This is how your business grows on Instagram

Your profile acts as your digital business card. When you generate interest with a post, reel, story or ad, it is essential that when they click through, they land on a profile that holds their attention. It should be quickly obvious what your organization does and what you post about. Therefore, provide:

A profile picture

Choose your logo for brand recognition. Are you a sole proprietor? Then consider a professional photo of yourself for a personal touch.

A recognizable name

Use the name of your business. If necessary, add a separator (- or |) and then specify your service or service for better findability.

A clear biography

Write a brief description of your organization in your bio. Be clear about what you do, how you help people and why they should follow your account.

A link in your bio

It is not possible to link URLs below an Instagram post. That’s why organizations and creators use that option in their bio. Add a link to your website to your profile. This can be to the homepage, but can also link to another relevant page. Under your posts, for example, write “link in bio.

Highlights

All the stories you have shared can be added to highlights on your profile. This way, someone who is just discovering your profile can immediately find valuable information. Organize your stories by topic or theme, such as: products or services, information about prices or opening hours, behind the scenes and/or information about the team. This way, users know exactly where to go for specific information.

Now that you have created a business account and optimized your profile, it is crucial to determine your strategy for Instagram. After all, a well-thought-out strategy is the foundation for success on this platform.

Formulate your goals

Set clear goals for your organization. What do you want to achieve with your presence on Instagram? Is it about increasing brand awareness? Do you want to offer a look behind the scenes and show what it’s like to work at your organization? What message do you want to convey to your followers? Do you need help with this? Then get in touch with us.

Choose your niche ✅

A niche is simply a group of people with similar interests that you can target with your content. Choosing a clearly defined niche and sticking to it makes it easier for people to follow you because they quickly figure out what kind of content you are sharing. For example: a food blogger targets people interested in healthy eating. A marketing agency may target entrepreneurs who need marketing help and want to gain knowledge in that area. So it’s all about the combination of what you do and what your target audience is looking for.

Know your target audience ♂️

To determine your niche, you need to know exactly who your target audience is (or what part of your audience is on Instagram). Who are they, what do they like, what information are they looking for and how does this target audience want to be addressed? Take the time to develop your strategy before you start posting so you can be focused and create the right content that matches your goals and your target audience. Read more tips on how to create a successful social media strategy.

Come up with posts that are interesting or your target audience or that answer their questions. It is best to work with different “headings” and fill them out monthly. Examples of categories are: inspiration posts, completed projects, customer testimonials, behind-the-scenes videos, frequently asked questions about a product or service or funny memes. Make sure these headings fit your niche and the message you want to convey. Try to plan and schedule your posts in advance in a content calendar for efficient scheduling.

If you post occasionally and then do nothing for a long time, people will quickly forget about you and your posts will be shown less often. This is why it is crucial to be consistent in sharing content. Think about what is feasible for you and what suits your business and target audience. This can range from twice a week to twice a month. Quality is more important than quantity! Instagram is a social platform, so it is essential to not just broadcast. By being active yourself, your account will grow. Engage with your followers and respond to comments under your posts. Also follow other relevant accounts, comment and share interesting content.

Reels are short videos that focus on entertainment. They have a separate section in the app, but are also displayed in the normal feed and in the Instagram Explore option. Thanks to the algorithm, reels are an effective way to be seen by people who don’t follow your account (yet). So it’s smart to invest in video content! A reel doesn’t have to be long. Instead, they are short and powerful videos to inspire or entertain people. Think of a few reels that fit your service or product, and schedule them regularly. Follow accounts that are similar to your business or that talk about your niche, so that you stay up to date with the reels they share and the trends going on right now.

With hashtags, you tell the platform what your post is about, allowing the algorithm to show your post faster to people who may be interested in certain topics or who follow or search for those hashtags. You can use up to 30 hashtags per post, but it is better to use only relevant hashtags. It often works better to use 5-10 relevant hashtags than 30 less relevant hashtags.

The time you post also affects its success. It is best to post when your target audience is active on Instagram. If you have a business account, you can get insight into the statistics. Here you can see exactly what time of day and day of the week your followers are most active. Capitalize on this and experiment with different times and days. Find out when you get a lot of views and interaction. That’s probably a good time to post! You can also use benchmarks to determine the best posting times.

Personality and authenticity are essential to making your content authentic, and this works! Therefore, showcase yourself, your company and any employees on Instagram. Make introductions, share company events and show some “behind the scenes” footage. This helps build trust and good relationships with (potential) customers.