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How to Set-up an Instagram Business Account

If you’ve already created a Facebook Business Page or considering another business account of one of the major social media platforms, you might consider creating an Instagram Business Page for your company. If so, we’ve got some tips on how to create one, and how to get started on posting for Instagram.

First thing’s first – think about whether you need a business page for Instagram. Here’s some reasons why you should think about it:

  • You’re taken more seriously
  • You get access to analytics
  • You can add links to your Instagram stories
  • You can take advantage of Instagram advertising
  • You can schedule your posts ahead of time
  • You can tag products in your posts

To set-up your business account, go to your settings on Instagram and select ‘Account’, and then click ‘Add New Professional Account’.

When setting up an Instagram Business Account, it is important to think about the following:

  • What is your brand persona? - if your brand was a person, what would they be like?
  • Tone - what’s the vibe of your brand? 
  • Language - what kind of words will you use when on social media?
  • The purpose - why are you on social media in the first place?

The Features of Instagram

Instagram stories

  • A story is a format that combines photos, videos, text, or stickers in a creative whole.
  • It lives for 24 hours, and it disappears if it is not downloaded or saved in archive or in Highlights.
  • Instagram stories appear at the top bar in the mobile app.
  • They are the first glance that your Instagram followers will see once they open the Instagram app.

Instagram introduced Highlights and the option that will make sure you show archived Stories right on your Instagram profile.

  • 500 million people use Instagram Stories daily
  • 1 in 4 Millennials and Gen Z-er’s look for Stories of the products and services they want to use and buy
  • 1/3rd of the most-viewed Instagram Stories are from businesses
  • Instagram Stories accounts for 34% of Instagram’s sponsored content.

How to make a story

  • Swipe right from your newsfeed
  • Take photo/video/boomerang using the App on your device
  • Try Music, Multi capture, Photobooth, Superzoom too – there are a number of options
  • Edit with text/stickers/music and more.
  • You can also add one link in each story.

Stories can be saved into Highlights, which means they then remain on your account.

  • Curated collections of Instagram Stories
  • Prime location directly under your bio
  • Add your stories to your profile as Highlights
  • A good way to highlight key products
  • Think of them as a movie trailer for your Instagram feed

IGTV

IGTV is the feature within the app which allows businesses and creators to make and upload long form videos.

  • Opportunity to share videos up to 10 minutes long, or up to an hour-long if you’re a verified user. 
  • Supports both vertical and horizontal videos
  • Need to be well planned and edited, as opposed to spontaneous nature of Instagram Stories.
  • Creators use their smartphone’s camera and a simple video editing app to create engaging videos.
  • IGTV is all pre-made and edited before posting to the app.

Reels

  • The Reels feature was 2020’s new way to record 15 to 30-second clips set to music on Instagram.
  • It is a great opportunity for businesses to grow their reach, show a more human, less picture-perfect side — which is great for building genuine relationships and strengthening community.
  • Instagram’s competing with TikTok, which is also aimed at short-form video creation and is especially popular for Gen Z.
  • Add to videos with audio, text, special effects, and stickers, then share them with your followers.
  • Reels will stay in your grid and will appear with the reel icon on them, once you have uploaded reels to your account the icon will appear next to the grid and newsfeeds icon

Instagram live

Instagram Live features content which is streamed as it happens. It is a feature that works within Instagram Stories and allows users to broadcast live videos to other users on the platform. Any accounts that are currently live will include the “Live” icon.

  • This is a fantastic way to interact with your audience in real-time to deepen customer relationships.
  • Your followers get a notification of you going live – create a sense of urgency to watch it immediately
  • Videos are often spontaneous and uncut
  • Insta Live bumps your content to the first position in your users Stories
  • It allows you to add others to your live video as guests.
  • You can save a replay of your Live video to your Stories.

If you’d like to learn more about how to use Instagram for your business, as well as other digital skills, we’ve got great online workshops coming up.

Simply click here to go to our events page. All our events are free to attend.

Blog Post written by Kate Anderson, Marketing & Design Executive