The many adjustments that Instagram has gone through since 2016 include the introduction of the algorithm that has changed how it operates. Aside from introducing features that were not there in the past like the use of hashtags and optimizing of posts, it has also included the introduction of business profiles that come with some new features.
If you are considering changing your profile to a business one, or creating a new business profile entirely, there are benefits it gives you that a personal account does not have. Even though it may not have as many features as a business profile on LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest, or other social media platforms, it still carries some advantages that can prove useful to you when given the chance. If you are not sure on what decision to make, here are some advantages of these accounts that may convince you.
It enables you to be found easily.
In the past, the only way a business could interact and engage with its followers was to place a link in their bios leading to their website, and then interact with their followers from there. This was because posts could only do so much to increase your reach, and hashtags did not exist either, so there was no extra advantage of categorizing posts and easy finding. If you did not have an Instagram account, then the same case applied – your customers could only reach you through your website and other social media platforms.
However, the introduction of business platforms means that when you give information of your contacts to the platform, a contact button then shows up in your profile. The only thing your followers and other users have to do is clicking the button and then decide if they would like to reach you through email, go to your physical address, or call you.
It allows you to access analytics.
Analytics tools did not start with Instagram – in fact, it was among the last to adopt these tools. Before then, you could only access analytics suing third-party tools, both paid and free ones. Now, you can use these tools, also called insights, although they are not as strong as those of other social media platforms.
However, that does not make them useless either. If you are using an auto likes service, for instance, they are an easy way for you to see how the automatic like gallery post for Instagram is working for you, and they retain the convenience of looking at your post statistics in an easy way.
They allow you to see your follower information, reach, and impressions – all within one week spans. However, the catch is that they can only reveal analytics of individual posts after you switched to the business profile, and not before that. The impressions will be the first thing you will see, then the reach.
The next category is how your posts performed in one week, and you can click on any of your posts to see how it performed. You can also click View Insights to see how the post made its impressions, engagement levels, and its reach.
The bottom of the insights section is the follower information. It gives you ma detailed chart that covers every day of the previous week, and shows you the time of day when your followers are the most active.
If you want to see your current numbers of followers, you can select See More. It will also show you the gender of the followers, their locations, their age ranges, active hours when they usually log in, and the days that they log in the most. This section also allows you to access your insights for individual posts.
Allows you to run ads.
This may seem like an obvious benefits, but it is an underutilized feature, surprisingly. Many businesses do not invest into this opportunity, and they never get the efficiency it offers.
Facebook and Instagram use the same ads manager, so it does have all the running and tracking abilities that Facebook ads would give you. It allows you to see all things ranging from the number of clicks your ad got, the conversations that centered around it, to the cost you are getting from running the ad. That means you can adjust your goals and strategies as you move along, and improve your delivery as you continue.
It gives you the opportunity to reach an untapped customer base.
The truth remains that Instagram is a serious platform that can give you serious levels of business. With a user base of 500 to 600 million active users every month, there is also more than 250 million of them who shop for items that they see on Instagram profiles and ads – and they shop actively.
When you think about it, why should one be hesitant about opening a business page for their business on Instagram? There is a massive market you can tap into, as long as you are willing to reach them.
For instance, every day statistics of the site show that 200 million Instagram users visit business profiles, but they cannot shop from you if you do not have such an account.
To benefit from the platform in the best way possible, think of it as an extension of your company – like a marketing extension. This will force you to be present on the site every day and keeping track of all your insights. The more visible you are, the more you will benefit from your marketing efforts.
It allows you to strengthen and build relationships with current and potential customers.
Instagram remains an organic kind of platform that allows you to see the daily, weekly and monthly engagements on your content, even at a minimal cost. In fact, brands that have Instagram accounts tend to have a higher engagement level than other platforms. For instance, they have it at 54 times higher than Pinterest, 10 times higher than Facebook and 84 times higher than twitter.
Final thoughts.
Getting a business profile on Instagram is not a difficult task, but it can assist you to build your brand and expand your marketing efforts. If you need assistance, an Instagram growth service like Magic Social can help.
