Instagram recently rolled out Instagram For Business, a version of Instagram providing businesses with a plethora of analytics and features not available with the normal (personal) Instagram account.
If Instagram is an area of focus for your business, it is absolutely worth making the switch to a business account.
(Bear in mind that certain social media platforms are better suited for certain types of businesses, though: you can learn more about which ones might work best for your business in Part 1 and Part 2 of Which Social Media To Use For Your Business.)
How To Get Instagram For Business
Instagram has been gradually rolling out the option to switch to a business account, so there’s a chance that you won’t yet have the option. To check, open your Instagram profile, tap the little gear in the top right corner to open your settings, and scroll down to select Switch To Business Account (if you have it, it should be right above the Private Account option).
One important thing to note is that you must have a Facebook page to link to your Instagram Business account. Once you initiate the switch on Instagram, it will prompt you to link your accounts.
Once that’s done, Instagram will look a little different for you. Let’s take a look:
Instagram Business Profile
The most obvious difference with Instagram For Business is the enhanced profile. When you link to your Facebook page, you have the option of importing your page type, contact details, and location.
Above all, Instagram For Business has made it significantly easier for users to interact with and contact your business. You’ll notice a Contact button in the top-right of your profile. All people have to do is tap it, compose an email, and hit send – and that’s much easier than them having to open their email separately and search for your business’s email address.
Instagram Insights
Next, Instagram For Business provides you with insights into how your Instagram posts are performing. On your profile, click the little graph icon just to the left of the settings icon to access insights.
Instagram Insights provides all sorts of useful analytics, including post impressions, your top posts, and who your audience is. Here are a few items we think will be most useful for businesses on Instagram:
Top Posts
Here you can see what your ‘top’ Instagram posts are, filtered by various criteria. The default setting is all posts within the last 7 days sorted by impressions, but you can tweak these filters as follows:
- Show: all / photos / videos
- Sorted by: impressions / reach / engagement / likes / comments
- In the past: 7 days / 30 days / 3 months / 6 months / 1 year / 2 years
These metrics can be handy for seeing what types of posts work the best for your business. Once you know what your followers are liking and engaging with, you can tweak your Instagram strategy to include more posts like it.
Followers: Hours / Days
Ever wondered what time of day is best to post on Instagram? Well, wonder no more now that Instagram For Business has your analytics covered. There are now graphs for each day of the week, indicating which hours of the day your followers are most active.