Instagram for businesses: the steps to get started

Plan Your Instagram Content to Maximise Engagement

To maximise your communication plan on Instagram, it is important to strategically plan your content:

Create a Content Plan

Before you start posting, it is important to plan your content in advance. This will allow you to create a coherent plan that aligns with your brand image and engages your audience. Using content planning tools can help you:

• Later - it allows you to plan and schedule posts on Instagram, as well as on other social platforms. Later also provides productivity analysis features to help optimise your content plan;

• Hootsuite - This social media management platform allows you to plan and publish content on Instagram and other platforms. Hootsuite also has a monitoring feature to track mentions of your brand and comments;

• Buffer - Buffer is another Instagram content planning tool that allows you to schedule and publish posts for a set period. It also offers collaboration features to facilitate teamwork;

• Planoly - Planoly is an Instagram content planning tool specifically designed for brands and businesses. It offers grid planning features to help create a visually coherent Instagram profile;

• Sprout Social - Sprout Social is a social media management platform that allows you to plan and publish posts on Instagram and other platforms. It also provides engagement management features to help manage interactions with followers.

Each of these tools can help simplify Instagram content planning, offering scheduling, collaboration, and performance analysis features to maximise the impact of your content.

Switch to a Professional Profile

This offers many advantages for businesses using this platform to promote their brand and products/services. Here are some reasons why it is appealing to switch to a professional identity on Instagram:

• Statistics and Engagement Data: a professional account allows you to access statistics and data on the engagement of your potential clientele, such as the number of views, clicks, and "likes" on your posts. This data can help you understand them better and adjust your content to maximise engagement.

• Contact Button: with a professional profile, you can add a contact button that allows users to email you or call you directly from your profile. This facilitates communication with potential customers and makes them more likely to contact you for more information about your business.

• Ability to Promote Your Posts: by using a professional profile, you can promote your posts by turning them into paid ads to reach a broader audience.

• Access to E-commerce Features: if you are an online sales business, a professional profile allows you to add e-commerce features to your account, such as shopping buttons and product tags.

• More Complete Profile: a professional profile allows you to fill out information about your business, such as address, website, and opening hours. This makes your profile more complete and easier to find for users looking for information about your business.

Define Your Audience's Interests

To maximise the effectiveness of your Instagram action plan for your business, it is important to define your followers' interests. Why? Because this will allow you to create topics that align with the interests of your target audience. To start, you can examine your Instagram account data and identify the types of content that have already generated engagement within your community. You can also directly ask your audience about the topics that interest them using polls or questions in Instagram Stories. Then, use this information to create relevant topics that reflect your consumers' passions. For example, if you are a high-fashion business, you might create themes showcasing popular trends or clothing styles that resonate with the tastes of your potential customers.

Create Varied Content

This is essential for maintaining engagement and interest from your audience on Instagram. As a social network, Instagram is a space where users are constantly bombarded with information. If your content all looks the same, your audience may quickly become bored and move on. By offering varied topics, you can keep your audience's interest by providing a richer and more diverse Instagram experience. Additionally, by reviewing your Instagram account statistics, you can identify which types of content have been the most successful with your audience. Use this information to create topics that meet your target audience's interests while showcasing your products and offerings in a varied manner. Ultimately, by creating varied information tailored to your audience's interests, you can maximise the use of your Instagram account for your business, increase engagement and interactions with your community, and strengthen your presence on this social network.

Give Yourself Visibility: Use a Tool that Allows Automatic Liking

Mass Like Instagram Stories allows you to automatically like other users' stories, which can help you get noticed and attract new followers.

Take Advantage of the Opportunities Offered by Fashion

Fashion trends offer many opportunities for planning Instagram posts:

• First, it is a very visual sector that relies on strong imagery and aesthetic visuals to attract and captivate consumers. Therefore, fashion brands can use Instagram to create visual messages that showcase their products and brand image. This can include photos of products worn by models or influencers, videos of fashion shows, behind-the-scenes images, or even images of the clothing manufacturing process;

• Moreover, Instagram offers many opportunities for fashion houses in terms of storytelling. Brands can use their Instagram account to share their story, mission, and vision with their audience, as well as to highlight their commitment to sustainability, ethics, and social responsibility;

• Finally, Instagram is an excellent tool for fashion brands to interact with their audience and gather feedback and comments on their products. Brands can use polls, quizzes, and Q&A sessions to engage their audience, giving them the chance to participate in business decisions and encouraging them to become brand ambassadors.

Errors to Avoid for Your Content

• Not Having a Clear and Consistent Content Strategy: it is important to have a clear strategy for your Instagram posts, with specific objectives and a consistent editorial line.

• Posting Poor Quality Photos: the quality of photos is crucial on Instagram, so avoid posting blurry or poorly framed images;

• Ignoring the Importance of Hashtags: hashtags are an essential means of increasing the visibility of your posts, so don’t neglect them;

• Not Interacting with Your Audience: Instagram is a social network, so it is important to interact with your audience by responding to their comments and encouraging them to share their content;

• Posting Too Often or Not Enough: it is important to find a balance for the frequency of your posts, depending on your audience and your goals;

• Not Using Instagram Stories: Instagram Stories are a great way to give insight into your brand and engage your audience, so don’t ignore them;

• Not Using Instagram Features: Instagram offers many interesting features, such as live videos, polls, and questions, so take advantage of them to create more engaging content;

• Not Adapting Your Content to Your Audience: it is important to know your audience and create content that interests and engages them;

• Not Measuring Your Productivity: it is important to measure the effectiveness of your Instagram content using statistics and adjusting your program accordingly;

• Not Following Instagram's Rules: make sure to know and follow Instagram's rules regarding content, hashtags, and interactions with your audience.

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