How to use Instagram for small businesses I the ultimate guide

Instagram is an absolute trending topic among social media, and it’s been around for a while. Whatever your small business is about, on Instagram you will find plenty of useful features to help you promote it, reach new potential customers, and even contact directly with them!

But yes, we know it can be hard to learn how to use Instagram, especially for small businesses. If you want to learn how to make the most of it and take your brand to the stars, sit back, relax, grab a good coffee and keep reading – we bring you the most complete Instagram guide for small businesses!

Why is Instagram the best tool for your business?

During this year, Instagram has had up to one billion users, and over 500 million of them have been active daily. What does this mean? That you have an excellent opportunity right in front of your eyes to promote your products or services and increase your sales!

Instagram is such a visual platform that lets you explore all your creativity, interact with your customers, and even build a loyal community. Apart from this, it’s suitable for any business, from large companies to small corner stores, even though it can sometimes be hard to overcome some challenges for them. 

Being present on this social media platform will make your company relatable and approachable, leaving behind the idea of a faceless and cold corporation. Share some curiosities that may interest your customers, go live from time to time and make Q&A sessions, or even how any of your products are made.

For example, you can share the best eyebrow tips if you own a beauty salon or how to do a proper massage. The possibilities are endless, and we are here to teach you how to grow your small business on Instagram!

Start with the basics: set up your profile

First things first – it’s time to set up your professional profile! Create your Business Instagram account using your corporate email or connect it with your other social media networks, which can help you keep up easily with your customers. Once it’s done, check your privacy settings, and think about a short quote that describes who you are, something captivating to make your potential followers intrigued!

The next step is to set up your username and profile image. Placing a logo can be such a great idea – here at Wepik, you’ll find plenty of designs to get you inspired, so don’t worry about that! Another option is to include a professional photo, that makes your profile pop up. On Instagram, there are other useful options to be considered, as there’s the possibility to place a link directly to your website or even your email so customers can contact you straight away.

Create an Instagram Marketing strategy for your small business

Digital marketing is one of the best tools to grow a business, and Instagram is part of it. This highly visual social media platform dominates the global scene, and knowing how to create an Instagram marketing strategy for small businesses is essential to make it truly successful! It needs to be consistent, so it’s time to think about the logo, tone, and style that will define your brand.

Once you’ve planned this, it’s time to sit down and plan what type of content you want to share with your audience! From Wepik, we offer you lots of creative and original Instagram Posts, Stories, and Reel ideas to keep you inspired, or even design yours from scratch – it couldn’t be easier, right?

Think about the possibility of having a social media calendar, as it will help your publishing strategy and see it at a glance. And let’s keep it secret, but we have an extra tip for you – if you connect your Instagram account to Facebook, you’ll be able to schedule your posts, saving you time!

Make your Instagram Profile look good

You know what they say about first impressions, right? Remember that Instagram is a very visual social media platform, so you must be dressed to impress! Keep reading, as we bring you some useful tips and notes on how to make your Instagram profile attractive.

Posting and sharing content regularly can help you increase your visibility, and having visual consistency can make you stand out from the competition. Make sure to use a defined color palette, fonts, and a logo that embraces your brand’s spirit and makes you identifiable at first glance! Consider creating your brand kit, as this tool will let you have all your visual resources in one place and help you create your content way faster.

Instagram Hashtags to broaden your audience

Knowing what hashtags to use on Instagram for your small business can be the breaking point of your marketing efforts! Using the correct ones will make your posts way more visible and help you reach new potential customers, so think about which ones truly define your content and be as specific as possible. 

But be careful! Exceeding the number of hashtags can even be penalized by the famous Instagram algorithm, as it’s considered spam. According to a post from @creators, an official Instagram account, the ideal number of hashtags would be between 3 and 5.

It’s not an easy task to figure out which are the best Instagram hashtags for small businesses, so here you have some top choices to help you along the way: #smallbusiness, #supportsmallbusiness, #handmade, #supporlocal, #business, #entrepeneur, #shoplocal, and #smallbusinessowner.

How to get clients on Instagram

Finding customers on Instagram, it’s possible? The answer is crystal clear: of course! But you should know that good things take time, so building a loyal community it’s the first step to reaching this goal. The first moves are taken through direct messages or comments, and the way you act towards them and how you show yourself to your audience may determine whether they become future customers – or not.

Be approachable, and share exclusive content with your community – even show a small teaser of your new product to keep them intrigued! Take the time to answer their questions, and personalize your messages. These simple gestures are the clue to helping you convert followers into customers, so let’s get into it!

Geotag all your Posts & Stories

As a small business, focusing your efforts on your local audience can be a great idea, as they’re your main potential customers! Geotag is an effective tool for building engagement as well – if you’re easier to find, your posts or stories will be more seen or reposted and will place your company on the map.

According to a recent survey, Instagram Posts with a tagged location generate a 79% higher engagement, so what are you waiting for to do it? The “Add Location” option displays automatically before you publish your post. And what about Instagram Stories? Just tap on the happy-face icon placed at the top of the screen, click on “Location” among all the stickers, and customize it to your liking!

If you want to be even more unique, we have a little secret to share with you: you can create a custom Instagram location tag! Connect your Instagram account to Facebook, enable the location services, and name it. That will make your business even easier to be found!

Last tips on how to boost Small Businesses on Instagram

We’re arriving at our last station, and you’re almost there to create a successful marketing strategy for your small business on Instagram! You have at your disposal other tools for businesses, such as the option to create paid ads, with which you can address a more specific target or even organize events!

Being a local business, you can consider collaborating with micro-influencers, doing contests, having them review one of your products, or even taking over your account for a day!

Have fun, be consistent, and let your creativity flow. Instagram is an undeniably successful tool today to help any small business, so hopefully, all the tips we’ve given you in this post will help you take your brand to the next level!