Why You Should Switch to an Instagram Business Account

02/09/2019 | Share:

80% of users follow at least one business on Instagram, so if you’ve got an e-commerce company with a product to sell, it’s worth making a start by getting an account. However, for a business, there’s more to it than signing up for a standard account and posting a few images. In this blog article, we discuss why you should be using Instagram’s social platform for business and how the tools involved will help your company become a social media success.

Profile and Contact information

With a business Instagram account, you are able to add several different elements to your profile which aren’t available to those with a personal account. They’re designed to help drive sales by giving your potential customers a way to find you and contact you.

Firstly, you’re able to select an industry category so that straightaway people know what you have to offer. There’s also the option, if you wish to add it, for people to email you, call, book appointments or even get directions to your business. This is a great way to allow for a more seamless and efficient user experience and is a much-welcomed feature from Instagram.

Finally, the all-important website link! You’re only allowed one link on Instagram, and it goes in your bio with some nice creative copy. Choose it wisely!

Insights and analytics tools

Probably the most useful benefit for any Instagram business account is the in-app analytics, called “Insights”. You can access insights for an individual post, directly underneath an image you’ve posted. With this nifty tool, you can see how many times your post was seen (impressions), how many unique accounts you’ve reached, where people found your post and whether that post drove any interactions (profile visits, link clicks etc.)

Alternatively, you can see an overview by selecting insights from the menu. You’re able to filter your content by the metrics that matter to you most to help you improve your posts and stories. You’ll get an overview of total reach, impressions and actions taken as well as insights about your followers such as demographic data. Extremely handy stuff!

You’ll also gain access to advanced Instagram stories data, that informs you about discovery and navigation between your stories.

Instagram shopping

Like the contact buttons, Instagram helps the user experience remain fluid, by allowing them to take actions within the app. The shopping function takes this a step further, turning your feed into a storefront or catalogue of sorts. After linking Instagram with your e-commerce platform, you’re able to tag products in your posts, much like you would tag a person on your personal Instagram profile.

For e-commerce businesses, Instagram shopping is a key element that is still developing and evolving today. It’s not something that all businesses can or want to jump onto, but if you’re looking for a new and interesting angle to grow your e-commerce brand, it’s a step we’d highly recommend.

Instagram Ads

Last but not least, is access to Instagram advertising. To do this, you’ll need a Facebook Ads account, as billing takes place through Facebook. If you have a facebook business page, you’ll need to link this to your Facebook account first.

Advertising on Instagram not only allows you to break through to a new audience, but it also gives you access to all of Facebook’s advertising capabilities. You can optimise your campaigns based on your objectives and you’ll have access to advanced targeting options, to ensure you land with the right audience.

Creating an ad can either be done by promoting a post you’ve already posted, or starting from scratch to make a unique ad that won’t appear in your feed. Your ads also have the option of including a strong call to action that can drive traffic to where you want it.

How do I set one up?

So all of the above benefits sound like they could really help your business, but how do you gain access to this? Instagram is very app focussed and has limited functionality for desktop users, so you need to work within the app to convert your account. Head to your profile page and tap the menu in the top right. Then head to settings, account settings and tap switch to business account. The app will then run you through a few things first before you’re all set up and ready to use Instagram for e-commerce.