Instagram, millennials love it, and baby boomers don’t know what to think of it. What makes Instagram so much scarier than Facebook? Is it not knowing what to post or the uncertainty of how it will help your business? Too many times I have heard people say their business doesn’t need an Instagram account because it won’t help their business.

But those people are wrong. Instagram is a booming social platform that has over 1 billion users. Each day, there are 500 million active people on Instagram. Seems like a lot, huh? Well, it is.

So, how many businesses currently have an Instagram account? Take a guess. Over 28 million is the correct answer. Those accounts are helping businesses not only keep customers engaged but bring in new customers. But do people really follow business accounts? Yes! Over 80% of Instagram users follow business accounts. Seems like a no brainer to have an account then, right? But how do you do it effectively?

You don’t want to manage your business account in the same way you manage your personal account. The point of an Instagram account for your business it to build a relationship with a target audience. What’s that mean exactly?

People buy from businesses they like. What’s that mean? Not everyone will follow your account and that’s okay!

People like businesses they trust. Each business has a story, what’s yours? Is your whole team bought in?

Relationships build trust. Build that relationship with your customers. Be personable. Be real. People like working with and buying from companies that have built a relationship with them.
Content builds relationships. Push out content that your followers want to see and are useful to them. Don’t just post to post.

So, what do you post?

Your customers use Instagram for images and video, so you want to make sure your posts are visually appealing. When creating a post, you want to think about three things:

1. What do your customers care about?
2. What does your brand stand for?
3. What makes your business (or product) unique?

Once you have created your post, you need to know when the best time is to push it out. Time zones DO MATTER. If you are wanting to reach a Midwest client, you should post on Tuesday morning around 11 a.m. Posts are only seen for 24 hours or less, so you want to make sure you are pushing out your content at the right time to get as many eyes on your posts as possible.
Don’t let your business get forgotten. Instagram is trending and will continue to be a leading social platform. Make sure you are present. Want help with creating and managing that content? Call Bowe Digital today at 317-410-1690.