10 simple tips to dominate on Instagram for business

Instagram is the place to be for businesses right now. It’s excellent for engagement and a fantastic way to strengthen your image as a brand.

Around 90% of the users on Instagram say they’re following at least one business on the platform. With customers now searching for more relationships with brands online, it’s even more critical to have the right Instagram strategy.

Here are ten ways to dominate Instagram for your business.

1. Use an Instagram growth service

Why spend months trying a range of different Instagram marketing tools when you could kickstart your growth instantly? Growth services are solutions that help you to reach the right people on your social channels faster.

The key to success with the best Instagram growth service is making sure that you choose a legitimate one. You don’t want a company that’s going to send a lot of bots to your account. You need a quality Instagram growth service that considers your business’s needs and connects you with an audience that’s relevant to you.

2. Optimize your bio

Your Instagram bio is essentially the front page of your social profile. It shows your customers or followers everything they need to know about you. Like optimizing a website, you’ll need to use keywords and hashtags to help clients find your business.

Other points to consider for a good Instagram bio include:

• Your profile photo: A professional image or logo is best
• Contact Buttons
• Account name: This should be your business name
• Username: Also, the name of your business (remember not to use spaces)
• Bio link: You can add one link to your bio. Make sure you choose wisely. A link-in-bio tool can help to direct your users to multiple locations.

3. Collaborate with influencers

Influencers are crucial in an Instagram for business strategy. 

Your influencers should always be relevant to your industry and customers, but don’t be afraid to think outside of the box. Even popular animal accounts on Instagram can make a huge difference, like this snap on @Glossier shows:

4. Use analytics for inspiration

With your business account for Instagram, you’ll have access to more features than the standard user – including Instagram Insights. The analytics built in to Instagram can give you an excellent overview of your followers. You can learn where your customers come from and which images get the most likes or comments.

If you need more information about what works for your brand, try third-party analytics software. These tools can show:

• The best time and day to post your content
• What kind of age range or gender do you appeal to most
• Where your customers come from
• Which types of Instagram posts get the most engagement

5. Know when to post

Learning the best times to post on Instagram for business is one of the most valuable things you can do with your analytics. There’s no one-size-fits-all for the best time to post on Instagram; it all depends on your industry and when your customers are active.

First, it ensures that you’re delivering content at just the moment when customers want to see it. Secondly, it ensures that you rank higher in the Instagram Explore pages at the correct times.

Remember, Instagram’s algorithm does consider how recently you posted when deciding what to show to users.

6. Use Instagram ads

You can gain followers on Instagram organically, but it takes time and a lot of patience. Instagram Ads are a powerful tool for reaching the right people on social media. They come with the same fantastic targeting features as you’d get on Facebook, so you can easily find the customers right for you.

Instagram also offers numerous ads to promote everything from images in your Instagram Stories to Instagram videos.

If you’re keen to take advantage of some extra reach with Instagram, don’t underestimate ads.

7. Tap into user generated content

User Generated Content is fantastic for any business. Customers creating content for your brand gives you more credibility and acts as social proof for your organization.

There are plenty of ways that you can collect user-generated content from your audience. One option could be to create a branded #hashtag that your followers can use whenever they publish something linked to your business. For instance, Lush has the #LushCommunity hashtag:

8. Cross-promote your content

Instagram is an excellent channel for social media growth, but it’s not the only one. You can boost your chances of connecting with customers by cross-promoting your content.

Add some of your favorite Instagram snaps to the bottom of your email newsletters to remind people where they can find you on social. Use the natural connection between Facebook and Instagram to instantly post images from Instagram straight to your FB page too.

You could even think about taking videos and snippets from your Instagram stories and promoting them on TikTok and YouTube as well.

9. Run a giveaway

Want tons of engagement and user-generated content at the same time? Try running a giveaway.

To get the best results from your #giveaway, make sure you’re offering something your customers want. Make it easy to enter the competition, and if possible, ask for them to engage for the chance to win.

If you’re looking for a powerful tool to help you run successful giveaways and contests, Gleam is the perfect solution. Gleam is a powerful platform for running Instagram giveaways and contests that can help you boost engagement and generate user-generated content. With Gleam, you can create and run giveaways that are designed to attract your target audience and encourage them to engage with your brand. You can keep track of the number of participants engaged in the competition, and once the competition ends, you easily proceed to choosing the winners.

Follow up with the people who win your products too!

10. Use the right hashtags

Never underestimate the power of hashtags on Instagram.

Whether you’re using branded hashtags specific to your company, or trending tags like #TBT, the right combination will make your content easier to find.

Remember, it’s much harder to rank higher on the Explore page if you’re using the same tags as everyone else. Keep an eye on what works for your brand and remember to mix things up from time to time.

Ready to own Instagram?

With the tips above, you’ll have everything you need for a killer Instagram for business strategy. Now all you need to do is start posting. Remember, keep an eye on your analytics over time, and use what you learn to design an Instagram strategy perfect for your brand.