Instagram for beginners

Instagram is a visual platform emphasising visual content. It has grown rapidly over the years, giving businesses access to customers and opening up opportunities that may not have been available to them had Instagram’s influence not been present.

Like all social platforms, updates are happening constantly. Over the years Instagram has developed through the introduction of Reels, messaging functions, and more. Amidst all the changes, knowing to use it can be a minefield.

If you are interested in getting an Instagram account or have one already but are not completely sure on your next steps, I got you covered—I have broken down the different parts of Instagram and how to best use the platform for your business.

Creating an account

• Create a handle that isn’t too long and represents what you are talking about within your niche. Keep it as close to your brand name as you can
• In your bio include your location, your job title, what your business is and what services you provide
• Add a Link Tree to your bio, this way you can draw your audience to several links instead of just one

Content

Now you’ve got your account set up, what do you post? Your posts should be a mix of the following:

Reels

Short-form videos on Instagram, these can be created inside the app itself along with trending music and templates. Ideas for Reels for your business could be a day in the life of one of your staff, how-to guides, or top tips from your industry. Your reels should be a minimum of 30 seconds and no longer than two minutes, just so your views don’t drop.

Graphic

A branded graphic is a piece of visual content with your branding colours and logo included, create something simple so you can interchange the info on it as and when you need it. Graphics can be used for FAQs, testimonials, and carousels. Carousels are a series of images that provide your audience with information.

Stories

A feature that allows you to share videos and images for 24 hours. This is great for businesses to promote or highlight their services, drive engagement and strengthen their identity.

Top tips for posting:

• Use your branding colours, font, and tone of voice for reels, graphics and stories so everything is consistent across all your other socials and your audience can recognise your content
• Post a minimum of three times a week and a maximum of five, which includes the weekend
• Where you can, edit reels inside Instagram as this is algorithm friendly. But for longer form content over a minute, I would use an external editing app such as CapCut
• Schedule your content ahead of time so you don’t forget. You can do this on Instagram or through a free platform such as Buffer
• Use trending sounds. Music choices for Instagram differ depending on what you list your business as. If you want better music choices, don’t list the industry

Engagement, copy and hashtags

Instagram is a social platform, so it is important that you are interacting with other accounts as much as you are posting on your own. This will increase your own engagement rates.

• Carry out engagement regularly. This means liking, commenting, and following relevant people and pages. You should aim to do this for a minimum of 15 minutes a day
• Search for hashtags in the search bar and see what is trending. Use a maximum of 10 hashtags – any more and Instagram can sometimes see it as spamming
• Make sure your copy has a beginning, middle and end with a clear CTA (call to action) on what you want them to do next
• Check your analytics to learn what your followers like to see, the best time to post and understand what content gets you leads; this can be done through Instagram or your scheduling platform

Algorithms, trends, and hashtags are constantly changing and adapting, so remember growth takes time and won't happen overnight.

Once you are up and running you will learn more and more about how to drive interaction to your page and what content is capturing the interest of your customers.

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If you need advice on starting up or managing your Instagram or other social platforms, contact us.