Wondering if you really need Instagram for a business? Do you know that with the advent of digital globalization, a lot of businesses, information, and associations have been taken to digital platforms? In this age where everyone has a phone and wishes to make transactions online, every business should be taken online to provide goods and services to people online. As a business owner, you look for platforms where people are always present and able to carry out transactions.

Instagram is a well known social media platform that can serve as an important marketing tool for your business. Instagram has made business easy by providing a business account platform. Here, one can create an account on Instagram for a business by first creating a personal account and converting it. One can take advantage and get the most out of the app by using high-quality pictures as well as making use of hashtags appropriately. In this article, I will show you how to create an Instagram account for a business; but before we delve into that, you need to know certain reasons why your business needs to be on this platform and also the benefits that you will derive from putting your business upon the platform.

Why You Need Instagram for a Business

1. A lot of People Make use of the Instagram App.

Instagram boasts of over one billion active users on the app. And every marketer should exploit that amount of audience by advertising their market there and creating an account on the app.

2. You Can Make Money Directly from the App Through Shoppable Posts.

It makes it easy for you to tag and shop your items straight from your normal posts. This feature is only available to profiles that use Instagram for a business. Personal accounts do not have this feature. Choose photos you would like to feature, and tag about five (5) products per picture. You can add filters if you deem it fit.

3. Instagram hashtags help increase your visibility on Instagram.

4. You should use Instagram for a business because it helps you gain access to promoted posts as well as Instagram ads. It provides you with the necessary tools you can use to grow your reach and your engagement.

5. You can track your business performance using insights.

6. You can grow your reach using promoted posts and Instagram ads

7. You can post your links to your stories.

Instagram, in 2017 made available to users with up to ten thousand followers the opportunity to post their links on their stories. This feature can help you drive traffic, increase your email list as well as sell your products to your target audience.

8. You can take advantage of Instagram features to promote your business.

How to Convert Your Account From Private to A Business Account On Instagram

Converting your private account on Instagram to business is simple.

• Tap on three horizontal dashes at the right end of your profile

• Go to settings

• Tap on ‘Account’

• Then you tap on the switch to ‘professional account’

• You’ll see ‘get professional tools’ tap continue

• Select the category which your business falls under. For example, if you’re into fashion and designing, your category should be clothing (brand)

• Then switch by tapping DONE to confirm
• Tap on Business

• Tap Next
• Fill in your business details here. Your email, phone number and contact address.

• You can choose to display your contact info or not. When you’re done there, tap on next.
• This step is not compulsory. If you want your Instagram business account linked to Facebook, this step is for you. Linking your Instagram account to your Facebook helps you gain more visibility online.
• Tap X, at the right end of your profile.

With Instagram business, you can monitor the amount of engagement you get on your page through the insight feature. Here, you can see if your page is gaining more visibility or not and how much visibility it gets. This, therefore, helps you work even harder to get more people to visit your page. You can do this through Instagram promotions. You can also discover professional tools on Instagram which can help your business.

After switching to a business account, you can go ahead to edit your profile to what best suits your business. Your business name, bio etcetera. You can choose to hide or display that your account is a business one. Instagram makes the option available to you. You can access that under Profile Display.

SETTING UP YOUR INSTAGRAM PAGE

After creating your Instagram for a business, you will need to ensure that people visit your page. To attract people to your page, you need something enticing. Your profile is the first thing a potential client comes in contact with. It’s only reasonable for you to leave a good impression.

1. Your profile photo matters a lot. Make use of your business logo, it makes your business identifiable.

2. Your bio should be well-crafted. It shouldn’t be shabby and confusing. It should have a distinct description of your business.

3. Display your shop Url on your bio to get visitors access to what you sell.

See Also: How to Disable Your Instagram Account and Keep Your Profile Hidden Until You Reactivate it

How to Promote Your Products on Instagram

Now you have gotten an account on Instagram, you might want to grow your audience and increase the visibility of your business. This is how to do it.

Make use of Ad tools on your profile. Instagram chooses one of your posts that you can promote, you can change it to whichever post you please.

To boost your post, Instagram will ask you what goal you want to achieve on that post. You have three options there; more profile visits, more website visits and more messages.

Choose the result you will prefer from the ad.

Instagram provides options for you if you would like to create a special as for your business. If your promotion is based on credit loan, political strategies, employment or housing.

Then you have the Automatic option where your promotion is targeted at your followers.

The third option is to create your own target people. Under this option, you select the audience’s name, location, interests, age bracket and gender.

You proceed to set a duration to your ad. And add a payment method to your promotion. You can start small to track how efficient it is. From time to time view the result of the promotion to see how far you have gone and how much audience your post reached.