Best practices for Instagram: You can set up a business account to make posts and collect data. As your followers grow you can unlock more options and features. What is nice about Instagram is that you can use hashtags to drive people to interact with your business and you can use them to engage with others.
Think of hashtags as directory listings. For instance, PhotoBiz created our own #photobizfaves hashtag more than 2 years ago. Since then more than 15,000 images have been tagged with it. And we love featuring a collection of images featuring #photobizfaves on our blog each month.
Business, but more personal: Instagram rides off of influencer culture, meaning personalities sell a business or service. You’ll see personalities and brands almost become one. You can have an account for your brand but it’s the personal accounts that drive the interesting bits. On Instagram, behind the scenes storytelling makes for engaging posts.
Use Stories: Instagram allows for stories, 24 hours posts that can be sent to all your followers. This was a hit for the platform, so much so other platforms have been copying it. It feels more organic and gives you fun options, polls, and interaction tools. Don’t overlook this functionality of Instagram, it may be even more interesting than just your posts.
Don’t worry about likes: As Instagram changes, the less focused they are on likes. Sure you’ll see someone have thousands of likes, but the interaction/participation with a post is what Instagram values most. Meaning, the more you interact with other posts the more Instagram will give value to you as a user and share your content.
While this can feel time-consuming, it also means you stay connected with potential followers and customers. PhotoBiz even felt the like anxiety. We used to get hundreds of likes per post, but over time the number of likes per post has decreased while our follower count continues to increase heavily. So take a breath. It’ll be okay!
Overall: Instagram is a fun fast way to interact with customers that is personal and fun. The more you participate the more you get out of it.