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Podcast Show Notes
Just about anybody can set up a personal brand on Instagram these days, but building a memorable brand that is worth following? Now that takes a little more work, so that’s what I want to get into today. How to set up your Instagram profile for your business.
Everyone loves to spend time on the app, use the app but you might not know how to set up your profile to see growth in your business.
So we are going to get into the features that you may not be using yet.
Who is using Instagram?
Instagram has over 1 billion users across the world. So, it is no surprise that many business owners use Instagram with hopes of getting insta-famous.
According to Instagram, over 200 million people visit at least one Instagram Business profile a day?
So yes – you can get your business exposure. In fact, 60% of Instagrammers say that they’ve discovered a new product on Instagram!
Instagram can be an excellent platform for you to reach more of your niche audience and increase brand awareness but to do so, you need a brand profile set up and operating well to grow a following.
According to a recent Instagram survey, 2 in 3 people surveyed (66%) saying Instagram is a place that enables interaction with brands.
Which is wonderful news for you and your business that people are eager to hear from brands they follow.
Six tips to Set Up Your Instagram Brand Profile For Growth
So if you are ready to dig into why you are a small business struggling on Instagram, I’m sharing six tips to Set Up Your Instagram Brand Profile For Growth.
1 – Switch to using a business account for the extra benefits.
Whereas personal profiles are all about the basics, with Instagram business profiles, you get access to a ton of advanced features.
Business profile benefits:
- Get metrics on how your stories and promoted posts perform
- Get Insights into how users interact with your posts and stories
- Show information about your business hours
- Add a business location if needed
- A phone number or e-mail where people can contact you
- You can connect your Instagram profile to a Facebook page
- Promote your Instagram posts as sponsored ads
- Access to a brand partnership label
- You can schedule your posts with programs like Planoly
To switch your account from personal to business:
- Go to your profile screen inside the Instagram App
- Click the menu hamburger icon on the top right
- Go to “settings”
- Then go to “account”
- Choose a “Business Account”
- Connect your account to your Facebook Business Page
2 – Choose the perfect profile picture
If you are a small business with tangible products, I suggest using a professional, high-resolution version of your main logo design as your Instagram profile picture. Be sure to keep the text inside the perfect Instagram profile picture circle so that it is easy to read and looks great!
If you are a personal brand like most of my readers, you want to use a fabulous headshot. Your profile picture headshot doesn’t need to be stuffy and tasteless – show your personality!
Think outside of the box while using colors and photo backdrops that are on-brand for you.
➡ Ep 30: Behind the Brand: Putting Your Face Front And Center
3 – Write a catchy Bio Description and Instagram Name
Your Instagram profile is the main point of interaction with people when introduced to your brand.
It’s much like your website that I discussed in Episode 41 – it’s essential to make sure the first impression communicates effectively and reinforces your brand.
You only have a few seconds, but from your profile bio, a reader should be able to tell whether you can help solve their problem or not.
Also, in your bio include the LINK to where you’d like them to go on your website – many times this is a lead magnet.
➡ EP 44: 5 WAYS TO MAKE SURE YOUR LEAD MAGNET ISN’T A BIG FAIL
While your USERNAME should reflect your personal NAME since it’s one of your profile’s searchable features, you should not overlook your PROFILE NAME.
You want to be sure to put a keyword that relates to your business in your ‘Profile Name’ section.
For example, my username is @kristin.korn, and my profile name is Personal Branding Consultant.
I do this, so those keywords help me show up in personal branding searches on Instagram. And since my name is already searchable inside my username, I don’t need to use it twice.
4 – Consider the visuals you use on your profile
We know Instagram is a highly visual platform, so when creating content and setting up your profile it’s important to keep colors in mind.
It’s only natural that when a post visually grabs our attention, we stop and take a closer look. Colors and different tones affect our mood, decisions, and perception of products and brands.
So you want to make sure you select the right colors that express your brand identity. These brand colors play a part in your profile photo, feed photos and graphics, and highlight album covers.
If you need help determining your brand colors, be sure to listen to Episode 46.
So you want to put together a mood board to tie together the brand style and identity you want to use.
Example mood board to help you with inspiration.
5 – Follow relevant hashtags and profiles
Instagram hashtags work by organizing and categorizing photo and video content. Which means to start appearing in similar profiles and recommendations, you need to use these hashtags in your posts.
But the other part of that is you also need to be present in the already formed hashtag community you’re trying to connect with.
This is where following relevant content on the platform can come in handy.
If you put a hashtag into the Instagram search bar, it gives you the option to “follow” that hashtag just like you would a profile.
You know that your potential audience is already using the app, so you just need to find a way to reach them. Spend some time researching the behavior of your niche audience.
Things to look for include:
- The type of IG profiles they already follow
- The hashtags they follow and use in their captions
- The language they use on post captions and comments
The goal is to place your brand profile in between that content to start building your presence. Since hashtags are used to discover content, the right hashtags can put you in front of your niche audience, even if they haven’t been introduced to your brand before.
6 – Add highlights to your profile
These highlight albums appear right below your profile bio.
If you aren’t using them yet, you miss a big chance to tell readers about your brand. When used correctly, they can capture a reader’s attention and turn them into followers if they like what they see.
Instagram allows you to create Highlight Albums where you can pin (which is another word for save) some of your stories that you’ve shared and keep them on your profile forever. Each album can hold 100 slides.
Instructions for setting up your highlights:
1. Go to your profile and tap Story Highlights below your username and bio.
2. Tap the plus button.
3. Select the stories you want to add to highlights, then tap Next.
4. Tap Edit Cover > Choose a cover photo > Tap Done.
5. Enter a story name for your highlight and click Done.
You can add more photos or videos to your highlight at any time by tapping and holding on the highlight and then tapping Edit Highlight.
Once you have enough stories to feature on your profile, group them, and create inviting Highlights to share with profile visitors.
Instagram Profile: Recap
How To Set Up Your Instagram Brand Profile For Growth:
- Switch to using a business account for the extra benefits.
- Choose the perfect profile picture.
- Write a catchy Bio Description and Instagram Name
- Consider the visuals you use on your profile
- Follow relevant hashtags and profiles
- Add highlights to your profile
Creating my own content while being completely authentic is probably the most enjoyable thing when it comes to Instagram.
And I know you want help in this area, so I’ve compiled all the knowledge I’ve learned about this platform over the years into a 5-Day Instagram Makeover.
All the details are online at kristinkorn.com/instagram.
This online course is for every beginner who is ready to take Instagram seriously but needs some guidance on setting up their profile and creating content and publishing content your niche audience wants to see.
Again, You can learn more about the 5-Day Instagram Makeover course at kristinkorn.com/instagram.
I know everyone wants to get to 10k followers quickly and grow their engagement, but the best thing you can do is master Instagram basics.
Master your hashtags, create quality content, connect with your community, and repeat.
Since I share awe-inspiring resources and must-have products for business builders like you who want to streamline their business – my content may contain affiliate links for products I use and love. If you take action (i.e. subscribe, make a purchase) after clicking one of these links, I’ll earn a small commission. While it has no effect on your pricing, it’s my responsibility to let you know that an income (however small or large it may be) is made from recommending products I love, use, and share with other awesome people like yourself. With your support, I’m able to commit time to this blog and to each of you on your journey!
