In the world of social media marketing, Instagram plays a huge role. There are now 1 BILLION active users on Instagram!
You need to take advantage of this! Also, let's make sure you have your Instagram profile optimized to help you gain a following.
Below are a few tips to help you update your profile and get some Instagram love! But first, make sure you have a business Instagram account. If you are a business using a personal account, go ahead and convert it to a business account. I'll be here when you get back! ;)
Ok...go grab your smartphone, ipad, computer, or whatever your FAV device is and grab a notebook to take some notes.
Now, let's get started!
Your Profile
I took a screen shot of my profile so you could follow along with each segment! I thought that might be more helpful!
1. The Title and Subtitle
The title should be what you do, NOT your Name! When people view your profile, you want them to know what you do immediately.
Also, your tag should be your name or name of your company.
2. The Description
The description should be a brief statement about you and what sets you apart from your competition. It should also state what you can do for your potential client…what’s a feature or benefit they get, what's in it for them! To make a list rather than scentences, type in a text app then copy and paste.
You can also add a relevant hashtag to your profile.
3. Business Info
Don’t forget to add your website. When followers want to know more about you they can easily click here.
I like to www.linktree.com. It is a free service that allows you to link multiple url’s…ie…different pages on your website, different social media accounts, your blog or your shop. If you upgrade to pro...only $6, you actually get all kinds of neat tools like analytics and a subscribe to email list option. As of now, I have the free service, but I plan on upgrading soon!
Also, please include your location. ESPECIALLY if your are a local business. If you’re an online business, sometimes people like to know where you’re based out of!
4. Highlights
This is where you can save your stories into topics. If someone wants to know more about Me they may click on the “my life” icon. Those would be stories that I post about me, my family, my life.
*First create a highlight by clicking the +
*Then once you post a story, add to the highlight not the bottom right of the story.
*You can also add a design element by creating the icons and then add to stories…once in stories assign them to a highlight!
Check out THIS blog post to get step by step instructions to create AND add covers for your highlights stories!
Also, you should definitely be using stories! More people are following you on stories than in your feed! So use stories to tell us about yourself and your life, but also use stories to promote what's in your feed!
**BONUS!!!**
Hashtags
Just wanted to give you guys a quick lesson in hashtags!
A hashtags is a form of metadata tag that is used for social media allowing users to apply dynamic user generated tagging, which makes it easy for others to find messages with a specific theme or content. Think of them as keywords for social media.
As a consumer, if I wanted to find a bakery in Bakersfield,CA I might search for #bakersfieldbakery on Instagram. That would pull up all bakeries that have used that hashtag.
So as a business you want to use all the relevant hashtags for your business. You can use up to 30 and I would recommend to use all 30! I’m providing a list below of some relevant hashtags for businesses.
If you need ideas for your specific industry, you can simple google it or even go to Pinterest. There are many resources out there for ya!
For more tips on how to continually optimize your Instagram I suggest Later. I love their platform and I gain so much knowledge from being on their mailing list!
Ok..now go out there and optimize your Instagram profile!!
And don't forget to grab your free tips to gain exposure for your business!!
