The Basics to Building an Appealing Instagram Page

*This article was initially published for Nothing But the Arts Inc. on June 7, 2022

Instagram has changed the way businesses market themselves and it has become a powerful and accessible tool for anyone looking to start up their own business. There are so many features that Instagram business profiles offer and it can be confusing knowing how to create an appealing page. If you’re a small business owner or an influencer and don’t know where to start, fret not because I’m here to break down the basic steps on how to elevate your Instagram!

The first step to creating an appealing Instagram page is to create a brand for yourself and your company and stick with it! Your brand is something that people can look at and immediately think of your business. This can be achieved by having a certain voice and design in all of the content you post. The importance of creating a brand is that it can help you reach more people and grow your community, so try being consistent with the color palette and font you use when you create and post content!

Branding can be useful to everyone, whether you’re a business owner or an influencer! Monique Thomas from Later Blog helps us figure out what to keep in mind when making our personal brand in her article, “How to Brand Yourself on Instagram.” The two tips I found useful from Thomas’ article were how to establish your brand identity and optimize your Instagram bio because she covers all the important points to hit. When talking about your business, how would you describe it to someone in one sentence? What’s your purpose and who is your target audience? Before you start up your business, make sure you know your goal and what you hope to accomplish! If people see a strong identity associated with your company and brand, they’ll be more compelled to follow you (Thomas, 2021).

Another thing to focus on when making your Instagram page is your bio. This may be the trickiest thing to perfect because you’re given limited space to grab people’s attention! Monique states that your bio is essentially your business card, portfolio, and website all in one, so make sure your username and display name are easy to remember (and spell). Very briefly, explain who you are and what you do to your audience, and make sure to have a strong “call to action” to direct attention to any links you put in your bio. Be sure to list your contact info as well and note that you may have to switch to a business profile to add them. Use a branded logo for your profile or a professional headshot for a cleaner and more put-together look!

Every social media platform has a different algorithm so it’s tricky to figure out what the best days and times to post content is. Sara McCord from The Muse gives a few tips in her article “5 Steps to Creating an Instagram Profile That People Can’t Help But Follow” and goes over how to make a posting schedule and why you should engage with your followers. McCord reveals that Instagram’s algorithm doesn’t require you to post every hour or even every day. In fact, posting that often can actually oversaturate your followers’ feeds, so it’s better for you to organize a schedule based on the engagement of your posts. Look at what days and times you’ve posted content and how well they did, and then schedule your posts for those times!

The last tip Sara leaves us with is perhaps most valuable in maintaining your page: engage with your followers! The whole reason why you probably started a business was that you enjoy connecting with people and you wanted to share your brand’s message with those who would resonate with it. Try asking questions in your posts and make conversation with your followers in the comment section because it’ll show that you really care about what they have to say! If your company has a certain phrase or if you’ve created a custom hashtag, encourage your followers to follow it to stay updated with your posts. Sara recommends that you use 1–2 really important hashtags in your captions and then list the rest of the hashtags in the first comment so that people searching for any relevant topics will find your post.

Keep in mind, that you won’t hit it big overnight as it’ll take time for your account to gain attention and traction, but don’t give up! When you finally reach your goal, it’ll undoubtedly be extremely rewarding to see the business you’ve built from the ground up organically grow and flourish! If you keep an open mind and are always willing to learn, you’ll get to where you want to be in no time. Wishing you all the best of luck in your business endeavors!

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