In the beginning of the Instagram era, there was only the possibility to create a personal account. Businesses also had to use these accounts, but since 2016 Instagram also has the option to convert this to a business account. This makes it clear to consumers that it is a company and they can contact them immediately. With a business account, metrics can be viewed such as profile views, reach, and follower demographics.
Let's start from the beginning. How do you create a business Instagram account?
For this you first need a personal account, make sure that the account is set to public. Accounts in private mode cannot be converted to a company page. In addition, it is necessary that a company page has already been created on Facebook, because this must be linked to the company page of Instagram. According to Facebook, this does this so that only real companies create a business account on Instagram.
Facebook, owner of Instagram, of course also does this so that companies do not cancel their business page on Facebook, once they have created a business account on Instagram. If the above has been carried out, the personal account can be converted to a business account and you are now in possession of a company page on Instagram.
But then?
Your goal, of course, is for people to find your business on Instagram. Make sure you're easy to find and use your organization name as the profile name of your Instagram account as well. Sounds very logical of course, but try to keep it as neutral as possible. No dots or dashes. If there's no other way, then that's a shame. Then make sure that you communicate this well to the target group. Like the Dance Dance Dance program on RTL. They are called themselves on Instagram: rtldancedancedance and as a website they use: www.dance-dance-dance.nl. This of course happened because the domain name or profile name dancedancedance was already in use. They clearly communicated both names to the target audience, during the show and also online. The target group is aware of this and knows under which names the program can be found on which channels.
Dance Dance Dance is a program of RTL, a large organization with a considerable budget. This allows them to invest a lot of money in promoting the 'deviant' name. This is not the case with small and start-up organizations. If the consumer cannot find you immediately, there is a good chance that they will not look any further. Convenience is therefore of great importance. So think carefully about your profile name.
Also, make sure your website is included in your Instagram profile biography. This way the visitors of your Instagram page can be directly linked to your website. Convenience again, that's what you want to give the consumer. Make sure that consumers can immediately see on your profile which products or services you offer.
Photos with locations, tags and hashtags added provide more reach and interaction. Make sure you use this with every photo, as KLM does for example. They use relevant hashtags, tag the person in question and add the location of the photo. In combination with the text they add to the photo, they provide a (travel) experience for the target group.
Make your Instagram personal too. Make sure you include your target audience in your content. Post photos of your employees and share the activities at the office, so you involve your Instagram followers with your company. Who wouldn't want to work at Coolblue if you can transform yourself into a robot?
