On Cloud 9: How to Boost Your Instagram Profile

Posted on November 3, 2021December 8, 2022 by Bimal Mirwani

How to boost your Instagram profile amongst so many other profiles? The Instagram App has established itself as a behemoth among the plethora of social media platforms available today. Did you know IG has an eye-popping 500 million daily users and over 80% of people follow a business account?

Can you imagine how much reach you can get from one Instagram post? So, incorporating Instagram into your social media portfolio is crucial when it comes to improving brand awareness.

Gaining followers and stamping your authority as an industry leader on your Instagram feed post is no easy feat. In this article, you will be equipped with all the pieces needed to optimize your Instagram profile.

You will learn how to communicate what your business is. At the same time, you can attract prospective leads and transform followers into paying customers.

How to boost your Instagram profile: What you need
Final thoughts on how to boost your Instagram profile

How to boost your Instagram profile: What you need

1. Why is a public (rather than private) profile?

Your Instagram account is set to public by default. What this means is that everybody around the globe can see your profile and posts.

If you’re building an Instagram profile for business, you want everybody to view your posts and follow your brand. So, it is essential to keep your profile public rather than private.

You may want to look into an Instagram professional account too.

To make your profile visible to the public, ensure “Private Account” is switched off under “Options”. This is the gear button on iOS or three dots on Android.

2. What is a searchable and memorable username?

You want your username to be relevant to your business and what you do, so choose wisely! The decision you make will be an important one. Why? As it makes it easier for people to find you. It ensures your account appears when someone searches for your industry.

For example, if you are an SEO expert, your username could be something like ‘NickBellSEO’.

A good profile name will help get you memorable exposure when you boost Instagram posts.

Go to your profile page and select the “Edit Profile” to change your username. This button is to the right of your profile photo.

3. Should you have a business name that is easy to find?

Yes! The name section is searchable. It is vital to include your complete business name or a word related directly to what you do.

Doing so means that people can easily find you and know your specialty. For example, coaches will have coach in their name.

Also factor in your name on your Facebook page. As Meta will likely linked the two social media platforms.

4. Is a profile photo important to emphasize your brand on IG?

Your profile photo is a key asset of your Instagram profile. Moreover, it should be instantly recognizable, professional and consistent with your other social media accounts.

One of the best ways to keep this consistency is to use your corporate logo.

When you post a profile photo to Instagram, it automatically crops it (110 pixels in diameter).

You’ll have to crop your photo into a circle in the app. Also, you should submit a square image with your logo in the middle. Make sure it’s positioned so that you can cut off the photo’s edges without any issues.

Please note that Instagram’s minimum profile image size is 110 × 110 pixels, making it a perfect square.

5. What is a clear and informative bio on Instagram?

Your “bio” (i.e., the description at the top of your profile) is one of the first things people will read on your profile.

You have a maximum of 150 characters to stand out. Use these characters to tell people what your business is about. Tell them why they should follow your account. Include who you are and what you do, while throwing in a pinch of personality for good measure.

Make sure it is clear, succinct, and contains a call to action (CTA). The CTA is to ask people to click on your link in the bio.

See the following example:

class= — A great example of a bio that is very clear and informative

Lorna Jane (LornaJaneactivewear): “Empowering you to live a life you love through Active Living™ Tag @lornajaneactive for a chance to be featured”

6. Should you Include a link and CTA in your bio?

Yes for sure! One of the most common complaints about Instagram, particularly among businesses, is that you only get ONE link in your bio.

It’s quite frustrating…

This is why it is imperative for you to include a link to your company’s website in your Instagram profile, along with a catchy call to action.

Think about it this way – is there a clever method to encourage people to click on your bio link? In individual photo captions, have you ever noticed the term “Link in bio”?

Assuming you have, it’s basically an attempt to get you to click the link in their bio to go to their website.

Users will be more engaged if you update that URL often, whereby it connects to your most recent blog post, YouTube video, products, or promotion.

For example, if you are holding a contest or trying to grow your blog’s subscriber base, you should modify the URL and then submit a photo with the new link included in the caption in your story.

