Wondering what all the fuss is about with Instagram business profiles?
Or are you terrified of switching because of the drop of engagement rumours? In today’s post, you’re going to learn cold hard facts about why you need to make the switch if you’re a brand or an influencer.
Inside this guide, you’ll find everything you need to know about Instagram business profiles, including:
• The pros and cons of an Instagram Business account, including auto posting
• How to optimise your profile to boost sales and engagement
• Step-by-step guide on how to switch from a personal to a business or creator account
Let’s dive in!
The pros of switching to an Instagram Business Profile
You can take advantage of auto posting!
Yep, it’s official — you can now auto post your Instagram grid posts using Plann — BUT, you must have an Instagram Business Account. Auto post is not currently supported by Instagram’s API for creator or Personal accounts). This is definitely one feature worth making the switch for, because auto posting allows you to batch ahead your content and put it on auto post. You just schedule ahead your content and bam, it goes up without you having to manually post it! This allows you to show up consistently on socials, even when you’re on vacation, out of internet service or just taking a nap!
Learn more about setting up auto posting on Plann.
It’s Raining Analytics!
The secret ingredient of social media success is analytics. You need to take a deep dive into your numbers once a week or monthly to find out what’s working and what’s a dud.
With an Instagram Business Profile, you can tap into a new superpower: built-in analytics that don’t cost you a cent!
While the Insights tab is not as in-depth as Plann’s, you can see:
• When your followers are online (including days of the week and times).
• Number of impressions saves and shares for your feed posts.
• Number of interactions on your account (profile visits, website clicks etc).
You Can Tell People to Directly Click a Link
Instead of telling your followers to tap the link in your bio, you can now use the ‘link sticker’ to direct them to your:
• Latest blog post
• Newest offer or sale
• Email opt-in page
• Get paid to share a brand’s link and promote it in your Stories.
Read More: How to Add Instagram Story Links (and get click-throughs!)
Take Advantage of Instagram Ads
Does that 10k follower goal seem like a mountain you’ll never conquer? Instagram Ads is the solution. You can boost a post, create an offer or promote your account to drive click-throughs and follows. With a solid Instagram marketing plan in place, you can quickly generate leads, boost conversions and hit that 10,000 goal.
Read More: Instagram Sponsored Ads: 11 Tips for Amazing Click Rates
Drive More Sales With Shoppable Posts
One of the biggest perks with an Instagram Business profile is shoppable posts. It’s a feature that’s only available to brands and lets you turn an ordinary post into a shoppable feed. It opens you up to earning money without having to cross your fingers and hope people will click the link in your bio. Shoppable posts allow users to buy your product or service without leaving the app, making it a seamless experience that encourages conversions. You can also create a shoppable tab on your Instagram feed, or tag your products in Reels!
With 46% of users purchasing a product after seeing it in their Instagram feed – it’s a feature that can help you increase sales in a few minutes.
Add a Contact Button to Your Profile
Do you know what’s annoying?
Having to Google or scroll through a website trying to find their contact information. It’s such a time waster. Plus, you’ll probably get distracted by an internet cat along the way and forget your Googling mission for the next hour or two.
With a business account, you can add a contact button that displays your:
• Email address
• Telephone number
• Location
Disadvantages of Switching to a Business Account
It *Might* Hurt Your Engagement
There’s a rumour on Instagram that if you switch from a personal to a business account, your engagement will tank. Why?
The word on the street is that since Instagram sold its soul to Facebook, it’s becoming a pay-to-play platform. Instagram makes its money from ads, so it makes sense that they would want to force businesses to pay for ads to boost their engagement. However, there is no proof that Instagram’s algorithm punishes business accounts.
Plus, the advantages kinda outweigh this one rumoured disadvantage, if you ask us!
How to Optimise Your Business Instagram Account to Boost Sales and Engagement
Step 1: Upload an On-Brand High-Quality Profile Picture
You want to pick a photo that makes your brand instantly recognisable. It should stand out from the crowd, show people what you’re all about and use your brand colours (but this is optional).
Next, you want to make sure you’re using the same photo across all your channels. It helps with consistency and makes it easier for people to recall your brand.
Not sure what size you need to avoid pixelation?
Crop your photo to 180×180 px. The exact size is 110 x 100px, but going a bit bigger means your picture won’t distort when people view your profile on a desktop or tablet.
Step 2: Use a Keyword With Your Name
Instagram is a search engine. While it’s not as robust as Google, you can still take advantage of its SEO to boost your visibility and attract new followers.
For example, if you’re a vegan travel influencer, you can write the following in your name section:
Ella | Vegan + Travel
When someone searches “vegan” on the app, your profile will pop up in the search results.
Step 3: Add More Keywords in Your Instagram Bio
You can add more keywords in the bio section of your profile. It’s a great place to add more related phrases to your brand.
For example, if you’re a business coach for influencers, you could write a bio like:
• I teach you how to become an influencer.
• Learn how to monetise your personal brand
You can also take advantage of hashtags in your bio. It’s a new feature that Instagram has rolled out, and it’s a fantastic way to promote your branded hashtag.
Step 4: Use an Enticing Call-to-Action Before Your Link
While it’s super easy to paste the link to your website and tap save – it’s not going to convert. Use the power of your one and only link to convert those social media lurkers into paying customers.
The best way to get people into your marketing funnel is to attract them with an enticing call-to-action.
For example, you can promote:
• Your latest blog post with a CTA before the link that reads: “Latest tips for finding remote work online“.
• Your latest course offer with a CTA like: “Master IG & get 1,000 followers in 30 days“.
• A CTA for your opt-in freebie that reads: “Sign up & learn how to unblock your limiting beliefs.“
Step 5: Use Stickers in Your Instagram Stories
Struggling with sales during the COVID19 lockdown? Instagram rolled out new features to help businesses make more sales during the 2020 lockdown.
If you’re in the U.S. or Canada, you can access new stickers that let your followers:
• Buy gift cards
• Order food online
• Donate to your fundraiser
How to Switch to an Instagram Business Account
Switching from a personal to business account takes less than 60 seconds. Here’s how to do it while you wait for the kettle to boil:
Step 1: Log into Instagram on your phone
Navigate to your profile and tap on the hamburger menu in the top right corner. Next, tap on Settings and select Account.
Step 2: Switch to a business account
In the account settings, scroll down until you see a blue call-to-action that says “Switch to Business Account” or “Switch to Creator Account“.
The Creator Account is for influencers or public figures. A business account is best for brands or businesses that sell a product or service.
The tools around the different accounts are slightly different. For example, a business account can create shoppable posts, and an influencer can tag the products they’re recommending to their audience.
Step 3: Connect your Facebook Page
Save time by seamlessly sharing your Instagram posts and Stories to your personal Facebook timeline or Facebook Page.
Tip: You must have admin access to the page!
Read More: How to Link Instagram to Facebook: Cross-Posting Made Easy
Start Plann’ing Your Instagram Content
Now that you’ve made the switch to a business account, it’s time to start planning your content!
Plann is an intuitive content calendar that helps you fine-tune your Instagram strategy. Besides scheduling out your content for the month, you’ll get access to juicy analytics, like what colour palette gets more engagement.
So what are you waiting for? Get Plann’ing!
