Instagram 101: A Beginner’s Guide For Small Businesses in 2024

Small Business owners often find it a bit iffy to go digital, especially on Instagram. How do you start? How will you get customers on Instagram? How would you get more engagement? All of these questions haunt a small business owner while planning out the Instagram strategy.

But today, we’ll address such questions and help your business get started as well as scale up on the platform.

• Getting Started on Instagram in 2024

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Step 1: Creating an Account 

Creating an account on Instagram is pretty easy. Go to Instagram.com or download its app on your smartphone,  and then sign-up using either an email ID or phone number.

You will be required to give your account username. Try coming up with a creative one. You can simply go ahead with the original name of your business if it is available.

Step 2: Optimizing the Account

Use an intuitive and informative description of your brand and services so that visitors can get an idea about the business. You can use emoticons and hashtags to make the description look more lively.

Use a good-quality image to set as the profile picture for your account. It leaves a good impression on the visitors when they see a logo or a professional picture on the account. This comes under your brand image, so select your logo.

Also Read: DesignEvo Free Logo Maker – Review and How-to Guide

Use the link space to send people to other properties – your website, Twitter account, Facebook page or group, or even a news article about your business.

Step – 3: The Business Account

For a business, they must have a “Business Account” on Instagram. A Business account shows you metrics like reach, impressions, account visits, and more.

These metrics are not available on normal accounts.

Having these numeral metrics is vital for a business on their way ahead on Instagram. They help you in creating strategies, planning campaigns, and taking necessary actions.

To switch to Business Accounts, go to –

Settings > Account > Switch to Professional Account > Business Account.

• Tapping Instagram Growth:

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Key to growing on Instagram 

Growing on Instagram requires two things – Consistency and Quality Content.

Quality content means content that can educate, inform, and engage people. The content should be aimed at solving the problems of your prospects.

Consistency helps in gradually building a community, trust, and connection between the brand and the people. You can’t reach 10,000 followers with a single post; for that, you have to be consistent with your content.

The more content you post regularly, the more prospects you can reach, and the more followers you can gain. Remember, the content should be valuable, creative, and informative.

• Create Quality Content

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The first thing is to use high-quality images and videos every time you post.

Don’t use an image whose quality is low and a video with poor resolution.

Make use of the captions to add more value to your posts by using artistic and informative writing on your post; you can deliver value to people.

Employ the story section to interact with and inform your followers regularly.

Use video maker like InVideo, InShot, Adobe, and Magisto to create beautiful videos and image editors like Canva, VSCO, etc. to create visually stunning pictures to post on Instagram.

• Get More Engagement on Instagram

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Always keep in mind to deliver quality and valuable content.

Your aim is to solve their problems, so post something interesting regularly to establish a stronger connection.

Next, engage with your followers, and reply to their questions, comments, DMs, and stories. You can even try asking your followers a question that they would love answering. Make them feel as if you are always ready to interact.

Use relevant and engaging hashtags to amplify your reach and engagement chances.

Use Instagram stories regularly and use their features as most of the people engage with stories better than posts.

• Get More Followers on Instagram

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The first thing is to be consistent with your content. Only then can you reach a wider audience and increase your chances of getting more followers.

Relevant hashtags help you reach the right people with your content, and you can add value to their lives with the help of your content. These are the people who will later become your lifetime followers.

Next, engage with your audience to establish a better connection between them and your brand.

• Instagram Marketing Strategy

• Marketing on Instagram

Marketing on Instagram means connecting with your audience, gaining their trust, and promoting your products and services.

You start with creating content, providing value, solving your audience’s problems, and gradually building trust.

And then, once your audience has full confidence in your brand, you present them with your offerings to make sales.

• Influencer Marketing

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Influencer Marketing is a marketing strategy on Social Media where you find influencers, organizations, or people who have an expert level of knowledge in your field to endorse your products to their audience.

Using influencer marketing can help you reach a wider audience at a low cost.

Sometimes, influencers charge you a fee for the promotion, while most of the time, you can provide them with a commission per sale they generate. Also, providing your products free of cost can do the job with smaller influencers.

• Instagram helps to boost sales

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In Social Media, people, can connect with their interests and people or businesses whom they can trust. A business only thrives if people have trust in it, and social media can help you gain confidence in new and existing prospects.

Instagram has over 1 Billion active monthly users, which gives you a massive marketplace to showcase your business.

And when people start gaining confidence in your brand, they start spending their money buying your products or services.

• Paid Marketing Helps Brand

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Paid marketing involves paying money to Instagram for having your content shown to people who are interested in such type of content.

You get a massive boost when you promote your content, and through that, you gain followers, engagements, and interactions.

Occasionally, you should be using paid marketing along with organic marketing to get maximum results.

Is Instagram Beneficial for Every Type of Business?

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Yes and No. It is only you who can answer this question.

Think from the point of view of your ideal customer. If your customer is using Instagram, then you should too. This applies not only to Instagram but to all the other Social Media platforms. Before creating an account and going all-in with Instagram, do some research.

Look up similar businesses and see if they are using Instagram? How are they performing? Are they getting engaged? Is their business expanding? Can you find your ideal customers on Instagram?

If you are confident that Instagram marketing will give you results, then go for it, and if not, see how’s it helping your business. Otherwise, there’s always another social media platform.