How to use Instagram for business: A beginner's guide

It doesn’t matter if they follow you. Or if you follow them. With this setting, you’ll know about it anytime anyone interacts with your Instagram account. By default, most of your notification settings are set to ‘from everyone’. But you can still check - or change – this. Here’s how:

1. Open Instagram and tap your profile photo in the bottom right corner.
2. Tap the three lines in the top right corner.
3. Tap ‘Settings’ > ‘Notifications’.
4. Select the type of notification you want to check/change from the menu.
5. Check your settings and change (if required) by tapping the circle next to ‘from Everyone’.

Do you really need to know every time a customer double taps to like your new photo? Prefer to only be told about comments from loyal followers? Changing notification settings to ‘From People I Follow’ is one of the easiest ways to keep on top of things as a small business. Let’s find out how:

1. Open up the Instagram app on your phone.
2. Tap your profile photo in the bottom right corner to go to your profile.
3. Tap the three lines in the top right corner, then ‘Settings’, then ‘Notifications’.
4. Tap the notification type you want to change.
5. Select ‘From People I Follow’ where appropriate.
6. Tap the back arrow to return to the Notifications menu.
7. Repeat steps 4 and 5 as needed.

Notifications are definitely a useful feature. But as your social media channel grows, they might get overwhelming. The easiest way to avoid Instagram burnout? Turn off notifications entirely. No more on-screen messages popping up and distracting you. Here’s how:

1. Open up the Instagram app on your phone.
2. Tap your profile photo in the bottom right corner to go to your profile.
3. Tap the three lines in the top right corner, then ‘Settings’ > ‘Notifications’.
4. Toggle the ‘Pause All’ button on.

The feature is available for a number of popular social networks. Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Ameba and OK.ru to name just a few. Follow our six step instructions below to connect your Instagram to your other social accounts:

1. Open up your business Instagram account on the app.
2. Tap your profile photo in the bottom right corner.
3. Tap the three lines in the top right corner, then tap ‘Settings’.
4. On the Settings menu, tap ‘Account’ > ‘Sharing to other apps’.
5. You’ll see a list of social media apps you can connect to Instagram.
6. Tap the app you want to connect to, then follow the on-screen instructions.

See breakdowns of what countries they live in, their age, gender and the days and times they’re most active online. A great tool for fine-tuning your marketing strategy.

Access your professional dashboard for information on how well your content is doing. You’ll be able to see stats like how many accounts your posts reached this week and the number of profile visits you got. Plus the app gives you trends so you can see how these figures have changed over time.

With a business profile, you have the option to create promotions. Great if you want to build your community, reach your target audience or boost sales of your latest products.

A contact button on your profile makes it easier for people to get in touch. Great for new customers who have questions and brands who want to ask you about a collab!

Ready to take the plunge? Here’s how to convert your personal Instagram account to a business profile:

1. Open Instagram and tap your profile photo in the bottom right corner to go to your profile.
2. Tap ‘Settings’ > ‘Account’ > ‘Switch to Professional account’ (some users will see this option listed directly under ‘Settings’).
3. You may see a screen with information about professional accounts. Swipe to read then tap ‘Continue’ when you’re finished.
4. Select a category for your professional account, then use the toggle button to choose whether or not to display this on your profile.
5. Tap ‘Done’.

Now you have an Instagram business account, it’s a good idea to check what contact details you make public online. Do you want customers to know your personal address? What about your personal mobile phone number?

Why not set up a new email address and phone number - just for professional use? This helps you look professional and gives you peace of mind. Once you have your new contact information, it’s easy to update your business profile on Instagram:

1. Go to your business profile.
2. Tap the ‘Edit Profile’ button.
3. Tap ‘Contact options’.
4. Type in your business email address, phone number and address. Remember – only enter information you’re happy to be public.
5. Use the toggle button to choose whether to share this contact information to your business Facebook page too.
6. When you’ve finished, press the back arrow.
7. Tap ‘Done’.

Changed your mind? Instagram lets you show or hide your contact information on your profile. All in just a few taps. Here’s how:

1. Go to your business profile.
2. Tap the ‘Edit Profile’ button.
3. Tap ‘Profile Display’ and use the toggle buttons to choose if your contact info is displayed on your profile.
4. Tap ‘Done’ when you’re finished.

This allows you to search for an account by name. Say your friend’s recommended a particular influencer, or you’ve heard of a great account with tips for small businesses. It’s easy to give them a follow. Tap the magnifying glass icon along the bottom of your screen, then type the username in the ‘Search’ bar that appears at the top of the screen. Tap on the account you want to follow. This will take you to their page where you can then hit the ‘Follow’ button.

