Instagram best practices continue to change. As new advertising, creative, and sales tools come online, brands are discovering new methods to engage users. For breakout success in 2020, you will need to keep up with the newest trends and make full use of what Instagram has to offer.
Just think about what your brand is up against.
In 2019, businesses spent roughly $20 billion on Instagram adverts. That is $5.1 billion more than YouTube earned in 2019. In 2020, competition for Instagram users’ attention and loyalty will only develop more intense. Instagram Stories alone is expected to make $1.7 billion in sales in 2020—with 150% revenue development year over year.
When you use or plan to use Instagram for business t present, best practices can guide your efforts. These 10 Instagram best practices are key to improving your results this year.
10 best practices for Instagram
Instagram is the place to showcase your brand personality, authority, and heart utilizing the newest and best tools and techniques. Generic will not cut it on this platform. In case your presence is lacking, you will forfeit chances to connect—and lose out to other brands.
Here are ten ideas to take your Instagram presence to the next level.
1. Establish a business profile
Using a business profile on Instagram is a vital first step. You will be able to build your brand picture, following, and sales funnel in methods a personal profile will not permit.
To switch from a personal profile to a pro account, follow these simple steps.
When you have made the switch, you could:
- Add convenient call-to-action buttons, which followers and guests could click to make contact or do business with you.
- Get an Instagram verification badge certifying your authenticity.
- Access real-time data you should know how well your organic content is working for you.
- Launch and track advert campaigns.
Soon, you will be able to see the effect you are making and double down on what works to increase engagement, traffic, and sales. (We will clarify in more detail below.)
2. Give your Instagram bio the attention it deserves
When you wish your Instagram profile to appeal to followers or users, you need to curb appeal. With 150 characters or less and an image or logo, you should capture the essence of your brand: who you’re, what you provide, and why you are different.
Whether they are comfortably established or trying to generate interest, many brands maintain their bios basic. SeatGeek and Patagonia use few words however convey big ideas.
Such as Sabra and HelloFresh, you could use your bio to promote contests, deals, product launches, and more.
When you are an emerging brand, you could need to seem credible to earn trust. Verified on Instagram could help with that. We suggest applying for Instagram verification.
3. Make it easy to do business with you
Shoppable content is a must for Instagram marketers. Though in-app checkout isn’t widely available (still in a closed beta in the U.S.), you could tag your products in images, videos, and Instagram Stories and expose your products to as many as 200 million Instagram visitors every day via Instagram Explore.
In the future, you might be able to run shopping posts as paid adverts.
When you are in the beauty and health, food and beverage, or ticketing business, you could now include a call-to-action button to your business profile so users could book an appointment, reserve a table, or purchase tickets without leaving the platform. You will just need an existing account with one of Instagram’s call-to-action button partners to benefit from this function.
4. Don’t let your creative get stale
The creative possibilities of Instagram are limitless. By experimenting with media options, post types, and editing tools, you’ll be able to simply shake up your content routine and refresh your picture.
- Try new content angles. Survey your fans, ask them to submit questions or feedback on posts. Go behind the scenes, demo products, or walk them through step-by-step tutorials. Share your take on a vital topic, or share your followers’ content. Tell stories that amaze or encourage. Do whatever fits your audience and brand.
- Experiment with color and visual effects. Utilize the Lux wand and filters to provide your images a distinct look and feel. Play around with video enhancement features like the Create interface in your Stories camera, which gives stickers, GIFs, templates, and more. Strive to make each eye-catching and unique post of your own.
- Benefit from the newest video features and tools. If you add a new IGTV video, the first 15 seconds will be visible on your feed. For longer videos, you could post a 60-second preview in your feed along with an invite to look at the entire video. In case your video is a part of a series, viewers could tap on the name of the series to look at other episodes.