To update your bio’s link, click “Edit Profile” on your profile page. After that, type the URL you want into the URL field.

How to add multiple links to your IG bio

If you want to take your IG bio a step further there are software options that allow you to add MULTIPLE links to your bio.

We recommend using linkin.bio from Later. This software allows you to create a menu of links accessible right from your IG bio. Like this…

Some other options to Linkin.bio are LinkTree, Lnk.Bio, and Tap.Bio. All of them are affordable, super easy to use, and allow you to have multiple (beautiful) links directly in your IG profile.

7. Why boost your IG profile by enabling notifications?

Check your “Options” settings to enable notifications so you can see when others share or comment on your posts. This will allow you to interact with your followers and see which of them are the most active.

To activate alerts, follow these steps:

Select “Push Notification Settings” from the “Options” menu

For each category, choose “From Everyone.” (Except “Friends on Instagram,” which sends a friend request to your Facebook friends who have Instagram, and “Instagram Direct Requests,” which accepts photographs posted from individual accounts)

8. Why do posts of excellent quality will give your IG profile a boost?

An optimized Instagram profile relies heavily on high-quality images and the value delivered through its posts.

People will almost certainly look through the first ten or so photos in your feed when they visit your profile. You might be able to get away with a few poor posts on Twitter.

This is not true for IG. You don’t want lousy pictures on your Instagram account. Good visuals are literally the be-all and end-all to gaining followers. More followers will ensure your business thrives on the social media platform.

So, when it comes to Instagram photos, remember if you don’t have anything nice to share, don’t do it!

A great Instagram photo means great photography. What is great photography? It is well-framed and shot photos. Photo editing is also excellent editing.

With great images, your IG account will have the potential to connect with others and serves a purpose.

To publish photos that will make people take notice, it is necessary to do the following:

1. Choose a topic that is both interesting and relevant to boost your IG profile

Always have your target audience in mind when taking and posting a photo. Ask yourself, what might pique their attention?

How can you convert followers into buyers of your products or services?

Let’s look at Coca-Cola as an example. They target young people that enjoy having fun and are outgoing. That’s why they share photos of young people chilling together with Cokes. Or use themes related to different holidays to get their message across.

2. A well-framed photograph

This may seem like a frustratingly tough step. Not to worry, you don’t need to be a professional photographer to produce superb Instagram photos.

All you need to do is spend some time learning the most refined techniques. These techniques include finding intriguing angles, utilizing symmetry, patterns, “leading lines,” and other elements. All of this can be done on your phone, so there’s no need to stress out!

3. Excellent editing

Instagram offers some rudimentary editing tools, but they’re frequently insufficient to transform your photo into something genuinely spectacular.

Before you access your photos on Instagram for the first time, you should run them through at least one or two different photo editing apps on your phone.

Relax and take a deep breath because altering photographs isn’t tricky if you’ve downloaded the proper apps. All it takes is a little practice and patience. Believe me when I say it’s worth it!

For a step-by-step guide on editing your Instagram photographs, start with this blog post. It will provide you with an in-depth insight on how to use Instagram’s most incredible editing features.

Also, it recommends two or three photo-editing applications to help take your images from ordinary to outstanding.

9. Should you post consistently and regularly to boost your Instagram profile?

In order for your Instagram strategy to work and boost your IG profile, you need to be active on the platform.

Focus on creating high-quality content on a consistent basis and posting photos that really resonate with your target audience.

You don’t need to go as far as posting multiple times a day. However, finding some sort of consistency is key to your success.

You might be wondering, when is the ideal moment to publish anything to Instagram?

IG is essentially a mobile app, where users are on it at all hours of the day. Data suggests that many people engage with content more during off-work hours.

Mondays and Thursdays are the best days to post on Instagram, except 3:00–4:00 p.m. for your target audience’s time zone. (The best for a US audience is to mix Eastern and Central time zones, as they account for about 80% of the country’s population).

Use whichever time zones your target audience utilizes if they are situated outside of the United States.