This is the perfect place to discover new accounts to follow. The Instagram algorithm will serve you up a mix of content – from simple photos to short videos – that it thinks you’ll like.

To find your Explore page, open up the app then tap the magnifying glass at the bottom of your screen. Look through and tap on any posts that catch your eye. Check out the profile information of the account that shared it.

For one of the easiest ways to find new people to follow on Instagram, use hashtags. Lots of users add hashtags to their content, especially in photo captions. Think of it like saying ‘my content fits into the following categories’.

Say a baker shares a photo of their latest customer request - a red velvet cake decorated with gold leaf for a 50th birthday celebration – with the hashtags #birthdaycake, #cakedecorator, #cakesofinsta, #cakeinspo. You can then click on one of the hashtags. This will take you to more, similar posts – and you can follow any accounts you like the look of.

You can also search for a particular hashtag. To do this, tap the magnifying glass icon at the bottom of the screen. Type the hashtag into the search bar, then tap the ‘Tags’ filter (just below the search bar). Get scrolling. Get inspired.

Here’s the easiest way to upload images and videos to your Instagram story:

1. Open the Instagram app and tap your profile icon in the top left, above your photo grid.
2. Tap the photo gallery icon in the bottom left corner.
3. Tap on the photo or video you want to upload.
4. To make the photo/video bigger or smaller, use two fingers in a pinching motion. Or hold and drag to reposition it.
5. Use the smiley face icon along the top of the screen to add filters, text, location stickers, hashtags or music.
6. Remember – if you didn’t take the photo, it’s best practice to credit the person who owns the image by tagging them.
7. When finished, tap ‘Send to’.
8. Select ‘Your Story’ to share your story with everyone. Or tap ‘Close Friends only’ if it’s exclusive content you only want to share with a select group.

Follow our simple four step instructions next time you come across a post you like:

1. Tap the speech bubble icon under the post.
2. Type your comment into the text box that pops up.
3. When you’ve finished, tap ‘Post’.
4. You’ll see your comment appear underneath the post.

It may seem daunting at first. Or you may not know what to say. But you’ll soon get into the swing of things. If you’re stuck, here’s some additional help for getting started with comments on Instagram.

• Keep things positive – start by commenting on the kind of content you really like.
• Tag a friend - build your social networks and connect with others by tagging them in any posts you see that you think they’d like.
• Use emojis – can’t find the right words? Then use an emoji! This is the easiest way to start commenting on Instagram posts. The mobile app even puts popular emojis above the comment box. One tap and you’re done!

It couldn’t be easier to find insights from your account. Here’s how:

1. Open the app.
2. Tap your profile photo in the bottom right to go to your profile.
3. Tap ‘Insights’ from the pop-up menu.
4. You’ll see all your analytics divided into categories. Tap to navigate between the sections and scroll to find the data you’re looking for.
5. When you’re done, tap the back arrow in the top left corner to return to your profile.

Instagram business account users can access loads of analytics data. Your dashboard will give you information about how many accounts have seen your posts, the number of content interactions, a breakdown of where your followers live, how old they are… and a whole lot more.

So many stats can seem overwhelming. But there’s no need to look at all the numbers. What you do with the data will depend on your goals. Do you want to get more followers? Create a community? Build brand awareness? Make sales from Instagram ads? The best way is to focus on the information most relevant to your business goals.

Data alone won’t get you far. It’s how you apply it that’s key. Here are some practical ways you can use insights from Instagram analytics to improve your business:

• Identify the best time to post – use the insights to find out when your followers are most likely to be online. Start posting at these times to make sure your content is seen by as many people as possible.
• Learn about your most loyal followers – you’ll be able to see a breakdown of their age, gender and where they live. Use this information to tailor your products and services to your target audience. Say for example, you’re a professional photographer looking to host a workshop. You live in Glasgow but analytics show 80% of your audience is in London. You might think about moving the workshop to the capital, or hosting it online so it’s easier for your followers to attend.
• See what kind of content performs best – then make more of it. Use insights to compare likes, shares, comments and views. Spot any trends? Perhaps your followers prefer regular photos to Reels. Or a like a live video over stories. Discover the best way for your business. Then repeat.
• Check how your Instagram ads are performing – use the insights to tweak them. New hashtags. New targeting. New imagery. That sort of thing. Then compare performance with the original ad. Keep perfecting until your promotions pack a punch.

And that’s just for starters! Log on and see what you discover.