as well, share their lives with you. The photographic snapshots remind you of good old family photo albums. And perhaps for this very reason (in most cases), they are much more authentic than highly polished gala photos.

Unfortunately, many companies do it wrong and equate Instagram with Facebook.

That's why I've created this Instagram guide for you to get started and learn how to market your business on Instagram successfully.

WHY YOU SHOULD USE INSTAGRAM

Instagram is perfect for building a personal and emotional relationship with your fans and customers. A photo from your life may say more about you than a long blog article.

Besides, Instagram is one of the fastest-growing networks, and its popularity is hard to beat at the moment.

There are an estimated 107 million Instagram users in the United States alone.
It gets even better if your target group is slightly younger: 26% of the 14-29-year-olds with above-average incomes use Instagram.

Instagram has addictive potential, perhaps like Facebook many years ago. Once you start, 20 minutes goes by fast. That's what the statistics show.

Instagram users are particularly active when it comes to comments and likes: the interaction rate is 58 times higher than on Facebook.
People under 25 spend an average of more than 32 minutes per day on Instagram.

Instagram belongs to Facebook. For that reason alone, I recommend you use it because you can share your beautiful Instagram snapshots on Facebook with one click.

SETTING UP INSTAGRAM

To sign up, you need to create an account using the mobile app. Open the app and click Register and sign up with your email or Facebook account.

Personal profile or business account?

If you want to use Instagram to promote your business, I recommend the corporate account.

I suggest you do something similar to Facebook. If you are a coach, consultant, or have any other business related to you, then set up the profile in your name with your profile picture.

If you have an online shop, a restaurant, a company with several employees, and you are not the center of your communication as a person - then create a profile with the company name and logo as a profile picture.

Why you should create an Instagram business account:

On the outside, an Instagram business Account looks a little different than a personal profile. However, if you want to use Instagram as a marketing channel for your business, the corporate account offers you some advantages that a private profile does not. Some are:

Contact button

If you have a corporate account on Instagram, your followers can contact you directly by phone or email without visiting your website.

Statistics for analysis

Without statistics, you can only make vague guesses about who your Instagram followers are. Instagram Insights" shows you the impressions, reach, and interactions for each post. So you can see exactly which content is well received by your fans and at what times you get the most likes and comments. This allows you to plan your future posts more precisely. Instagram Insights" also tells you how old your fans are, where they live, and what gender they are. So you can see immediately whether you are addressing your desired customers with your content.

Advertising with call-to-action

With a business account, you can place paid advertisements in a few steps. You can let Instagram determine the target group automatically or define your target group. Afterward, you determine the duration and the budget, and your Instagram ad is ready. Please note that you can only use already posted articles for your ads.

I recommend that you run the ads from the Facebook Ads Manager because you probably already have your target audiences there.

How does the transition from a personal profile to Instagram corporate account work?

Switching from a personal profile to a corporate account takes just a few seconds. Open your Instagram app and click on your profile picture in the lower right corner to open your profile page. Then click on "Settings" in the upper right corner and select "Convert to Business Profile" under Accounts. That's it. Quick, easy, and straightforward.

How to be successful on Instagram

VISUALIZE YOUR MESSAGE AS BEST YOU CAN: Use Instagram to convey your brand, values, personality, and message visually. Think of it as a complement to your other content on your blog, emails, and other networks.

Instagram users are a demanding target group when it comes to visuals. Look out for stunning photos or use the Instagram filters to enhance your snapshots.

Here are a few tips for beautiful pictures.

For God's sake, don't share boring and generic stock photos.
Dull and poorly made graphics with tips that might go over on Facebook are taboo here. Did I tell you: The quality of your pictures is everything?
Be varied: Share photos and graphics or little tips. Unlike other social media platforms, videos on Instagram (at least in the feed) are not quite as successful as pictures.

INSTAGRAM PICTURES:

If you share tips, sayings, and quotes, take a photo or beautiful background and put your quote or saying as text on it.

You can do this with Canva, for example. Here you can upload pictures you find and then add text and graphics.

For perfect graphics:

Create the graphics in your branding so that you are recognized as the author. Use your colors and fonts. In Canva for Work, you can save your branding preferences. It makes it infinitely more accessible.
Put your logo and website on the graphic.
Use short and easy to remember links for your lead magnets or promotions. Put them on your graphics.

INSTAGRAM VIDEOS:

You can record and share videos of up to one minute on Instagram. Here are a few tips:

Can you think of a quick tip that you can share in a minute?
Does your video work without sound? The videos run silently in autoplay. The better it works without music, the more your followers will benefit.
Have fun! Your videos are the best place to share your humor with the world.

INSTAGRAM-STORIES:

Instagram Stories is the new Instagram if you will. Stories are videos that automatically delete themselves after 24 hours. Stories are displayed at the top of the Home screen, so they are very prominent.

You can string together different pictures or videos into a sequence and add all sorts of gimmicks like fonts or stickers if you feel like it.

Every day, 250 million people worldwide enthusiastically use Instagram Stories, and 50% of the companies on Instagram have published a story. It's about time for you, isn't it?

How can you use Instagram Stories for your business?

Announce your webinar or live event. Twenty-four hours in advance is the perfect time to create excitement and fill your event with latecomers.
Let your followers look behind the scenes. Be it in your company or on-site at an event or congress.
Do you want to tell your loyal fans something that nobody else knows?
It's also a good idea to draw attention to your new blog post or podcast episode.

HOW TO GET FOLLOWERS ON INSTAGRAM

Followers come by themselves if you share great content. You should also let the world know that you are now on Instagram. Invite fans from Facebook to follow you on Instagram.

Here is an additional tip:

Link your Instagram profile to Facebook: You can also share your Instagram posts on Facebook. Whether on your profile or your Facebook page. The link makes sense in any case if your Instagram posts are Facebook-compatible from your point of view. If you want to share something more personal on Facebook anyway, just use an Instagram post.

It doesn't make sense to share Instagram posts on Twitter, because the pictures are shown as a link on Twitter and lose their effect.