However, test these and try posting at different times to determine what works best for your account and target audience.

Final thoughts on how to boost your Instagram profile

Your Instagram profile is a reflection of yourself and your business. Therefore, make sure it is instantly identifiable and reflects your company’s mission and image to a tee.

Perfection is a necessity as every user who views your Instagram page will respond to quality.

This is why it is of the utmost importance that you have a clear bio. Your bio should be captivating with a call to action to your website.

In addition to this, nail down your strategy for posting consistently. Consistency is key to getting seen on IG.

Remember, the primary goal of Instagram is to share and discover the very best images and photos. However, it is also important to note that the platform revolves around building a community and loyal fan base. Actively search for people involved in your niche.

Interact with them once you follow them as they could be potential clients down the line.

Now have all the knowledge required to boost your Instagram profile.

It’s now time to walk the walk before you can legitimately talk the talk! If you are busy running your business, you may not have the time to run your Instagram. If this is you, please look at our social media services.

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The Ultimate Guide to Instagram for Businesses: Part #1

Posted on December 30, 2020July 8, 2022 by Arran Saunders

What do the family-owned cafe around the corner from your home and a multinational fashion retailer have in common? They can both benefit hugely from taking their business to Instagram. Instagram for businesses can make a huge difference to the bottom line.

More and more people are using Instagram to connect with brands. The social network boasts over 800 million active monthly users and the highest interaction rate of any social media platform. In fact, 80% of users follow a business on Instagram while 200 million Instagrammers actively visit a business profile each day.

Instagram for businesses is an extremely powerful marketing tool. Brands and businesses can benefit by growing their reach, engagement, sales, leads, and brand loyalty. However, it helps to approach the platform with a bit of industry know-how to maximize your chances of success.

Here, we outline the most effective ways of driving growth to your brand via Instagram without forking out thousands of dollars on paid advertising. Whether you’re an Insta-rookie or a veteran of the ‘Gram, our ultimate guide will help you create a solid marketing strategy for your brand on the platform. Let’s get in on with this ultimate guide to Instagram for business!

Make an impression
Plan it all out
FAQs
Final thoughts

Make an impression

1. Username

It takes less than 50 milliseconds to form a first impression, which is why it’s vital to catch your potential customers’ attention with an engaging Instagram profile. The first thing to consider is your username. It is just so crucial. If you already have other social media channels, ensure your Instagram username matches the one on your Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and/or WeChat as well. This makes it easier for customers to remember your brand, allowing them to easily visit your profile across multiple platforms. When thinking about Instagram for businesses, getting the name right is key!

Stick to something simple. You only have 30 characters for your username, so it’s best to make it something memorable and snappy. Avoid long strings of numbers and excessive underscores. Not only do they look unprofessional, they also make typing your username more difficult for customers.

2. Instagram Name

Your Instagram name is visible when someone visits your profile directly or searches you in the search bar. It appears below your photo and statistics on your Instagram profile. Like your username, your name is limited to 30 characters but should be set out in grammatical sentence structure.

To optimize your appearance in search results, your name and username should be different. A good idea is to include a keyword relating to your business in your name so that users get an idea of what you do from the moment they find you.

gopro-search-example — How names and usernames are displayed in Instagram’s search.

3. Bio

Next up, it’s time to tackle your bio. At only 150 characters long, the Instagram bio may not seem like much, but in actual fact could be the difference between a visitor to your profile and a converting customer. A well-written bio should demonstrate your brand’s voice while appealing to your target market and explaining what exactly it is that you do. Yup, Instagram for businesses can do wonders to your brand awareness, but only if you have a good bio!

Furthermore, your bio is the only place on your profile that allows you to share a clickable link. It’s the perfect place to promote your brand — why not share your latest blog post, or a link to buy tickets to the event you’re putting on? To give yourself a chance to showcase your new material, update this link as often as once a week.

Use a tool like Google URL Shortener to generate a URL with fewer characters to make it look more user-friendly.

