Have you ever gone to a business’s Instagram page and thought that it looked a lot like a personal one? That’s something business owners should avoid at all costs.
What’s the difference?
A personal Instagram page has a completely different goal from a business one. Personal pages are usually used to share photos of family, hobbies, pets, or lifestyle with an audience mostly comprised of people you know. Most users post whatever they want, whenever they feel like it.
Business pages, on the other hand, are a Marketing tool. They help you understand your audience, attract potential customers to your website, and spread brand awareness. You should be just as strategic about what you post on Instagram as you are about arranging your storefront or designing your website.
What happens if I am my brand?
There’s nothing wrong with showing the face behind the business. In fact, I strongly encourage it! All you are doing is sharing your WHY: the story behind your work that makes you different from your competition. But there is a difference between sharing your WHY (which is business-focused) and sharing your every day life with your customers.
Not every post has to be “salesy” or a beautiful product shot, but each one does have to add value to your followers. Industry or company updates, tips, relevant articles, and behind-the-scenes photos are all great examples.
“People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.” – Simon Sinek
The Checklist
Your Profile
- Make sure you’re using an Instagram business page. It’ll give you access to valuable analytics and the ability to advertise and promote posts.
- Write a concise bio that explains what you do and how you can help your customers.
- Ensure your website is pointing visitors to the first page you want them to see. This might not be your general homepage, but a landing page made specifically for your Instagram visitors. For example, the website listed on my profile is www.valeriechong.ca/sme, which is an at-a-glance page designed for small and medium business owners. That way, I can tell them everything I want them to know with less of a risk that they’ll click away from my homepage.
- Ensure that your profile photo is a high-resolution version of your logo or representative photo.
- Make use of Instagram profile highlights! Here’s a great article to get you started.
Before You Post
- Is your photo high-resolution and high quality?
- Is your photo and caption relevant to your business and desired customers?
- Are you using great hashtags? (Keep an eye out for an upcoming blog on this topic!)
- Have you tagged a location and relevant accounts?
- Are you posting at a time of day when your audience is likely to be online?
- Does this post align with your digital communications strategy? (Don’t have one? I can help you with that…)
Chong Communications 