Instagram has fast become one of the most recognisable social media platforms, with user numbers currently in the billions. Naturally over time, this image focused platform has become an incredible marketing tool that allows influencers, entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes promote themselves and their products or services. As an avid Instagram user, I was excited at the prospect of getting to swap my personal account for the Squirrels&Bears business account.

 In the beginning it was daunting. You have many more elements to consider and the added pressure of being the voice of the business. As it is a spectacularly competitive market you need to ensure that voice is heard. There are millions of incredibly successful pages out there and it isn’t hard to get lost in the fray. However, with some time, effort and testing to pin down the formula that works for you, your account will be on track to steadily grow and soon will be doing all the hard work for you. To help you get on track, here are a few things I’ve learned that will be useful in helping you run a business Instagram account:

1.  Engagement is key

When referring to engagement here, what is needed is genuine meaningful attention to your followers, community and other growing businesses that you might be able to learn from. Like and comment on their posts to help make the content more visible on your feed. If you show you’re an attentive follower it will entice others to visit your profile and engage with you. Also, replying to your followers shows that there is a human behind the account that cares about feedback and wants to be in touch with their potential clients and customers. Consistent posting and maintaining high engagement patterns are compatible with the latest update of the Instagram algorithm i.e. Instagram will reward you with visibility if you put in the hard work.

2.  Understand the algorithm

Speaking of algorithms, the Instagram algorithm is updated fairly regularly. The most recent update plays a huge emphasis on relationships and engagement and is programmed to offer you a more personalized feed. In order for your posts to be more visible on your followers’ feeds and explore pages, it is important to research the latest updates. Other key points to note are timeliness and interest, which we expand on further in points 4 and 5. 

3.  Pay attention to hashtags

As you may already know you have 30 hashtags to use in any one post, you can also use up to 30 hashtags in your comments and have up to 15 in your Instagram stories. Now, it can be extremely tempting to use all 30 extremely popular tags but that is not your best route. Sure, you may see a surge in likes and followers the first couple of times you use them, but that won’t last and worse than that you may be reported for using misleading hashtags on your post and that will damage your reputation with potential customers as well as with Instagram. Concentrate instead on using highly specific and relevant hashtags that accurately promote your business or post. An added boost will be to focus on the tags that have only been used anywhere from 10,000 to max 400,000 times. The less it has been used the more it will help your content stay visible in the explore feed for longer.

 For example, if you’re using #beauty in your post it will be lost among the hundreds of millions of other posts with the same tag. Opting instead for the longtail #beautyregime which has been used just over 60k times should give your post a better opportunity to be seen liked and engaged with.

4.  Timing is everything

It is important to monitor the times that you are posting content. As mentioned previously the algorithm favours timeliness and more recent posts are pushed to the top of their feeds. Which means learning the times your target audience will be online is very important for when you post your content. Focusing on the insights that are available to a business account be extremely helpful towards nailing the timings. Head to the Audience section and at the bottom of the page you can see the times your followers are more active.

Run a variation of test timings to see what generates the best results and if you don’t have the resources to do that right now, don’t be afraid to ask your followers to turn on their post notifications. Competitions and giveaways are a great way to do this and that way they will never miss a post regardless of time.

5.  There is value in content 

The possibilities for content posting on Instagram are impressive. Further to your standard image posting (up to 10 in one post), you can post minute long videos, create Instagram stories with fun filters and gifs and then there is the most recent-ish addition - IGTV, which is the equivalent to YouTube. When using these tools, it will be better for your business if you are posting content that stays true to what your brand represents. Try not to get swept up in bandwagon jumping or following trends unless of course, it is relevant. Just remember content is king and let your brand tell a story.

Remember to note what content performs well, Instagram will push the content that users have previously liked or enjoyed in the past. If you’ve had a post that has done exceptionally well, try and recreate certain elements and feel free to repost and recycle. Not everyone will have seen it first time round, just leave plenty of time between postings.

 6.  Build a community, not competition 

Did I mention already that Instagram has users in the billions worldwide? Because it does. So, it is safe to say your business will not be the only one of its kind. Of course we all strive to make our businesses unique in a special way to separate ourselves from the competition. However, I believe businesses, especially those just starting out, should be looking to build a community around what they do rather than actively trying to beat out others like it. Reach out to your fellow SME’s, share tips and help one another where possible. Now more than ever this is extremely important, we need to stick together and build each other up.  

7.  Experiment 

Last but not least don’t be afraid to experiment with your page. If you are a young business, now is the time to try new things and find out what works for you. Everyone’s formula is different and the only way you will learn how best to promote your business on Instagram is through trial and error and remember to have fun with it. When you are building a brand people respond to storytelling, relatability and more recently, flaws. Your followers appreciate that everyone has their ups and downs so don’t hesitate to share them too.

Keep in mind that famous quote, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results”, and the writing tip “kill your darlings’, you have to let go of things that just aren’t working. Adapt and pivot where necessary, there will be other ideas.