4. Photos

Like your username, you want your profile photo to be something that users will recognise as your brand. Ideally, this should be your logo, a photo or a graphic in your brand’s colours.

Using consistent imagery will help to solidify your brand in your customers’ minds, making it more likely that you’ll be who they think of when they need a service or product you offer over your competitors.

Plan it all out

Set goals

Like any marketing strategy, having goals to work towards helps you structure your channel management and ensure you’re on track to hitting your targets. While it may not seem like it, it’s important to implement goals and a strategy for your Instagram account. Here are some common goals that can help you narrow down what you wish to achieve with your profile:

Showcase your service/product
Increase brand loyalty and awareness
Establish a strong community around your service/product
Advertise to potential customers
Increase post engagement

Goal-setting also allows you to shape your content strategy around what you want to achieve, rather than wildly scrabbling for things to share when you realise it’s been two days since you posted.

Establish your look

Instagram is a visually driven platform, meaning that it’s vital to produce content that’s pleasing to the eye — it’s as simple as that! According to research, visual appeal matters in 93% of cases when people go to make a purchase. When thinking about Instagram for businesses, make sure you get your brand team on board with consistent visuals.

Maintaining a cohesive brand image is crucial to effective Instagram marketing. There’s a reason that 60% of the top brands on Instagram use the same filter for every post — it’s nice to view, makes customers look upon your brand favorably, and increases the chance of them taking action. As well as making your posts look well put together and consistent, the potential for engagement skyrockets when you have an established brand image.

Here are some great examples of thoughtful and beautiful Instagram feeds for you to draw inspiration from.

TIP: Some fantastic apps for planning, scheduling and tracking your Instagram posts include Later, PLANN and Planoly. You can preview what posts will look like in your feed so you can perfect your Instagram aesthetic before uploading.

Post consistently

So, you’ve set up a powerful Instagram account, decided on your marketing targets and established a theme that will wow potential customers. The next step is to maintain consistency. Consistent posting keeps your brand at the forefront of your followers’ minds since they know to expect regular content from you on their feed. It also maximises engagement and assists with growth and brand awareness.

In your goal outline, include a target for how often you plan to post content to Instagram. This Union Metrics study found that the average brand typically posts 1.5 times a day, and went on to discover that there’s no correlation between increased post frequency and lower engagement. This means that brands who posted more than twice a day didn’t experience any negative effects on their follower counts or engagement level, so get posting!

Measure

Just like any digital marketing strategy, maintaining an Instagram profile means digging deep into your analytics to track how your content is faring. Instagram’s native analytics tool is called Instagram Insights, and comes for free if you’re using an Instagram business profile. Insights allows you to track your profile’s impressions, reach, website clicks, profile views and followers, as well as allowing you to view post-specific actions such as likes, comments, saves, actions and discovery.

Keeping on top of your analytics is the best way of staying up to date with trends, understanding your audience and evaluating how your content is performing. Reviewing data is how you continue improving upon your Instagram strategy, driving growth, and creating the strongest digital marketing plan possible!

FAQs

What does an Instagram business account allow you to do?

You may access promoted posts and Instagram advertisements with an Instagram business profile, giving you the means to increase your audience and interaction. You can set up, execute, and track campaigns the same way you do with Facebook advertisements on Instagram since it uses the same robust advertising tools.

How many followers do you need for an Instagram business account?

An Instagram business profile may appear to be an elite club on the surface, but anybody can sign up.

Is Instagram good for small businesses?

Instagram is a potent (and reasonably priced) tool for small business growth. Instagram is the ideal tool for marketing your small business since it allows you to interact with potential consumers, keep in touch with current ones, and even conduct transactions directly from the app.

Final thoughts

Stay tuned for Part #2 next week, where we’ll cover tips on content production and ways to increase your engagement and follower count. In the meantime, check out our blog on The 3 Best Methods for Building A Powerful Content Marketing Strategy.

If you are a busy business owner or your marketing team is flat out to manage your social media, then check out our social media services. Alternatively, please get in touch for an obligation-free meeting.

Have any questions? Get in touch.